Website galvanizes rapid community engagement for historic university expansion
Now for Bend is a coalition of community members, businesses, and organizations formed to support the expansion of a four-year OSU-Cascades campus in the heart of Bend.

The Now for Bend coalition was established in the midst of a public debate about the merits of building a new OSU Cascades campus on the westside of Bend. The controversy over the site was threatening to stall or halt the expansion. With critical decisions imminent at the local and state level, the coalition needed to move quickly to build an accessible, responsive site as a central hub for sharing information, gathering support, and aligning the community in favor of the westside location.

Persona development and clear calls to action drive user engagement
Now for Bend had only 30 days to create a website that could build strong public support for the OSU Cascades westside location. Knowing that a focused content strategy and clear calls to action were paramount to the coalition’s success, we assembled a project team representing digital strategy, UI design, and copywriting to help Now for Bend identify target audiences and develop primary messaging for each. Even in the condensed timeframe, the working sessions were extremely productive and ultimately shaped the group’s community engagement strategy.

Results
- Clear identification of three primary audiences
- Persuasive messaging tailored to each audience
- The organization’s audience following grew rapidly to 1700 Facebook followers

Dynamic UI design keeps audiences informed and up to date
Now for Bend wanted to establish itself as a trusted community resource for all news and information regarding the westside location. As a result, it was imperative to highlight breaking news, provide factual information, and offer perspective on complex issues. The site also needed to be easy to update for coalition volunteers.

Results
- Streamlined site design with easy access to information and facts
- Dynamic feeds highlighted current news and developments
- Open source CMS allowed quick and easy updates and added flexibility

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