‘It’s about the quality and experience’: Pacific Mags revamps marieclaire.com.au
Pacific Magazines has refreshed Marie Claire’s digital platform, promising fewer interruptions and seamless integration of commercial content.
The website upgrade promises content will be delivered in ‘interesting ways’ and call-to-action pieces will be ‘strong’ and ‘on-brand’, with advertisements dispersed evenly throughout the websites.
The new website, which promises “seamless integration” for commercial partners
Marie Claire’s digital site’s fonts will now align more closely with the print edition – headlines will run in Austin and text will use the font Freight.
Jackie Frank, general manager of fashion, beauty and health at Pacific Magazines said in a release the new design includes “simple yet stunning visuals, easy navigation and seamless integration for commercial partners within our brand’s safe, trust environment.”
Nicky Briger, editor at Marie Claire, added: “Our new look, premium digital upgrade follows an impressive year for Marie Claire, as our total footprint climbs to nearly 1 million touch points.”
Will Everitt Pacific Magazines’ head of product and technology, and Sam Painter, director of product design and experience told Mumbrella, Pacific Magazines had rushed website development upon separating its brands from Yahoo in May last year.
At the time, Marie Claire promised a strong visual focus, with a black back drop.
Painter said the focus is now on customer experience.
“We initially moved our websites to market quite quickly when we took our titles back off Yahoo, so as you can imagine, as with the rush to market, it wasn’t the polished product we feel it is now,” Painter said.
“We didn’t really look to make the transition seamless, we pretty much started from scratch as to what we wanted to achieve. I would even go as far to say not many here remember what the look of the Yahoo one’s work as far as driving the look and feel.
Marie Claire’s old design
“Where we are at with the home page now, there is much more of a focus on customer experience, making sure that we don’t have too much clutter above the fold on the home page,” he added.
“If you don’t have a tight rein on the customer experience and user experience you often end up in a place where there’s quite a bit of clutter, and not a lot of focus on content.”
Everitt, who joined Pacific magazines from Fairfax Media where he was technology and product director, said the new website had been developed progressively, rather than launched as “a big bang.”
“A brand like Marie Claire needs to be clean, elegant, and resonate with the actual audience,” Everitt said.
Everitt says Marie Clare needs to be “clean, elegant, and resonate with the actual audience”
“You are now able to inform the product direction from your actual customer space rather than one person thinking what’s right for the individual.”
He said while they had an “end state” for the product, each element was introduced in an “inclusive fashion”, and was validated and tested.
As part of the changes, Marie Claire’s homepage will now feature one ad spot as opposed to three, which can be combined with a homepage takeover.
Painter said the company will also begin to roll out the IAB’s new responsive ad unit.
He said the new offering delivers “more value” for the advertisers.
“We’ve certainly looked at obtaining the most value from our ad spots, so quality over quantity,” he said.
“For example on the home page we used to have three ad spots above the fold, we now have one, which can be combined with the homepage takeover.”
“It’s just more value for that advertiser in the end.”
Everitt added: “Front and centre for us is we have premium brands and we want that sorted of trusted brand safe environment and like Sam says it’s about the quality and the experience and if you don’t get that balance right, then it’s impacting your advertisers and your consumers.
For Painter, the end goal is around engagement, maximise audience reach, and offering a premium experience for advertisers and users.
Everitt said it was about making sure both the physical and digital products were offering the “best in class experience.”
“Pacific have incredible brands and Marie Claire is the largest fashion brand in the country and we just want to ensure that the digital experience is in line with the quality and the trust that brand gives,” he said.
“More value for the advertisers”. Because that’s what successful digital publishing is now all about, not creating good quality editorial and loyal readers, sorry “consumers”? Hmm…
User ID not verified.
Presume Sam Painter meant to use the idiom – If you don’t have a tight rein -rather than reign
User ID not verified.
Thanks Magazord, it was a transcription error that slipped through despite Dr Mumbo’s tight reign over the editing team. Fixed now.
Regards,
Paul Wallbank
News Editor
I love this design and Marie Claire has come along way.
User ID not verified.