How Olds College is Continuing to Advance Agricultural Innovations

Olds College of Agriculture & Technology sits in the center of Alberta, at the northern edge of North America’s Wheat Belt, a vast swath of the Great Plains. The school’s Smart Agriculture Ecosystem — with labs, 3,600 acre Smart Farm and researchers — plays an outsized role in advancing a range of digital agriculture innovations designed to sustain Canada’s position as one the world’s largest agricultural producers and exporters.

The Olds College leadership team turned to Elliance to translate a new public-facing name and brand position into a full website relaunch focused on clear business goals:

• Grow the number, geographic reach and diversity of its prospect pool.
• Increase research funding, industry partnerships, major gift donors.
• Leverage digital content as a catalytic force to secure non-branded, organic page one Google rankings

What we Did

The Elliance website team prioritized the following site features and outcomes:

• Transform oldscollege.ca from a quiet enrollment website into a true digital content platform and conversion machine, capable of expanding the reach and impact of Olds College of Agriculture and Technology across enrollment, reputation building and fundraising.
• Animate oldscollege.ca (design, video, photography, brand voice) with verve and confidence.
• Change outdated perceptions of Olds as a regional ag college and amplify the sprawling research portfolio, faculty and facilities.
• Use the power and flexibility of digital communication to build a more coherent articulation of Olds College as a dynamic, seasonally-rich, life-changing place.
• Amplify the school’s name recognition and voice across provincial, national, and global influencers.

Impact

Ranked #4 amongst Canada’s top 50 research colleges, #2 in college research intensity, #8 for college research income growth. In the small tier college category, Olds College made the top 10 for research partnerships and paid student researchers, and is number 11 for completed research projects. Olds College ranked in the top five for industry research income and industry research income growth, as well as the top 10 for industry research income as percentage of total college research income.