Fast Website Development Case Study - The Gathering at South FOrsyth
Challenge
Vernon Krause, CEO of Krause Auto Group, has a vision to create a world-class entertainment hub for North Georgia including best-in-class dining, local and high-end retail, a boutique and business hotel, a community center, residential options and an arena designed to host a range of top-tier events — from regional meetings to premier concerts to county-wide graduations and even professional sports — called The Gathering at South Forsyth.
The development needed a website to showcase site plans and renderings prior to an official media announcement and to legitimize itself to the Forsyth County community, including the Commission and residents. However, there was less than a month from c21 starting on the account to the announcement of the development, so the site had to be expedited.
The Gathering at South Forsyth needed a microsite created in three weeks to:
- Feature a landing page that would showcase information and official development renderings prior to distributing an announcement press release and to boost support of the development among Forsyth County residents.
- Give supporters of the development a place to become an “insider” by registering for email updates.
Solution
c21 drafted a streamlined navigation, the microsite’s content, created a wire frame design and gathered approved photo/image assets to provide to the client’s in-house web developer - suggesting improvements to three initial designs to help capture the scale and excitement around the project. Due to c21’s quick work, the website went live in less than three weeks and prior to the development’s official press release announcement. The site included renderings, a promotional video from the architect and information for South Forsyth residents detailing the proposed amenities.
c21’s web form connected directly to the agency’s email service provider - gathering emails and names to receive future updates. The form also included check boxes so “insiders” could share their specific interests regarding the development – allowing c21 to segment the list in the future (i.e., retail, dining, residential, sports, etc.).
Results
The website is viewable at: https://thegatheringatsouthforsyth.com/
Once the site was live, c21 distributed the project announcement press release and orchestrated interviews with Atlanta’s largest TV station, WSB-TV, which led to more than 360 stories about the development. The announcement drove a huge spike in website traffic — more than 6,000 people visited the site the week of the announcement.
In the three months following the launch of the website, more than 325 people signed up to receive email updates from the sign-up form on the website, and two years later, more than 1,000 Insiders are on the list.
