Lifecycle Growth System
A multi-channel growth system spanning social, landing pages, and CRM email, designed to drive acquisition, engagement, and retention at scale for the Harvard Business School AI Institute (formerly D³)
CRM Email
Lifecycle & Growth
Role
Acquisition & Engagement Layer, Growth Design
Timeline
~2 years
team
2 Enginners, 1 PM, me
platform
Tools
Figma, Mailchimp
Client
Harvard Business School AI Institute (formerly D³ — Digital Data Design Institute)
Overview
The Harvard Business School AI Institute (formerly the Digital Data Design Institute, D³) set out to expand awareness of its AI learning modules and establish itself as a trusted voice in emerging AI technology. Beyond brand visibility, the objective was to drive measurable subscriber growth, increase event registrations, and build a scalable lifecycle communication system that could support ongoing engagement across multiple touchpoints. Rather than treating this as isolated campaign work, I designed a connected growth ecosystem spanning paid and organic social, lead-generation landing pages, CRM email systems, and event-promotion flows focusing on the acquisition and engagement layer that tied these channels into one cohesive user journey.
Growth Strategy & Lifecycle Architecture
I began by mapping the full user journey from awareness to retention. Social campaigns (paid and organic) directed users to focused lead-generation landing pages promoting AI learning modules and downloadable AI skillset resources. Once users converted, they entered a structured lifecycle flow - welcome email, resource delivery, follow-up promotions, and ongoing newsletters. By designing the ecosystem holistically, each touchpoint reinforced the next: messaging stayed consistent across channels, and every interaction moved users forward, from discovery to meaningful engagement.
The growth ecosystem.
Social Creative Strategy
To drive awareness and traffic, I designed paid and organic social assets promoting the Institute's AI learning programs and upcoming conferences. The creative emphasized clarity, strong hierarchy, and benefit-led messaging built to communicate value quickly in fast-scrolling feeds. Each asset aligned visually and strategically with its corresponding landing page for continuity of tone and expectation, with variations created to support testing and performance iteration. Mainly advertised on HBR, Neuron Newsletter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Paid and organic social assets across HBR, LinkedIn, Instagram, and newsletters multilingual and benefit-led.
Lead-Generation Landing Page
The AI Skillset landing page was designed to convert campaign traffic into qualified subscribers. The layout prioritized a clear value proposition, minimal form friction, and a strong CTA hierarchy, with social proof and credibility cues to reinforce trust. This page served as the primary entry point into the lifecycle system, directly contributing to subscriber growth and resource downloads.
The lead-gen landing page ('Future Proof with AI / AI Skills Ready') clear value prop, low form friction, strong CTA.
CRM Email Design & Lifecycle Integration
Following conversion from the landing page, users entered a structured email sequence designed in Figma and implemented in Mailchimp. I developed a modular component system that let marketing teams assemble campaigns efficiently while maintaining visual and structural consistency reusable header modules, promotional blocks, content sections, CTA components, and compliant footers. The system supported onboarding messages, resource distribution, conference reminders, and ongoing newsletters, scaling to 50+ email templates across all flows.
A modular email design system in Figma - headers, hero blocks, single/two-column sections, and CTA components. (Built under the D³ identity; the Institute was renamed the HBS AI Institute in 2026.)
Templates assembled from the component system, designed responsive for desktop and mobile.
Responsive Design & Technical Constraints
Email environments introduce unique design constraints, client rendering inconsistencies and image-fallback behavior. Each template was built with responsive stacking logic, accessible typography, and safe visual spacing to stay clear across desktop and mobile, prioritizing CTA visibility and scannability regardless of device.
Performance & Iteration
Using Mailchimp analytics, I tracked open rates, click-through behavior, and subscriber-growth patterns across 150+ campaigns. Insights directly informed layout decisions: simplifying the newsletter pop-up and refining value-driven copy contributed to consistent subscriber growth, and adjusting email hierarchy and CTA prominence improved click behavior over time — all guided by data while preserving brand integrity and user trust.
Open rate rose from 15.9% to 32.9% and CTR from 4.5% to 9.2% after redesign.
Subscriber-growth chart: Subscriber growth accelerated after the newsletter pop-up was implemented.
Newsletter pop-up: The simplified newsletter email pop-up on the website. (Shown in the D³ identity of the time.)
Impact
This lifecycle system supported 150+ campaigns and 50+ email templates over two years, reaching a subscriber base of 50,000+ with open rates consistently in the 15–18% range. By treating CRM design as a system rather than a single deliverable, it strengthened alignment between design and performance goals improving subscriber acquisition, streamlining campaign production, and delivering measurable engagement outcomes at scale.
Reflection
This project reinforced my belief that effective CRM and growth design require systems thinking. Acquisition, messaging, and retention are interdependent when structured thoughtfully, each touchpoint becomes part of a cohesive experience that balances clarity, scalability, and measurable business impact.