Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

o Incorporate a user‐friendly content management system that would allow for content
updates in a timely manner by in‐house staff.
o Offer additional ways for registrants and consumers to connect with RECO by offering an optin
mailing list option, social media sharing and online forms for questions.
• Choosing and working with a website designer to bring the visual and navigation concepts to life.
• Identifying the topic areas of most interest to the two intended audience groups.
• Developing a function that easily allows consumers to verify the credentials of a real estate
professional.
• Writing all website copy and selecting all images to create a final product that conveys the core
messaging of protecting the public interest in real estate transactions.
Implementation and Challenges:
Budget: The total budget for the RECO website re‐design was $25,500, which included website design,
hosting, maintenance and stock photography.
Timeline: The initial planning for the re‐design began in September 2010 with the fully re‐designed
website having launched on April 1, 2011.
Challenges:
• Resistance to change – the re‐design of the website was part of a broader program to put more
focus on consumer communications and awareness, which was a change from the traditional
industry‐oriented approach. Throughout the project, the communications team liaised with both
internal and external stakeholders to keep everyone up‐to‐date on the project status and the
importance of consumer communications in fostering confidence and upholding integrity in real
estate transactions.
Measurement/Evaluation:
• Increase registration to the MyWeb portal to 30 per cent of all registered real estate
professionals in Ontario: o Prior to the launch of the website, 46,997 registrants (78 per
cent) had signed up for MyWeb. As of February 2012, 53,571 registrants are now signed
up with MyWeb, representing 88 per cent of all real estate professionals in Ontario.
• Obtain a 70 per cent satisfaction rating on website usefulness from registrants: o A
registrant satisfaction survey taken in late October 2011 showed that 90 per cent of
registrants had used RECO’s website and 70 per cent “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that
the website was useful.
Of frequent website users, 86 per cent said the content was right for registrants, 86 per
cent said the presentation of information is in the right format and 80 per cent said it’s
user friendly .
• Obtain click‐through rate of at least 30 per cent for the consumer section of the website: o
A Google analytics report of click through rates from RECO’s home page shows that 53.8
per cent of all visits between April 1, 2011 ‐ February 22, 2012 clicked‐through to the
consumer resources available on the site.