What the Future
September 2021-Present
Expanding readership for the publication by creating an array of promotional campaign assets and optimizing its online experience
What the Future is an award-winning, strategic, foresight magazine. Each month, WTF takes a deep dive into a topic with exclusive data and expert interviews to highlight the trends and players of today that will shape tomorrow.
Social summary
Context
In conjunction with the launch of each issue and its newsletter, a wide variety of social assets are created in order to promote readership through our social channels.
Problems
We were only posting once on social media to promote the newest issue and it was not leveraging the fact that it’s a data-driven publication with interviews from industry experts.
Goals
Create a wider array of assets that can be utilized on social media to increase our reach and engagement. Making sure to focus on quotes by our experts and data.
Solutions
Quote cards
We began creating quote cards with a standard Ipsos template but soon realized that it didn’t work for our content. Over the course of few months I created the template that we now use today.
Old Template
Hierarchy needed to be on the quote and there needed to be more emphasis on the interviewee’s face.
First Iteration
Clearer focus on the quote and is more optimized for mobile viewing, but the speaker looks as though they’re hiding beneath branded stripes. The Game Changers logo is also a little tight.
New Template
Switched the position of the portrait and this helped to strike a better balance. It also provided the Game Changers logo with more breathing space.
Data-driven assets
The majority of our readership is interested in the data that Ipsos produces for these issues. This was not being leveraged on social media, so I created social assets based off the publication spreads.
Website summary
Context
What the Future hosts all of its full Q&As on their minisite.
Problems
Since moving from WordPress to being hosted on the Ipsos.com website, What the Future has lost a lot of its hierarchy and visual interest as a result of strict branding and website guidelines.
Goals
Create a coherent and unified style that effectively integrates the digital publication with its webpages, enhancing both the hierarchy of information and visual attractiveness.
Solutions
Landing page restructuring
Utilizing CSS I was able to reformat tables in an effort to create landing pages that feel more consistent with the industry standard, while still adhering to Ipsos’ branding guidelines.
Meaningful mobile experience
Rather than trying to show everything on mobile, I made the decision to cut out the portraits from the landing page and only replace it with one image in lieu of the editor’s portrait.
Addition of pagination
Although not seemingly the most exciting, the lack of pagination was a real issue that we found with readers who wanted to flow through the web content similar to how they would a physical issue.
Conclusion
Results
Despite over a year of constant changes, we were still able to achieve an honorable mention at the Content Marketing Awards (CMA) for Best Digital Publication.
Reflection
Working on What the Future every month is an incredibly rewarding experience. Since moving to a digital-only format, the publication is always evolving. Every month we are gradually improving upon it to make it the best that it can be.