Zap2it/ Case Study Date Class December 9, 2001 Design Planning Workshop Team Colleen Murray Dionne Smith Ha Jeong Noh Karen Scanlan April Starr Zhukai Zhang Contents Overview 03 Background 04 History Zap2it Today Design at Zap2it 08 Design Scenario Conclusions Insights & Recommendations Logo Deconstruction 10 Web Site Deconstruction Future of Listings, Content & Advertising User Centered Design December 9, 2001 page 2 Overview Traditionally, the case study method is applied much like a microscope to an organization’s activities. Each element in the structure is examined with a keen eye set on discovering patterns--patterns magnified by the power of the lens. This case study attempts to perform just such an exacting search. However, the research team was equipped with a lens directed 2200 miles away from the subject. And the reader should allow the contents of this document to unfold bearing that minor constraint in mind. Despite such challenging circumstances, we were privileged to have worked with a truly gra- cious group of “subjects,” without whom this case study would not have been possible. We would like to thank the following individuals for taking time out of their very busy schedules to participate in our surveys and interviews. Andre Alforque Greg Baerg Clark Bender Brill Bundy Mike Fischer Andrew Rodgers Jeff Rowe Vanessa Sibbal Mike Sikes Mike Szymanski Mary Ver Plank Mark Yamada Your enthusiasm, responses and insights proved extremely valuable. We hope that you find your time was well spent. We would like to send a special thank you to Barbara Needlemen for granting us access to her organization and providing the link between our team and the Zap2It crew in Santa Monica, California. December 9, 2001 page 3 Background/History Zap2it is a part of the Tribune Media Services (TMS), an organization within the Publishing group of the Tribune Company. TMS has two groups: News/Features and Entertainment Products. Zap2it is a company within the Entertainment Products group. The Entertainment Products sector is concerned with syndicating entertainment content and data (movie and television listings). The Tribune Company Broadcasting Publishing Interactive Tribune Media Services News & features Entertainment products Zap2it Up until the 1970s, newspapers did not provide television listings. In the 1970s Torrington TV Data (Torrington) was formed to provide standard TV listings data for newspapers. TMS had relationships with newspapers, and Torrington had the data. So in 1982, TMS partnered with Torrington, Torrington collected the raw listings data and customized it for newspapers while TMS provided sales and marketing support. The introduction of cable television changed the needs for TV listings data due to increased channels and programming. In 1985 TMS bought Torrington and a company called TV Log. TV Log was the first company to sell embedded advertising in rolling logs, which were television listings in a newspaper column format. The advertising in rolling logs was a three to four line program listing in bold type. This type of advertising proved extremely successful. Armed with this successful product and a new sales staff, TMS eventually cornered the leading newspaper market. Around the same time USA Today launched their newspaper and TMS helped develop the listings grid (which has since become a standard). This grid was on the backside of the newspaper. This increased the visibility of the listings, and readers found this new visual format easier to read. Furthermore, newspapers liked this format because it maximized space. In 1989 Rupert Murdoch purchased TV Guide in order to promote the newly broadcast Fox channel. Soon, other networks were frustrated with the slanted editorials of TV Guide. Newspapers recognized these frustrations and created television books as a supplement to the Sunday editions of their papers. These television books gave the networks another channel to reach viewers. By 1990 TMS’ TV Week Network (which provided advertising, data, and production of television books for newspapers) was generating ten million dollars in revenue. December 9, 2001 page 4 Background/History In 1992 TMS created the Premium Grid Network as more newspapers were adopting the grid format over the rolling logs. These grids included a large ad space at the bottom of the grid as well as bolded listings similar to the rolling logs. The allowance for additional ad space in the grid allowed for increased advertising sales for TMS. delivery channel: newspapers cable books/newspaper inserts television, internet, interactive broadcast guides ? rolling logs rolling logs with grid listings grid listings with ads web listings with ads the future of listings embedded ads In 1999 TMS bought JDTV, a company which provided print cable guides and PDI which provided movie data listings. This extended TMS’s offering beyond television listings and into movie listings, beyond newspaper television print guides and into cable print guides. At this time TMS bought TVQuest, Ultimate TV and MovieQuest. This allowed TMS to provide products and services directly to consumers. In 2000 TMS bought ISI/Canada which created interactive software mainly for broadcast program guides. At this time, TMS integrated TVQuest, Ultimate TV and MovieQuest into Zap2it, a unified brand and consumer offering. For TMS, the strategy was to create a sales and marketing platform to drive advertising sales. This created dual revenue streams, through syndication of listings to the B2B market and advertising via the B2C market. B2B TMS C B2 December 9, 2001 page 5 Background/Zap2it Today Zap2it Brand TMS created the Zap2it brand as a vehicle to reach entertainment consumers. Its development better positioned TMS to target the following objectives: to increase TMS leverage in the entertainment industry, to augment advertising revenue and marketing effectiveness, and finally, to differentiate the product as a premium, recognizable brand. provides consumer awareness of Zap2it brand The Zap2it branding strategy was threefold. Increasing consumer awareness would spur to build advertising & data demand for the Zap2it product; this, in turn, would lead to greater industry awareness and sales for TMS increased B2B sales. The brand, as a cohesive whole, would create a more compelling environment for advertisers to efficiently deliver their message. The now focused resources of the Zap2it brand would create farther reach, greater frequency of use and more potent brand recall, which would feed back into greater consumer awareness. TMS Zap2it TMS chose the Zap2it name to convey key characteristics. Convenience and ease of use were identified to be crucial benefits to consumers of entertainment information. TheZap2it name, with its “call to action,” represented these benefits. In addition, the name allowed for creative advertising and promotion opportunities that could enhance brand recognition, and, unlike provides sales, support, its competitor TV Guide, Zap2it would be well positioned to become an entertainment portal beyond TV, to include print and interactive channels as well. data (listings,) Tribune circulation & customers, Zap2it Mission Tribune brand awareness The TMS core competency for producing and distributing information was leveraged to establish the Zap2it mission: to produce and deliver the most comprehensive multi-media information to industry leaders and consumers, through multiple channels of distribution, to include online, print, and onscreen. Zap2it aimed to become synonymous with a broader definition of entertainment information, and be a credible alternative to other national entertainment brands, such as TV Guide and E! Online. Zap2it Products and Distribution Zap2it Entertainment products consist of TV & Movie information, editorials written by staff Advertising 30% writers, listings data, entertainment news and advertising sales. Syndication of editorial and listing products represent the largest source of revenue. The goal, however, is to have 70% Syndication advertising be the primary source of revenue. The Zap2it TV & Movie information products feed directly to the Zap2it.com Web site, a consumer destination site that serves as a one-stop guide to listings, events, headlines, and feature stories segmented into TV, Movies and Internet. Affiliate Web sites have the option to purchase Zap2it listings; they may either be co-branded or customized. Branding initiatives represents the third Zap2it product category. These initiatives consist of Zap2it branded data sales, entertainment guides, and on-screen & electronic program guides. Zap2it content is distributed across multiple media platforms to maximize revenue. The online distribution channel, via Zap2it.com, provides TV & Movie listings to over 380 affiliate partners, including LA Times, NY Times, and Yahoo!. Zap2it distributes print information through KnightRidder/Tribune Services to newspapers that include San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe and The Washington Post. Zap2it Challenges and Goals Zap2it has plans to unify its database to create a data engine that integrates editorial, raw data, multimedia and e-commerce elements. This will create unique and efficient access features for Zap2it and also distinct output data and information content. December 9, 2001 page 6 Background/Zap2it Today Challenges and long term goals for Zap2it have been clearly identified: to become profitable through increased advertising revenues, syndication revenues, and stronger affiliate ties; and to compete successfully