KC Irish Fest Website Redesign

Challenge

The Kansas City Irish Fest may be a fun loving group of Irish folks, but they also operate one of the largest Irish Festivals in the United States. When KCIF was referred to TANK in 2010 the festival was growing rapidly and their existing website had become cumbersome to manage. They needed a reliable web agency and strategic partner to help them plan and implement a better way for fans and potential festival goers to explore everything the fest has to offer.

While there is whisky tasting, delicious beer, Irish music and dance, the fest is also very family-friendly – offering many cultural and kids’ activities. From tracing your Irish roots at the Genealogy tent, to attending Mass on Sunday morning, there really is something for everyone.

Our challenge was to capture a little piece of the festival experience on every page, helping visitors discover more things to do at the fest, ultimately inspiring more people to attend.

Solution

TANK worked closely with the KCIF web content and social media managers to organize information and craft a flexible framework that can be transformed with an annual design refresh (Including a new cow designed by a Hallmark artist), videos and images from the latest entertainers, photos of families and friends enjoying the fest, news, updates, and more – all easily editable by festival staff.

Throughout the year, the staff updates schedules, entertainer lists, and news feeds so building excitement for the annual festival. During the fest we even post live video feeds of the main stages for friends of the fest around the world to see if they can’t attend in person.

Results

Since 2010, the new site has become a hub for the festival’s online presence, with traffic from social media and traditional channels converging to learn more about the fest. KCIF staff can easily update content regularly, keeping the site fresh and entertaining for fans year-round. TANK continues to support, maintain and enhance the KCIF website user experience for fans of the fest every year.

In 2013 TANK recommended expanding the Entertainers section and enhanced entertainment schedule functionality. The new features allowed users to preview detailed and engaging information about each entertainer. With Soundcloud and Youtube integration, visitors can easily preview the artist before attending a performance or adding it to their calendar.

Increased Engagement from 2012 to 2013:

• 10% increase in visit duration
• 18% increase in page views
• 17% increase in pages per visit

Since launching in 2010 the site has collected numerous accolades:

• In 2012, the site took home two W3 awards for the “Events” and “Performing Arts” categories
• In 2012, the site was recognized by the International Festival and Events Association, winning a Pinnacle Award for “Best Event Website”
• In 2013, the site won a Davey Award in the “Events” category

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL