Overview of this campaign

Engaging younger audiences, who typically favor interactive, mobile-first content over passive viewing experiences, is a significant challenge for traditional news media. VG’s goal was to create an interactive news platform that combines video, real-time dialogue, and social participation, making live reporting more engaging. For the U.S election we wanted to do something new, and groundbreaking in our live coverage. As traditional broadcasters felt outdated and the experience akin to linear TV, VG wanted to go mobile-first in the coverage, exploring live two-way communication with their audiences. With this ambition defined, the technical video team and interact team were set out for a new challenge, with a clear deadline - Election night 6th of November (Norwegian time). 

 

To achieve the longterm editorial ambition of an interactive, vertical video experience the video team has been working iteratively on the “vertical video player” improvements throughout 2024, and intensively in collaboration with the Schibsted interact team since september, on the live comments feature:

We’ve 

 

• Launched a scrollable, vertical video format optimized for smartphones, mimicking the content discovery patterns of TikTok and Instagram.

• Implemented live analytics dashboards, providing journalists with insights into what audiences care about most, and how they engage with our content.

• Experimented with new ad formats to reduce ad annoyance, and integrate commercial products more seamlessly into the experience. 

• Scaled the video player to all Schibsted Media brands across Norway and Sweden, providing flexibility to all brands to keep brand identity. 

• Integrated real-time comments, allowing journalists to communicate directly with audiences.

• Encouraged user participation, making viewers part of the news cycle by addressing their questions and reactions during live broadcasts and day to day news coverage.

• Scaled the format across major events, including election coverage, cultural happenings, and breaking news, ensuring continuous audience interaction.?

 

This shift from one-way reporting to two-way interaction resulted in a community-driven, high-engagement video experience that set a new precedent for news coverage.

Results for this campaign

The response to VG’s vertical video innovation has been overwhelmingly positive:

 

• In 2024 we’ve grown the daily user base by 400% in VG only

• The weekly video views have grown 500%. 

• And we’ve more than doubled engagement in the new player, comparing old and new video teasers’ click through rate from VG front page, and videos watched per session. 

• In 2024 we’ve scaled the product to all Schibsted Media brands, reinforcing its industry-wide impact?. 

• We’vereached more than 10 Million users across Norway and Sweden (~16 Million inhabitants). 

 

The introduction of the live comments feature has been beyond successful. For the U.S election coverage we; 

• Reached an alltime high engagement of a single asset in the vertical player of 833K views during the U.S. election night live stream.

• Logged in 1200+ that participated in live discussions (1469 user comments on TikTok)

• We got 3,500+ real-time audience interactions via comments and questions, for the first time launch of the feature. 

• Reached a younger demographic with 50% of commenters under the age of 34 yo, proving that we successfully engage a demographic that VG normally struggles to engage with on our own brand site. 

 

By turning passive viewers into active participants, VG’s vertical video player revolutionizes news engagement, fosters real-time interaction, and proves that digital journalism can be both immersive and participatory. This initiative has redefined how news organizations interact with their audiences, proving that interactive storytelling is the future of journalism?.

Contact

To contact a company representative about this campaign, click here for the INMA Member Directory