Monday, September 29, 2025, 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM EDT
This session will be co-facilitated by Canisius University and its digital partner Northern Commerce to highlight its multi-year, multi-project engagement that built a foundation of user experience research upon which success was built in multiple critical areas for the university. From creating targeted experiences for students, to supporting a comprehensive brand and name change, to informing successful digital marketing campaigns, Canisius' successful efforts were partly responsible due to its commitment to executing external research and validating assumptions.
The results are clear. Not only did Canisius successfully undertake a brand transition (supported and informed by user research and validation), but it also has enjoyed its highest application numbers in three years in its target regions, and has exceeded its lead-generation targets in only five months of a digital marketing campaign. How? By committing to asking the people who matter most what matters to them— and then delivering digital experiences that meet their expressed needs and motivations.
This is the story of how one university embraced user experience research in a measured way, experienced the benefits of it and grew into embracing a robust, data-driven methodology that not only benefitted external users, but also helped to inform internal stakeholders, reduce the impact of organizational siloes and increased knowledge-sharing and awareness to improve operational efficiencies.