Recreation / Government Entity

Great Parks of Hamilton County

Great Parks of Hamilton County is the park district of Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1930, opening its first park, Sharon Woods, in 1932. Great Parks today includes 22 parks and conservation areas.

Great Parks is a dynamic network of diverse recreational and natural spaces serving the community’s outdoor heartbeat. Spanning everything from golf courses, sports fields, playgrounds, and picnic areas to serene nature trails and preserved green spaces, the parks system offers a variety of experiences for residents of all ages. It promotes physical activity and relaxation and hosts cultural events, educational programs, and community gatherings, enriching the local social fabric. With a strong emphasis on both active recreation and environmental stewardship, the parks system stands as a testament to Hamilton County’s commitment to enhancing quality of life and preserving natural heritage for future generations.

CASE STUDY

Modernizing the Customer Experience

The Challange

Great Parks of Hamilton County's digital experience was not meeting the needs and expectations of park visitors and employees. Their systems were outdated, inflexible, difficult to manage, and costly. They were seeking a partner that could help define and implement their ideal digital experience.

Macquarium was tasked with looking at the following systems

Content Management
Digital Marketing
eCommerce
Reservations
Point of Sale

They chose Macquarium to help them with this task due to its mix of strategy, user research, design, UX, and technology, which can support their IT, Marketing, Guest Experience, and Leadership teams.

The Approach

Defined the future customer experience and selected the tools while keeping the organization informed. 

Conducted business discovery sessions and ran 9 future-state journey sessions to define the future staff and guest needs.
Documented the business requirements and conducted a vendor selection across multiple domains.
Selected a new Digital Experience Platform (DXP), a new Point of Sale (POS), and a new reservation system for year 1 deployment.
Developed a multi-year roadmap for experience and technology rollout.
Created a comprehensive Change Management Plan to keep employees engaged and understanding the project.
Deployed a new web site leveraging the DXP.