This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and it will be updated as needed. The next blog post is Monday, March 14.
Nothing can be more exciting than the arrival of new products in the market—whether it is a new pair of running shoes or that new Greek yoghurt. We crave what's new, we are quick to give it a try and then we decide if it's a keeper.
That is why I was looking forward to judging the 8 entries in the WAN IFRA Digital Media competition, some of which I show here. Coincidentally, my Columbia Journalism students were putting finishing touches on their Midterm assignment, which was, by the way, to create a new product that they thought would have potential in today's media market. The students had to create the concept, develop its content, create the design, the user experience and, finally, offer ideas for how the new product would be monetized.
First, let's look at some real new products fresh out in the market. Following are three such new products that I thought were distinctive and made a difference:
Netherlands’ Mindshakes
Mindshakes aims to reach Dutch Millennials with quality journalism that touches them.
Very visual. Easy to navigate. Stories and headlines we have not seen often one or two hours before.
Belgium’s Publico
http://www.politico.eu/newsletter/playbook/politico-brussels-playbook-juncker-soteu/
“Our strategy has been to develop innovative ways to reach policy insiders and to connect them to each other.”
In my view, Politico is a sort of European Quartz: good , using nuggets for storytelling.
Der Tag, published by Germany’s Frankfurter Allegemeine
I like the style, content and approach to news for Der Tag (The Day) from the Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung (FAZ).
See the video in which the Der Tag creators explain it.
http://awardserver.de/2016/faz_dertag/en/
Finans, from Denmark
Finans is an elegant and well designed morning busines update, packaged with an inviting design and great user experience details to facilitate reading.
Not to mention that it has the briefest, but most complete, design style guide, which I show you here, too.
CNN Style, UK
It's been a long time since those of us who watch CNN had seen such a great selection of items devoted to fashion, art, architecture and interior design. In fact, Style with Elsa Klensch, which ran from 1980 to 2000 , was one of CNN's most popular segments. Now CNN in the UK has brought Style back (without Ms. Klensch) and I definitely like what this new product offers. The design is visual. The content is top notch. It is also responsive, so I can sample it on my iPhone 6, too.
Some of the students’ new product ideas
News app for teenagers
New Product: 5W (as in the traditional Who, What, When, Where and Why)
Goal: Let the news flow via Snapshot. To present news in a simple, easy to grasp way for an audience of teenagers, 13-23 years old.
Students: Asem Abdulaziz Alghamdi, John Kennedy, Jean Paul Salamanca.
LIFE Magazine app
New product: LIFE Magazine app
Goal: Bring back legendary LIFE Magazine to an app, combining a publication with a rich past and the edgy technology of today.
Students: Garima Garg, Yingying Xie
Aggregated content for millennial women
New product: Winc (Women Inc.)
Goal: All about what interests women 25-35 in one app: emphasis on health, fitness, relationships
Students: Alysha Webb, Zara Lockshin, Bushra Shaikh,
Diversity news app
New product: Spectrum
Goal: A network amplifying diversity in news consumption for 18 to 35 year olds. Creating a sense of community. Customization.
Students: Henriette Chacar, Francesca Mirabile
Virtual Reality Enters the Kitchen
Name of product: Real Kitchen
Goal: The kitchen is the center of the home—an intimate place that our users typically would not or could not go to. With Real Kitchen, users are transported into the homes of strangers as he, she or they cook a meal. The app is supplemented with recipes, video interviews with the chefs of the houses and even instructional videos. By the way—you can sort your VR experiences by region, ingredient or dietary restriction!
Students: Kailyn Janae Lamb, Sarah Bellingham, Oliver Lewis Arnoldi
Vice on the Go
New product: Vice on the Go
Goal: Extend the Vice brand, via on the go and on the move news, technology, fashion, with short type nuggets that scanners will appreciate.
Students: Wendy Lu, Ariana Pyles
Streamline: a shorter path to getting the news that’s important
New product: Streamline
Goal: Make it simple, make it easy to get the news: Only what you need to know!
The Hottest Stories of the Day. Just Push, Play
Students: Kris Fraser, Ariana Igneri
The Professor’s Takeaways
I am so proud of the students in my Multiplatform Design & Storytelling class at Columbia this semester.
If I must draw some conclusions from the work of these Milllennials (yes, they are all in that interesting age group), it is that:
1. They have a need for the quick read. Several of the projects emphasized nuggets and summaries.
2. They love information presented in a curated/aggregated manner.
3. They feel that there is room for products that emphasize diversity and that are customized to cater to specific audiences.
4. They want their information on that one smartphone that all of them keep in their hands at all times.
5. They prefer visual navigation.