Metro Belgium: launch of MetroClub

Monique Raaffels, General Manager at Metro Belgium, Concentra, Belgium spoke during the short brainsnack session at INMA European Conference in Cascais about the launch of the MetroClub online loyalty programme.

11 yrs ago Metro in Belgium was launched. The company understands that today it’s not about the printed product only. 50% of Belgians will have a smartphone by 2012.

As the company says, “Metro” is not a free newspaper anymore it is a multichannel travel media now.

The concept behind the MetroClub idea is:

• fun
• recurrence
• integration
• customer bounding

MetroClub is all about subscribing, collecting and spending points. Users earn points on quizes, sharing via social media etc. They can spend it on games, movie tickets, concert tickets, etc.

Results:

• 10.000 active members
• 4.814.000 points collected
• 10,45 minutes spent on time
• 60% is coming back

Learnings:

• deserve customers word to mouth
• it’s only about the money
• don’t compare too much
• go for the leng term

Poland runs – succesful social campaign from Gazeta Wyborcza

Malgorzata Smolinska, Social Campaigns Coordinator, Gazeta Wyborcza spoke during the short brainsnack session at the INMA European Conference about the “Poland Runs” social campaign.

RUN POLAND is a mass and regular campaign since 2006. Its goal is to promote running and sporty lifestyle as it’s the easiest and cheapest physical activity. It also activates local communities and makes them realize the importance of physical activity for everybody, not only for kids and students. This is also a way to strenghten the image of Gazeta Wyborcza as “a daily with mission”.

in 2006, when the campaign was launched running was not popular in Poland. Gazeta Wyborcza wanted to encourage its readers to stand up from the couch and practice some sports. Running is the easiest and cheapest. Local authorities, schools and sports clubs were encouraged by Gazeta to organize short, free of charge races.

Campaign website: www.polskabiega.pl is the best source of information on running in Poland. It contains the map of best running routes in Poland, as well as many information about the sport.

In October 2006, 162 races were organised. It was organised with no financial support. 30.000 runners took part in the first edition. Until today, Gazeta Wyborcza organised 7 editions of this event. The last one, in may 2011 summed up for 616 races with over 120.000 participants.

Gazeta Wyborcza also takes efforts to monetise the event. In 2010 a 128 pages book was published. It was sold in 60.000 copies.

A cross-platform, one-click payment system for publishers

Carsten Worsoe, Cross Media Manager, Nordjyske medier, Denmark spoke during the short brainsnack session of the INMA European Conference in Cascais about one-click payment system using HTML5.

A cross-platform, one-click payment system using HTML5: is it possible?. “Yes it is!” says Carsten! Why do users accept to pay 7 EUR for virtual hay on a tablet-game, while real news seems worthless? And how do we keep independence of Apple, Google and others, who want to manage our readers contact details and earn 30%+ of the turnover? Join the conversaion as NORDJYSKE openly presents their HTML5-experiences on an ambitious iPad magazine; and participate in this open session on how to make money on tablets in the future – without being controlled by others!

Nordjyske inside:

• lots of app downloads (7.500 in a 500.000 market)
• 50M+ facebook ad impressions, 7.000+ friends
• very positive reviews, lots of praise
• handed out 500 iPads to students of the local university – they formed a “living lab”
• integrated programmer in editorial process to create rich “finger friendly”
• content
• learned not to hand make every story
• initial success did not make permanent sales

Questions they have now:

• can industrial age-product be transformed directly to the new economy and keep the value?
• how do people want to pay for a lot of small transactions (less than 2 Euro)
• How do we avoid 30% Apple Tax, 10% Google Tax, 30% Microsoft Tax?
• How do we keep controlling our media content?
• How do we avoid keeping 3-4 very costly code bases for mobile platforms and PC’s?

How to pay:

• one independent system for all platforms
• user friendly as App store
• Work as Amazon

Here is what Nordjyske sees ahead:

• build intuitive and fun to use one-click cross platform payment module
• modular and easy to experiment

Tips:

• accept any payment form
• every click will cost you money
• don’t bully customers, just let them spend money
• almost noone uses the power of the device to create a tabgible and amazing user experience
• use industrial designers, animators, prototyping, iser driven innovation and testing before programmers kick in

Hyperlocal news in Belgium: online and print

Bart Bijnens, Project manager, Het Belang van Limburg, Belgium spoke during the INMA European Conference in Cascais about how a regional newspaper involves each and every community in its territory with local news and blogging.

“Belang van Limburg” is situated in the Eastern part of Belgium. 845.000 inhabitants in the region. The name of the newspaper is its programme at the same time – “Belang van Limburg” means “In the interest of Limburg”.

Target groups are all inhabitants, all ages, all social classes.

The newspaper has 82% market share, 100.000 sales.

During the presentation, Bart Bijnens tried shared how his newspaper attempts to connect with readers. First thing is to service your readers, in different ways. “Belang van Limburg” is always within the phone reach of its readers. They are present every day in the lives of its readers.

Second most important thing for this newspaper is community building. Every Thursday they publish a good news newpaper. They also publish “baby special” – a weekly supplement with pictures of the newborns from the region, with the names of the babies and their parents.

Why did they decide to go hyperlocal? The answers are many:
geographical community is the link
this is where you make the difference
commercial opportunities
connect – bind – educate

They know that today’s job shouldn’t be done with yesterday’s tools. New technologies are now available for everyone.

The newspaper has 48 communities with 48 websites. They also publish an extra supplement in weekend newspaper (10 editions) with 70% of the content

written by the readers. It has been done since march 1 (now in 35 communities, in 48 by november 15). They also opened local meeting points for citizen journalists. This strategy gives unlimited possibilities: new communities, companies, schools.

Bart Bijnens sees some challenges ahead:
1. business model: how to generate enough money with low rate ads
2. how to generate enough relevant content
3. how to organise the newsroom

Infographics are important in Financial Times

Martin Virtel, Head of Projects & Editorial Development, Financial Times Deutschland spoke during the short brainsnack session of the INMA European Conference in Cascais about the infographics projects at his newspaper.

Turnaround times for infographics are normally too long to react to news events, and many devices that we want to support don’t display Flash infographics. At Financial Times Deutschland, they got their turnaround time for a new infographic down to 30 minutes and got rid of Flash using a combination of freely available tools and clever programming.

Martin Virtel gave an important tip to publishers: shape the tools. Adobe knows much about printed products, but knows nothing about web publication. Publishers should double check the tools their journalists use.

Why does Financial Times create infographics? Because news is visual. Publishers should make it interactive, users love it.

An example can be found here: ftd.de/60024270.html

Simple infographics helped build quite an engagement:

• 73% opened other bubbles
• 47% zoomed
• 32% dragged
• 22% did not interact

Publishers should make infographics fast, and:

• separate data and presentation
• don’t build infrastructure, use it
• build consumer-grade tools
• iterate in small steps

10 latest things you should know on mobile

Mark Challinor, Director Mobile at The Telegraph, London, UK spoke during the INMA European Conference in Cascais about the most important trends to be seen on the mobile market.

5 years ago the mobile landscape was nothing as we know it today.

Opportunities in 2011:

• companies are “waking up” to mobile
• more awareness
• more questioning
• the rise of smartphones
• increase in bandwidth
• case studies now available
• mobile metrics / analysis
• better content availability, more local, more direct, more personal, more relevant, more engaging
• revenue opportunities, mobile advertising, sponsorship, etc.

Now it is important to understand the factors that influence the future

1. Mobile movement – taking advantage

• develop and integrate mobile strategy
• build mobile destination
• connect with users
• mobilise the business with data

2. Mine your data
Know what you’re trying to achieve. Make sure it’s data driven (while important, revenue is not the only benefit). Know how they relate to content, article choices, etc.

3. HTML-5 or regular app? – know where you stand

People say data is more important than allow Apple to keep all the info – and they keep all the money HTML 5 can reduce costs and increase efficiency (platform agnostic – requires no download from a store).

4. Apps need to stand out

The Do’s:

• use capabilities of the device
• find unique service proposition
• make sure the marketing stresses the difference
• use social media
• consider cross linking to website / mobile site
• test and test again

The Dont’s

• don’t have app that is no different than experience elsewhere
• don’t build in functions
• don’t forget who readers are

5. It’s the era of consumer choice and consumer voice

Traditional media platforms struggle. Consumer are demanding what they want, niche medias come into play. Media companies attempt to aim at personalization

6. Metrics and analytics

Metric depend on specific business goals but areas to think about include:

• revenue generated from an app
• number of app installation
• number of in-app purchases
• number of app launches
• user behaviour per launch
• number of screen views
• number of unique users
• version comparisons between users

Bear in mind the message from this video:

7. Mobile payments are coming
Many predict it will overcome credit cards and wallets. It’s all about trust and building confidence

8. Tablet trends

• out of home tablet usage will take off in 2012
• tablet will becomme a potent tool for high-ticket purchases
• typical tablet user of the future will be in their 50s
• male dominated tablet ownership will end
• publisher brand loyalties will become more clearly demarcated
• video will become essential, not nice-to have
• tablet will complement not replace other platforms
• sharing will switch from a single to multiple device phenomenon
• smartphone will at last find its true role
• more and more baffled toddlers across the nation will spend time swiping at anything that looks like a screen

9. create mobile presence

• get a reputation for being a problem solver
• be a true team player
• listen to your gut
• USP
• don’t think that first is always best

10. Revenue

Many new opportunities for extra revenues are coming from mobile platforms.

Takaways:

• think about your future audiences and where they will be
• talk to mobile experts who can guide you. Remember it’s a new space for everyone. Not one panacea.
• have a mobile strategy and experiment
• be a leader in your market with relevant mobile services / applications
• focus on mobile optimisationof all content in your ecosystem
• be relevant, be aware!

The magic screen revolution according to Sanoma

Lassi Kurkijarvi, Manager Mobile Development, Sanoma Digital, The Netherlands spoke during the INMA European Conference in Cascais about the mobile app revolution.

The screen keeps evolving constantly. New applications change the devices. Hardware becomes software on your phones.

People who have smartphones are addicted. According to latest research smartphone owners spend 84 minutes per day using their smartphones.

Mobile pageviews start overtaking web, but it’s not eating up the web. There is no cannibalisation between mobile and web.

Next year, in Netherlands 1 out of 2 persons will have a real smartphone (comScore 3/11)

Simple, easy, fast and comfortable are things that make smartphones so popular.

What makes apps special is that they are actually information wrapped in a neatly packages.

The audience have so many options, that publishers need to be ready for it, and be the best on the market.

Sanoma’s answer: Planet of the apps is an internal program to foster mobile development. This year they made 60 apps. They experiment to get experience, and learn by doing, to see what works and what doesn’t.

It works in four steps:
1. fund and guide
2. Share concepts and code (publishers should make sure they own the code of the apps they produce)
3. develop and market
4. measure and learn

When planning an application think services, don’t think content. Services meet people’s needs. Content follows the service.

Sanoma’s mobile activities are profitable. The business models are many: paid-for apps, in-app purchase, advertising. For Sanoma it is a new playing field.

The takeaways:

• New skills are required: apps have to be designed for touch (or voice)
• We are surfing on waves of tech companies.
• The screens will evolve
• Make the users feel like superheroes, so publishers should give them the superpowers with apps
• It’s all about guessing.

Piano Media, a paid content system shared by 9 newspapers and magazines

Marcel Vass from Piano Media, Slovakia spoke during a quick brainsnack session of INMA European Conference in Cascais about Piano Media – a shared paid content system set by 9 newspapers and magazines.

According to Marcel Vass, publisher are facing two main problems nowadays:
1. Falling print subscription revenues are not being offset by an increase in online advertising revenue streams.
2. Modern pay walls implemented individually by publishers scare off traffic to competition and impact ad revenue.

These are the reasons why 9 Slovakian newspapers and magazine joined forces in the Piano Media project – to get new revenues first, and to do it together, so the audience would not be able to get free quality content elsewhere.

The lesson learnt is that people are actually willing to pay but they need the simplest possible system to do so. Piano Media allows to introduce one login for all platforms engaged, and one flat fee for all the content. The readers may choose either they want to be paying weekly monthly or annually.

After one month, the project gained 70% reach of the internet users in Slovakia. The revenue after these 30 days was 40.000 Euro – it’s a salary for 25 journalists. This revenue had to be splitted between the 9 media sites.

Traffic to paid sites was not influenced. No publishers decided to leave the project because of the extra revenue.

Piano Media has bright plans for the future. Second country is going to be introduced to the project in first quarter of 2012. The company hopes for 3-4 more countries before the end of 2012.

Continuing innovation at ‘De Standaard’ with a Digital Competence Center

Caspar Van Rhijn, Director Innovation, Corelio, Belgium spoke during the Brainsnack session (7 minutes speeches) of INMA European Conference in Cascais about the digital strategy of his company.

Caspar Van Rhijn said that is necessary to inject IT into the publishing business business by:

• getting them working side by side with the business analysts, marketing, sales and editorial
• getting them to understand the business

Digital Competence Center is where the business meets IT at Corelio. It has 3 areas of expertise:

• Innovation and Incubation (responsible for apps, mobile, and new revenue models)
• Traffic center (inbound, outbound, cross promotion, and conversion)
• Digital Development (website, live coverages etc.)

Introducing the iPad edition of De Standaard helped Corelio:

• be first to market with such a solution (5 months before competition)
• get 50% increase in digital subs
• hit advertising revenues 100% above the target

Although 88% of readers were happy with PDF replica, they company decided to invest in a tablet optimized version of the newspaper. De Standaard’s iPad application is a hybrid of PDF version & tablet optimized, where user can switch immediately. The tablet edition has all key elements of printed newspapaer: beginning end, touch and feel, easy navigation.

Results of this action were as follows:

• 6.500 1 month subs through ING sponsorship
• during the launch (September) 100% extra circulation
• retention in October +40%
• 60% of dev costs paid by ING launch
• 82% read the tablet optimized version, 18% PDF
• 4 star rating in iTunes
• De Standaard becoming the strongest innovative brand in Belgium

Mission 21: UK students crash Polish stereotypes

Grzegorz Piechota, Head of Social projects and mobile applications, Agora, spoke during the INMA European Conference in Cascais about Mission 21 – a social project that helped look at Polish society through foreign students’ eyes.

Mission21 is an idea to look at Polish society through eyes of other people. 21 students from London were invited to 21 Polish cities to survive a week there. They had to write blogs and articles with their experiences from the cities they visited.

It was a great editorial challenge. The project involved 60 people in the shadow. 50 stories from the students were filed daily. More than 80 news bits were posted online. There were five editors engaged who were the filters for the ‘outside’ content.

Mission 21 quickly gained enormous popularity in Poland. There were more than 260.000 online followers (87% were younger than 35, 41% younger than 25). The project gathered more than 3 million page views.

Mission 21 was an interesting lesson to Polish society, as it could learn what are its down sides. Those, as seen by foreign students, included:

• travelling through Poland is very hard
• not many Poles speak English
• the nation is rather sad and does not smile a lot
• many many more

But the project was also an excellent possibility to learn about journalism and building engagement online. It was a totally new working model for journalists and amateurs.

Last but not least, in this project whole interactivity went online. There were 5000+ online comments but no emails, no letters, and no phone calls at all.