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Case, Edward Jones

#experience_strategy
#enterprise_web
#consulting
#transformation
#experience_design
#2019

We used the same method Ed Jones advisors use: talk to people about what they want for their future, then launch the first version of the enterprise web experience and respond to the market.

The way people connect with each other has been enabled by technology for thousands of years. Yeah, you read that correctly—thousands of years.

From cuneiform to ziggurats to pigeons to morse code to swiping right, humans have used just about everything but face-to-face spoken words to communicate important life matters since we first touched a torched stick to the slick surface of a cave wall and scrawled a saber-toothed tiger.

Yet from new freedoms to new relationships, nothing sets expectations like a handshake. We are taught how to do it at a young age, and we judge the very souls of others based upon how they execute against that paragon. It’s interwoven in human lore and consciousness, yet it’s less translatable to a digital experience than a hamburger (an object that has quite the digital life, after all).

So how do we enable Edward Jones advisors with the 202X equivalent this sealer of all deals? In a reality when geography is mostly relevant when thinkng about the range of your electric vehicle, how can Advisors start new relationships with new generations, that kick off through the mobile and digital space?

Jad worked with a team of Marketing, Technology and Experience leaders at Edward Jones to design the new killer opener: Connect with a new generation of investors with advisors in ways that feel as authentic, natural, and personal as a handshake.

Jad and team began by defining the three voices that would have a role in defining this enterprise web experience:


Our experience must satisfy the Human (connection), the Brand (differentation), and the Org (operation).

Let’s begin with the human, as always. Through interviews, role play, in situ observation, ethnographic research, and personally working with financial advisors on our actual personal finances, we set up a dynamic understanding of the Prospect and The Advisor.

Money is an emotional thing, and technology can help us get closer.

Next, we revealed industry-level factors and competitive intelligence that would differentiate our brand in-market through providing services and standards that set us apart.

The brand had to stay true to it’s rustic roots, but also appeal to younger mobile families.

And the third voice in success here is the organization itself: the website must not only create experiences that connect customers to value in compelling ways and differentiate the brand through experience, but the folks that run the system have to benefit, too. To discover the limits and life goals of the team, we held workshops that allowed us to get to know the marketers, product owners, producers, and engineers who would be living with this thing on a daily basis.


People have careers, curiosities, and a desire to learn. And your clients are people, too.

Lastly, we examined partnerships that could strengthen and differentiate experiences with the Edward Jones brand. What if your first meeting with your financial advisor was set up for success from the jump? What if you instantly felt welcome, respected, and cared for? What if connecting with your financial advisor actually left a good taste in your mouth?

Jad and team arranged a partnership with Starbucks, allowing Financial Advisors to buy their clients a coffee from anywhere on Earth.

The new Edward Jones enterprise web experience is...
> Grounded in research
> Co-created with actual customers
> Built on Adobe Experience Cloud
> Accessible and ADA AAA compliant
> WCAG 2.1 Standard
> Iterative and living
> Piloted via dynamic dashboards


Check out the new face of Ed Jones

→ This project took place while Jad was Partner at Slalom Consulting, and he lead the RFP pitch team who beat out some of the world’s top creative agencies for a chance at the multi-year project that represented the largest tech investment Jones has ever made in Marketing.

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