Web site to get new identity

 

 

The entire layout of UK is changing. Rather, the Web site is.

In the coming days, the official UK Web site will be revamped to focus directly to an external audience, equipped with  videos and graphics to freshen the virtual face of UK’s “see blue.” campaign.

“Our current Web site has been up for two years,” said Kelley Bozeman, director of marketing at UK. “And the Web changes every day, so we thought it was time to start working on the next one.”

The UKNow Web site will function as the portal for all internal members of the UK community, Bozeman said.

Students, faculty, staff and alumni can access the navigation bar including the “link blue” tab from either site, but UKNow will provide frequent news and video updates about current happenings on campus.

The videos contain stories from current and former UK students as well as faculty who have made a positive impact on their community, Bozeman said.

Bozeman said her department compared Web sites with other Southeastern Conference schools and universities in the top 20 and came up with a final result full of video presentations and visual cues rather than text-based updates and event coverage.

“I think UKNow has been very beneficial, even though the word is still getting out about it,” Bozeman said. “We can give kudos to students who win awards that we couldn’t have in our print publication, UK News, because we just didn’t have the room.”

As part of the student recruitment and global outreach initiative, UK’s Public Relations and Marketing Department worked in conjunction with Information Technology and the Registrar’s Office at UK since February 2009 to launch the new site.

“Students can show their friends and family this new Web site and say, ‘Here is what it’s like here,’ ” said UK spokesman Jimmy Stanton. “Plus, students that are juniors and seniors in high school can come to the page and see what it’s really like here at UK.”

The transition is expected to be instantaneous.

“We listened to what prospective students and their parents wanted to hear from us, and we made it available in video form on the front page,” Bozeman said.

Additional features include a link to UK President Todd’s blog and a link to Google maps for directions to campus.

“Our job is to tell the UK story as best we can,” Stanton said. “And we’ve got vehicles in which to tell it to an external audience and also to an internal audience.”