Reinventing a Brand Online

• Problem
  • Competitors were gaining momentum through online efforts
  • Reinventing the brand online could mean undermining the offline market

• Consumer attitudes to overcome:
  • No longer the place to go to get the story first
  • Competitors offered more value online than Variety
  • Existing site outdated

• Solution
  • Strategy: 1. Make Variety.com the industry's leading online publisher by utilizing cutting-edge technology, providing innovative products not offered offline, and delivering the latest news first.
  • 2. Aggressively grow market share by breaking into new markets previously unreachable offline.

Capturing the integrity of the Variety brand was priority number one. The logo and trademark Variety green were the building blocks from which the new online identity was built. Color schemes and design styles were created that would preserve the look and feel of the offline brand, while at the same time, modernizing the look to be more streamlined for the Web.

The latest Internet technologies were researched to find which would help Variety best leverage its content online. Streaming video capability was built in to allow users to view movie previews and exclusive interviews online. Customers, celebrities, and industry experts would be able to collaborate real-time through Big Talk Live Discussions. Third party news feeds and up-to-the-minute news capability would give Variety the edge on delivering the most comprehensive entertainment news online. Daily HTML newsletters would deliver the latest industry headlines right to the customers desktop each morning.

The final development step was to infuse all of these technologies with sound business strategy, industry best practices, and graphic user interface design sensibility. The end goal was to create a brand experience that was equal in value to the offline brand, but unique enough to stand on it's own.

Print and online marketing campaigns reached out to an audience world-wide. No longer was the latest entertainment news just for LA and NY anymore. Variety was to be on the desktops of entertainment professionals all around the globe as they sipped their coffee reading the morning headlines.

Within six months of the release of the new Variety.com, email newsletter sign-ups were up 400%, ad revenue was up 300% and market share was on the rise.