The branding, the look and feel, and the flow – all critical design elements of your online tools. Why does this matter so much? Social networking, our biggest ally in online engagement, revolves around the “like”. It’s kind of a giant popularity contest that never ends. You know – like high school. People share what they like, in the hopes that people will “like” it and by association, like them.

The City of Toronto uses online surveys to engage people on sensitive funding questions. This type of engagement gets so many aspects right, with a dynamite project name, great logo, clean design, seamless integration between the project branding and the engagement tool. It strikes a perfect tone. It’s pretty. It’s provocative. And it’s inviting on many levels. The results, you ask? In 1 month they attracted over 12,500 people. Yes!