Bonnier

Fjord’s transformational strategy and delivery for Bonnier’s ‘Live Newsroom' concept, delivered on mobile platforms.

Rethinking news production and consumption models

When creating their innovative news platform on handheld and tablet devices, Swedish media giant Bonnier looked to Fjord for design, strategy, and concept development.

Our key challenge was to engineer a concept that could ‘redefine newspapers’ by providing a digital service of sufficiently high quality that customers would pay for it – a business necessity all media providers are now grappling with.

Fjord quickly mobilised an experienced team across our Stockholm and London offices to begin the stimulating task of finding ways to monetize a digital daily newspaper for existing ‘dead tree’ subscribers, and also hook those hard-to-reach digital natives who normally use free aggregation services.

Transformational strategy for a ‘Live Newsroom' across mobile platforms

Our team worked rapidly with Bonnier to define the customer proposition, business models and user experience for this radical new approach to news consumption and production.

The successful design solution was to be high quality, technically feasible and user-friendly, yet it would also need to be based around the ‘DNA’ of core established Bonnier newspaper titles. Our work had to support the traditional newspaper, not compete with it, while adding a radical new dimension to the consumption of Bonnier editorial content.

Our deliverables also included a high-level capture of the business model, including a consideration of P2P marketing opportunities and methods. An investment estimate for overall service design requirements in taking Bonier titles to digital subscription models was prepared.

The result

After its iPad launch in November 2010, Bonnier now has approximately 50% penetration amongst iPad users in Sweden and about 10-15% of those have a subscription. The service has also received exceptionally positive reviews and feedback. ‘Live Newsroom’ design principles and components have now been incorporated by Bonnier into the ‘morning paper’ News+ product for three other titles.

Our concept work was created initially to secure stakeholder backing for a further iteration of the product – but in fact many of Fjord’s concepts and designs were brought forward for inclusion in this first release, due to overwhelmingly positive response.

Fjord was delighted to see such exciting, tangible results in form of a totally new product genre, followed by a successful launch, and we continue to work with Bonnier into 2011.

Pontus Schultz, Head of Business Development and R&D, Bonnier, said:

“We have been incredibly pleased with the success of the Bonnier News+ service. 50% of Sweden’s iPad users have downloaded one or more of the three digital news services we conceptualised with Fjord; DN+, DI+ or Sydsvenskan+”