Background
Growing up in Maryland, The Greene Turtle was always a local landmark for us. Whether visiting the Ocean City location on vacation or Towson during college, it’s been part of many great memories over the years. That’s just one of the reasons we were so excited to work with The Greene Turtle on a new site.
Challenges
As with every project, our work began with extensive discussions and research into the brand’s history, audiences, challenges, and goals. One thing that stood out was how competitive the current environment is with new entrants coming from many nontraditional sources. Another interesting challenge was that The Greene Turtle is a 40+-year-old brand that is still expanding into new markets. This means they need to communicate both with lifelong fans and people who are meeting them for the first time.
To address these (among other challenges), it was first important for us to gain a thorough understanding of The Greene Turtle’s audiences and devise compelling ways to connect with them. While nostalgia is a strong draw for some (and something the brand has used in the past), it wasn’t something we wanted to rely on. Instead, it was our view that the site had to continually give people new reasons and tangible incentives to visit.
Design
Our goals for design were pretty simple – create a fun welcoming experience, surface the most interesting and actionable content (think daily specials, local events, great happy hours), and streamline the experience. At the same time, the aesthetic was due for a modern upgrade. With nearly 2/3rds of visits happening on mobile, it was also important for the experience to shine on small screens.
Build
Like most of our sites, this one’s a highly-customized WordPress build with extensive management capabilities. A few aspects we particularly dig:
- Smart modules that present specific promos based on users’ locations.
- Extensive password-protected area for franchisees to access important information, helpful resources, and employment applications.
- Seamless integration with several third-party platforms.
Results
So, how’s the site performing? While we can’t tell you everything, we can say that there’s been overwhelmingly positive feedback from guests and employees alike. There’s also been a marked increase in both time spent on the site and online orders, two key metrics.
Do yourself a favor and get to your local Greene Turtle asap. Tell them Drexler sent you.
(our original concept video, which includes some placeholder content)