Bonjour à tous, Saint Martin’s! (Not sure why we’re in France all of a sudden. Maybe I’m just feeling particularly Gigi this morning.)

Yesterday was our third and final day with OHO Interactive (@ohointeractive), the digital marketing phénomènes (et les personnes les plus fantastiques!) that are helping us with our website redesign.

OHO’s visit: a review

Why was OHO here? To get to know us.
And why is that important for the website? Because a website is a conversation. It’s a two-way communication between us and our audience. The clearer we are on who we are, the better we can communicate what we want to say. Since OHO is helping us communicate our story to the world, they need to understand us. The more they understand us, the more they can help us message our story clearly, accurately and honestly.

The stakeholder interviews: a recap

For two days, OHO (and MarCom) spent time listening to you, our stakeholders: students, faculty, staff, administration. They questioned and listened. Then listened and questioned. Then listened and listened and listened some more. (Isn’t there something about listening in the Rule of St. Benedict? Ha!) After some eleven hours of listening, our two teams set about digesting what we’d heard. We turned things over. Teased things out. We ruminated. Cogitated. Assimilated. Elucidated.

Elucidate quoi, you ask? Just a bit of who we are. Wanna hear a bit of who we are, as defined by you?

A bit of who we are, as defined by you

• Sincere
• Supportive
• Thoughtful
• Genuine
• Respectful
• Intentional
• Unified
• Healthy
• Loving
• Kind
• Aligned
• Accessible

Pretty cool, eh? Wanna hear a bit of the story you told us?

A bit of the story you told

• We transform by being present
• We are concerned with the success of others more than ourselves
• We have integrity; we are the same on the inside as on the outside

Again, cool, right?

These aren’t the final messages, just the beginning of the exploration — but we’re certainly off to a terrific start!

A hearty THANK YOU!

None of this discovery would have been possible without those of you who were able to participate in the stakeholder interviews this week. Many, many, many thanks. If you were not invited to a stakeholder interview this go ’round, or were unable to attend, please share your thoughts about Saint Martin’s via our stakeholder feedback form. We want to hear as many voices as possible — we just weren’t able to hear them all this week. 🙂

What’s next?

Our pals from OHO had to return to the bitter-cold, eastern seaboard from whence they came. They bundled up your words, thoughts and ideas, and trotted (flew, actually) back to Boston. But in the days and weeks to come, our two teams, via the magic of the internet, will continue to unpack these ideas and translate them into clear, compelling messages. Messages that will then be transformed into the words and images of our new website.

Stay tuned! We’ll keep you updated and in-the-know. And continue to ask for feedback. We appreciate all that you are, and all that you do.

Souhaitant à tous un week-end magnifique!