When Dr. Joanny Liu decided to run for CBE School Trustee for Wards 3 & 4, she needed more than just a website—she needed a comprehensive digital platform that could mobilize voters, recruit volunteers, and clearly communicate her vision for saving Calgary's public schools.

The Challenge

Dr. Liu came to the project with a powerful personal story and clear policy positions, but translating those into an effective campaign website required careful planning and execution. As the child of immigrants who benefited from Canada's public education system, she understood firsthand the transformative power of quality education. Now, as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and former engineer, she was ready to bring her problem-solving approach to the school board.

The Process

Working with Western Impact campaign services, I developed a complete digital ecosystem for Dr. Liu's campaign. The project involved much more than just designing web pages—it required creating a cohesive messaging strategy, building automated communication systems, and ensuring every touchpoint reinforced her campaign's core message: "Save Our Schools."

Content Development

I started by reviewing Dr. Liu's campaign materials, including her 10-minute speech and video scripts. These raw materials needed to be transformed into web-friendly content that would resonate with busy parents, teachers, and community members.

The hero section became: "Save Our Schools: Every Child Deserves Excellence"

I crafted a concise paragraph summarizing her mission: addressing root causes in education, redirecting resources to classrooms, reducing bureaucratic burden on teachers, and ensuring transparent communication with families.

Platform Architecture

The website was structured around three main pillars that represented Dr. Liu's policy priorities:

Pillar 1: Transparent Communication
Creating open dialogue between parents and educators through full sharing policies.

Pillar 2: Resources Where They Matter Most
Getting funding directly to classrooms instead of administrative overhead.

Pillar 3: Strong Foundational Skills
Emphasizing proven teaching methods for literacy and mathematics.

Values Section

I developed six core values that reflected Dr. Liu's principles:

• Political Integrity: Championing honest, transparent decision-making

• Family Collaboration: Creating partnerships between families and educators

• Empathy: Understanding the challenges facing children today

• Accountability: Maintaining open communication with the community

• Excellence: Ensuring every child reaches their full potential

• Respect: Honoring the unique needs of each child

Automated Communications

One of the most critical components was setting up automated email and SMS workflows:

Donor Thank You Messages: I crafted both email and SMS templates that went out immediately after donations, thanking supporters and reinforcing the campaign's message about putting resources where they matter.

Volunteer Onboarding: Created a multi-touch system including:

• Immediate SMS confirmation thanking volunteers

• Detailed email listing all Ward 3 & 4 communities and volunteer opportunities

• Notification to Dr. Liu with volunteer contact information

• Follow-up scheduling within 24 hours

Lawn Sign Requests: Developed simple thank you messages with delivery timeframes.

Campaign Story

Dr. Liu's personal narrative was powerful—her grandfather's escape from Communist China, her mother's education against cultural expectations, her own journey from engineering to medicine. I restructured this story to flow naturally on the website, making it both inspiring and relevant to her education platform.

Forms and Information Gathering

To streamline future campaign website projects, I created a comprehensive intake form that would become a template for Western Impact's other clients. This form covered everything from basic candidate information to platform pillars, visual elements, technical requirements, and payment processing credentials.

Call-to-Action Strategy

Every page included strategic CTAs:

• Donate buttons with the tagline "Save Our Schools: Where Every Student, Teacher, and Dollar Counts"

• Volunteer sign-up emphasizing that "this important work would not be possible without you"

• Event listings for community town halls

• Newsletter signup for campaign updates

Navigation and User Experience

The navigation was designed to be clean and intuitive, featuring Dr. Liu's logo on the left with essential links like "Home," "Platform," and "Donate" buttons on the right, using the campaign's color scheme of red, white, and deep blue.

Professional Messaging Templates

I created templates for various scenarios:

• Volunteer confirmation emails detailing opportunities in all 29 communities across Wards 3 & 4

• Donor receipts that doubled as tax documentation and campaign updates

• Event invitations for town halls and community engagement

• Campaign team notifications when forms were submitted

The Results

The website successfully positioned Dr. Liu as a serious, capable candidate who understood both the problems facing Calgary's public schools and the solutions needed to fix them. The automated systems saved the campaign countless hours while ensuring no supporter fell through the cracks.

Lessons Learned

This project highlighted the importance of:

• Clear messaging hierarchy: From hero section to platform details

• Authentic storytelling: Dr. Liu's personal narrative gave credibility to her policy positions

• Mobile-first design: Most voters accessed the site on their phones

• Automated follow-up: Technology ensuring timely communication with supporters

• Community-specific content: Listing all 29 neighborhoods showed local knowledge

The Template for Success

Perhaps most valuable was creating the comprehensive intake form that would streamline future campaign websites. This became a blueprint for gathering all necessary information upfront, reducing back-and-forth and ensuring consistent, high-quality deliverables.