IMAX.COM:
BUILDING AN ACTIONABLE CONTENT STRATEGY TO DRIVE INTERACTION

IMAX had a problem:
Their website was a beautiful piece of machinery that visitors admired but didn't know how to drive. A novelty, not a utility.
The core business goals of selling tickets, promoting local theaters, highlighting LIVE events, and moving merchandise, were getting lost in a sea of declarative language.

From a UX writing perspective, the problem was clear. The site was a map with no directions. It told you where things were, but it never told you where to go next. It was a monologue where it needed to be a conversation.

Our solution? A content strategy that was inherently propulsive, creating a current of action to pull users through the site.
This meant transforming every component—from the primary navigation to the email subscription button—into an invitation to interact, ensuring every button was a clear call to action designed to turn a passive viewer into a ticket holder, hoodie buyer, or IMAX lore nerd.

THE OLD

THE NEW

THE PROCESS

Before we brought this action-oriented content strategy to life, my process involved collaborating with the team to establish a core content philosophy, exploring a spectrum of options, and ultimately delivering a framework that solved the core challenges.

1. Guiding Philosophy

First I collaborated with the UX, account, and design teams to understand the website’s goals, layout, and hierarchy. From there, we established a guiding principle for the interactive copy: since IMAX is in the business of experiences, every button must feel like the start of an action. This meant the language would always lead with verbs, promising the user they're about to DO or SEE something significant.

2. Exploration

With that philosophy in place, I presented a spectrum of CTA systems to demonstrate the core trade-offs between two extremes:

  • Maximum Consistency: Using a small set of verbs across every button (SEE, LEARN, SHOP). This was simple and cohesive, but also rigid and potentially vague.

  • Maximum Flexibility: Using highly specific CTAs (PLAY TRAILER, EXPLORE TECH). This offered perfect clarity but risked feeling inconsistent.

3. Final Framework: A "Verb + Noun" System

After guiding the team and client through the philosophy and options, we aligned on a "Verb + Noun" system as the framework for all site buttons and direct calls-to-action.

The framework itself was simple:

The primary navigation served as the strategic anchor. Its core verbs—SEE, LEARN, SHOP—established a predictable rhythm that was then applied to most buttons across the entire site.

Futher buttons paired a consistent primary verb with a specific contextual noun. This created button copy that was instantly understandable, like SEE TICKETS or SHOP MERCH.

The framework was a living guideline. During implementation, we refined it by introducing more precise verbs like VIEW where needed, always prioritizing the clearest language at the point of click.

While headlines provided the brand's voice, this button-level strategy formed the functional backbone of the site, turning passive browse into active engagement, aimed squarely at IMAX’s business goals.

My responsibilities: UX content strategy & copywriting

UX Design: Moma Wilwayco & Oren Kravetz
Visual Design: Steph Wulz & Charlotte Uddfors