Nordstrom Media Network
Client: Nordstrom
Project Type: UX Design
Skills: Agile development, brainstorming, collaboration, competitive analysis, design specifications, interaction notes, project management, and wireframing
What and Why
Nordstrom was in the process of creating a new cooperative marketing platform, the Nordstrom Media Network, to: (1) help customers discover and connect more deeply with brands, (2) help brands acquire new customers and grow existing customer relationships, and (3) amplify Nordstrom’s POV by highlighting brands that connect to customer values.
Problem
The business needed to find a way to bring in additional revenue without negatively impacting the customer experience since customers can perceive ads as overwhelming, distracting, and coercive.
Approach
Workshops
Before I joined Nordstrom, a number of workshops had been run to determine the UX recommendations for types of ads and placement on the site. These workshops utilized Mural and included competitive analysis. Three different locations were decided on and prioritized. It was also decided that UX would strongly recommend against ads either above the fold or from brands that did not already sell products on the Nordstrom site.
Wireframes
I collaborated with a Content Designer to create recommendations for size and placement of the ads. I created wireframes for visual representations and the Content Designer included specifications.
Iteration
I presented our wireframes and recommendations to the team and answered their questions. Initially, only mobile wireframes were requested. After presenting our recommendations, the team asked for desktop recommendations as well.
Struggles and Successes
The team requesting UX involvement had never worked with the UX team before. There seemed to be some resistance to accepting our recommendations if they differed from competitor examples.
While some of the placement recommendations were not accepted, the team did listen about only allowing current brand partners to utilize the ad space and to match Nordstrom branding as much as possible. This had multiple benefits: the Nordstrom luxury brand remained intact, the potential issue of banner blindness was avoided, and a more seamless experience was ensured, since ads lead to existing nordstrom.com pages.
Outcome
The platform generated an additional $1M in revenue in a single month.
Final Designs
