The Mario Blog

This is the weekend edition of TheMarioBlog and will be updated regularly as new pdfs become available for these projects profiled here.
The next new blog post is Monday, July 9

Update #5: Saturday, July 7,Longboat Key, Florida, 14:13

TAKEAWAY: At the end of a week when we launched three new projects in three different parts of the world, we take some time to reflect, to look back and to revisit each of them.

It was a very busy week for Garcia Media, as readers of the blog already know: we had three of our projects launching almost simultaneously within 48 hours.

In Mexico, the regional daily, a.m., published in Leon, Guanajuato, launched a new look July 1, new content and a total rethinking of its coverage. This launch coincided with Mexico’s presidential elections.

In Malaysia, the Malay-language newspaper, Berita Harian, celebrated its 55th anniversary with a new redesign that was launched also July 1.

In Austria, the Kronen Zeitung premiered its new, curated tablet edition, becoming the first Austrian newspaper to have a dedicated iPad edition, which is published every evening with highlights of the Kroner’s famous content.

So, I figured that our Friday/Weekend post of TheMarioBlog would be the ideal vehicle in which to offer you some follow ups of how these launches were received, and also new pdfs of what was published this week.

Mexico: a.m.

Enrique Gomez Jr., project leader for the a.m. project, reports extremely positive reactions from readers of his newspaper, not just from loyal readers, but also from new ones who have decided to take a look.

Here is how Enrique summarizes this first week since tha launch of a.m.:

“A week into the relaunch, we find that things are getting interesting. Everyone in the newsroom is adjusting their workflow to the new format, and like a new pair of jeans, making it their own little by little. We love how it looks on the street displays, for the new format highlights the work we put into surprising our readers every morning”

Here is a variety of pages published since the July 1 relaunch, including the tabloid format Deportivo (Sports), and the lifestyle section (Vivir)
.

And here some comments from the readers:

“Congratulations, keep up the good work, thank you for providing us with a more dynamic and interesting way of reading the news”

“Renew or die. […] Congratulations for this change”

“I’m a subscriber and I’m glad that you’re working to make a better product every day”

“

I enjoyed the special section explaining in detail the new structure and subtleties of the redesign, colors and other interesting innovations. Congratulations for an indisputable improvement”

Malaysia: Berita Harian

 
A new front page published this week after relaunch

Here are assorted pages of Berita Harian published this past week after the relaunch

Readers of Berita Harian have liked the new look and new content of their newspaper very much. We communicate with the company’s CEO, as well as with the project manager for some updates.
We will be adding pdfs of recent pages as they become available.

Here is what Mohammad Azlan Abdullah ,CEO of The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) had to say:

Well we are all very pleased with the outcome of new BH!
Refreshing!, exciting!, wow!, interesting!Well done! are examples of natural responses and feedback that we got from all.

The spirits are high here with the team and so far the consistency is there. The challenge is to sustain it all moving forward.

We have done townhalls to the staff all over branches throughout the country, engaged our trading partners and showcase the new BH to major advertising agencies and clients. And I can tell you everyone is impressed with the new look and feel.

At Berita Harian celebrating the new look and content of the newspaper also includes especially scheduled events.

The marketing department of BH has organized this weekend what it calls the  BH Fiesta, which is a combination of a mini carnival and a mini concert in a middle of a park in Kuala Lumpur.

“The objective of this event is to create consumer engagement between the brand and the readers as well as to reward existing loyal BH readers,” says Putri Shireen, project leader for the Berita Harian project.

Shireen reports positive reactions from the readers as well:

“The reaction from reader’s so far has been excellent. There has been a lot of positive feedback from readers,” she said.

Below are some excerpts of comments received from readers on the street, on the day of launch;
 

“ The New BH is more conscice, easy to read with attractive colours that will attract the attention of the younger generation.”

“ The rebranding of this newspaper injects a new and fresh breathe and attracts the interest of  youngsters.”

Also, circulation up, although it is too early to tell, and these may be results of curiosity among readers to sample the new Berita Harian.

According to Shireen:
 
Overall the retail pick up has also showed an improvement, whereby on the 1st 2 days of launch the retail sales of BH grew by 9% on the 1st 2 days of launch, this is a retail pick up of almost 10,000 copies/day.
 

Kronen Zeitung iPad: Kronen HD

Landing page: first day of launch

Meanwhile, in Austria, managers of the new Kronen Zeitung tablet app report positive reactions as well.

This, after all, is a first for Austria: the first dedicated, curated tablet edition by a newspaper.

Dr. Christoph Dichand, publisher/CEO of the Kronen Zeitung, reports also positive reaction and this hint from users:
Some users report that they can´t zoom in by using the two-finger gesture, an important point that we will take up in our follow up meetings later this month in Vienna.

These are some reactions gathered by Michael Eder, of the Kronen Zeitung digital team:

” It looks sleek especially, that the chosen pictures and the quality of those are brilliant! “

” Overall it doesn’t stay in direct contact to the print version, so an all new audiance can be generated “

” It’s fresh and the effects (widgets) make, most of the time, sense “

” The app overall contains valuable information “

In my own mailbox, I have a few requests for interviews by media magazines of Austria, all sending their applause for the new tablet edition. Since the Kronen Zeitung is a sort of journalistic institution in Austria, many tell me that it was just right that this newspaper would be the pioneer in the dedicated tablet edition app, and they hope that other publishers will take notice.

I will be updating here as the weekend begins.

Take a video tour of the selected screens from the Kronen HD July 5 edition:

Previous blog posts on these projects

July 1: launches of new projects in Mexico, Malaysia
https://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/july_1

Kronen Zeitung of Austria: new iPad edition launches
https://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/kronen_zeitiung_of_austria_new_ipad_edition_launches

Of special interest today

– Long-form journalism project Matter aiming for September launch
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/digital-long-form-journalism-project-matter-aiming-for-september-launch/s2/a549767/

The iPad Design Lab: Storytelling in the Age of the Tablet

Video walkthrough of the iPad prototype of iPad Design Lab

TheMarioBlog post #1047