Summary:

Lolay successfully partnered with Hearst Corporation to develop and launch new mobile applications for six key newspapers under the Hearst umbrella: San Francisco Chronicle, SF Gate, San Antonio Express, CT Post, Newstimes, and Houston Chronicle. These custom-built applications, available on both iPhone and iPad, deliver a modern and optimized news experience tailored to each publication’s audience and brand identity.

Solution:

Lolay built a unified platform with native designs for each application, catering to individual brand identities and offering personalized features like recommendations, offline reading, and advanced search. Social integration and secure subscription management enhance user experience, leading to increased readership, engagement, and brand recognition. This future-proof platform allows for rapid adoption of new technologies to continuously improve the mobile news experience for Hearst’s readers.

• Unified Platform: A central platform was developed to power all six applications, ensuring consistent performance and code maintainability across diverse functionalities.
• User Interface and Experience: Intuitive and visually appealing interfaces were designed and optimized for both iPhone and iPad screens, ensuring a smooth user experience across devices.
• Personalized Experience: Users benefit from personalized features like article recommendations, saved article lists, and push notifications for breaking news based on their preferences.
• Offline Reading: Downloadable content allows users to enjoy reading even when offline, catering to mobile usage patterns.
• Advanced Search: Robust search functionality facilitates easy navigation and information discovery within the vast archive of each newspaper.
• Social Integration: Sharing articles and engaging with social media platforms are seamlessly integrated for enhanced reader interaction.
• Subscription Management: Secure and user-friendly subscription management empowers readers to access premium content easily.
• Content Migration and Optimization: Existing content was seamlessly migrated to the new platform, while functionalities were enhanced with features like article caching, offline reading, personalized recommendations, and push notifications for breaking news.
• Analytics Integration: Integration with analytics tools provided valuable insights into user behavior and engagement, enabling data-driven optimization and personalization.
• Content Management System: Lolay facilitated seamless integration with existing Hearst content management systems, allowing for efficient content updates and publishing workflows.

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Impact:

Hearst's new mobile apps have sparked a surge in readership, particularly among younger demographics. Personalized features and seamless content delivery drive deeper engagement, resulting in longer reading sessions and subscription growth. The modern interface and consistent brand experiences across the six newspapers solidify Hearst's position as a leader in digital news, while the unified platform paves the way for future innovation and rapid adoption of new technologies, ensuring continued improvement and audience satisfaction.

• Increased Readership: The modern and user-friendly apps have led to a 12% increase in readership across all six publications, particularly among younger audiences.
• Enhanced Engagement: Interactive features and personalized content foster deeper engagement, leading to a 30 second average increase in reading sessions and increased user loyalty (returns).
• Subscription Growth: Streamlined subscription management and an improved user experience have contributed to an overall 17% rise in digital subscriptions.
• Brand Recognition: The consistent and high-quality apps strengthen the brand image of each newspaper, solidifying their positions as trusted news sources in their respective regions.
• Increased revenue: Paid subscriptions and in-app advertising saw an immediate 8% positive growth after the mobile platform and newspaper launches.
• ‍Future Innovation: The unified platform enables efficient maintenance and future updates, allowing for rapid adoption of new technologies and features to continuously improve the user experience.