The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club
Digital Strategy, Custom Website Design & Development, Custom Functionality
There is nothing quite like entering Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and diving into the mysterious world of the Groundhog Day legend. But when Punxsutawney Groundhog Club came to us, their website wasn’t mirroring the quirky, unique experience town-visitors experienced. We wanted to change that.
The Challenge
The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club website was visually out of date and core sections of the website were not functioning optimally. Frustrated site visitors couldn't find the information they were looking for and frequently exited the site without finding an answer to their question. The biggest challenge for the website was to cater to two very different types of visitors: the Groundhog Day visitors and the year-round visitors. Both visitors needed to find applicable events and resources to help them plan their visit, but without an intuitive information hierarchy on the site, few website visitors knew where to look for information based on their visit criteria. The Groundhog Club knew they needed a brand new website, but they also needed to trust their website vendor. With tens of thousands of site visitors on Groundhog Day, they needed a reliable website company to step up to the challenge.
The Solution
The new site communicates the "create your own adventure" mantra for Punxsutawney. The town provides endless opportunities for every kind of visitor. The updated and streamlined events database helps to categorize event offerings for prospective tourists, and a brand new interactive area map displays all of the attractions within a close proximity to Punxsutawney. Users can get details, visit individual websites, and get driving directions - all within a modern, intuitive interface.
Take It From
Punxsutawney Phil
"Love our how our site looks and works! Great company and team to work with! We conducted a survey of our site with our visitors and they love it to! Highly Recommend Blue Archer!!" - Punxsutawney Phil
Strategy
The website needed to cater to many different kinds of users. From travelers who planned to pass through year-round and Groundhog Day celebration participants, to teachers and club members: there were many different, distinct content sections for various persona types. Throughout the strategy phase, we detailed each persona's content needs and expectations and identified goals for the redesigned site. The new website would need to build off-site season tourism, increase Groundhog Day attendance and revenue, help users plan their trips, and integrate with social media.
Design
The design needed to stay true to the whimsical brand without looking juvenile, since the experience of Punxsutawney extends to all ages. Our designers focused on crafting a mysterious, energetic mix of cartoon elements and photographs. The countdown clock, a main element on the homepage that counts down to Groundhog Day year-round, is based on the clock many visitors will recognize from the movie, Groundhog Day. We also added silhouettes of mystical creatures and shapes throughout the homepage to subtly communicate the quirky nature of the brand without losing the sophistication of the design or professionalism of the brand. Rustic background textures help to round out the design and pull from the visuals users see at Gobblers Knob and other important attractions in Punxsutawney.
Custom Functionality
To provide site visitors with a satisfying experience, our programmers were tasked with creating various custom solutions for The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The first thing we tackled was the events interface. As we mentioned, there were distinct user types coming to the site - some were after year-round activities, while others were just interested in seeing the opportunities for Groundhog Day. The new events database caters to both audiences and allows users to categorize their search. Visitors can explore highlighted events, Groundhog Day celebration opportunities, or view alternative events like the Trick or Trot 5K, Globbler's Knob Wine Festival, and more. Another goal of the site was to communicate the attractions outside of events including restaurants, historical outings, hiking trails, shops, and more.
From the Client
"The team at Blue Archer has been fabulous to work with. Our website looks great and the functionality serves our needs completely. A big 'thank you' to Amber and all of the others that have been helping us along the way with the redesign! Highly recommended!" - Katie Donald
Conclusion
Working with The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club was a blast for our team. It challenged our designers to produce something different than most of the professional services, law firm, or manufacturing designs we excel at, and it proved to be a fun change-up. Together with the Punxey team, we created a brand new, reliable website that successfully filters users to different content sections based on their needs and provides a fun, intuitive site experience along the way. We look forward to working with The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club in the future to continue to support their website users.
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