In October 2023, German magazine stern launched a major digital relaunch of its Web site and native apps. The project set out not only to modernise stern’s digital presence but also to pioneer a sustainable model for high-quality journalism in a fragmented, platform-driven media landscape.

The project combined stern’s long print tradition with new technological and editorial approaches and a multi-brand strategy to address the challenges of today’s digital media environment.

From print legacy to digital vision

Founded in 1948, stern is one of Germany’s leading news magazines, known for its iconic covers, investigative and social reporting, big interviews, and strong visual identity.

With declining dependence on print and increasing competition for digital attention, the goal (and challenge) of the relaunch was clear: to transfer stern’s journalistic identity and DNA into the digital era while reducing reliance on advertising and SEO-driven traffic.

A new product vision defined what the digital products should be: closer to people, topics, and users in the digital space, presenting journalism that is distinctive, accessible, and sustainable in a new, opulent way.

A multi-brand digital ecosystem

A central element of the relaunch was integrating several established media brands into a single product experience under the subscription brand stern+. Alongside stern, the portfolio now includes content of stern Crime, GEO, GEO Epoche, and Capital — all part of RTL News.

Together, these brands provide users with a broader range of perspectives. This approach offers both depth and breadth: news and investigative reporting, profound science journalism and breathtaking photography, escapist true-crime stories, and sharp business analysis. 

This cross-brand strategy also supports a new business model. stern has shifted from a reach-based orientation towards subscriptions, with a target of 100,000 paying users by the end of 2026.

To achieve this, the team established guiding principles across editorial, design, product, and business development. stern wants to address real-life experiences, make voices visible, inform in entertaining ways and surprise with opulent digital storytelling.

Designing for opulence and usability

The relaunch involved a complete redesign of the digital products – the Web site stern.de and the native stern apps. The team introduced a new visual language, designed to carry stern’s reputation for strong imagery into the digital space.

The product was restructured with clearer navigation, modular page layouts and a scalable design system to ensure consistency across Web and mobile.

The redesign also placed greater emphasis on multimedia storytelling. A new image gallery, embedded media formats, and an “Explore Tab” for curated highlights were added to support a more structured, user-friendly experience in the apps.

The result is a platform that feels premium while remaining simple and intuitive.

Innovation in content and technology

The relaunch also included new journalistic narrative formats, tailored to successful topic clusters and user needs. From data-rich explainers to multimedia long-reads, stories were redesigned to surprise, inform and spark conversation.

In parallel, the entire paid content infrastructure was rebuilt. The new system is based on a multi-tenant architecture that supports multiple brands.

Key technologies include an AI-powered paywall from Zephr/subX, subscription management including checkout from frisbii, and Braze CRM for audience management and marketing automation. This infrastructure allows for greater flexibility in testing and scaling subscription models and ensures cross-platform integration.

Simple purchase offers

stern+ introduced simplified subscription options with four- or eight-week trial periods at €1. At the same time, the billing model changed from monthly to weekly, resulting in an average price increase of around 20%. Payments are processed in four-week intervals.

In addition, the new paywall enables the testing of different subscription terms of three, six, and 12 months, each with corresponding discounts. Initial results from these trials are expected shortly.

A cultural shift in the newsroom

The relaunch was not only a technical project but also required significant changes in the organisation, including strengthening digital expertise. Not only did stern+ expand its digital publishing unit from seven to 80 people, but it also restructured the editorial department around key topic clusters such as Report & Crime, People & Entertainment, and Health & Fitness.

The editorial team transitioned from a print-first to a story-first approach, aligning workflows with digital publishing needs. Agile methods were introduced to manage the tight timeline, and external partners supported areas such as design, development, and market analysis.

Outcomes

We started the development process in March 2024. The new stern product went live just seven months later on October 27, 2024. Alongside the Web site, new native apps for iOS and Android were released. Early results already showed a measurable impact:

• Daily subscriptions increased by 130%.
• Paywall conversion rate increased by 186%.
• Page impressions per visit increased by 11%.
• App ratings reached 4.3 (iOS) and 4.2 (Android).

The stern relaunch demonstrates that legacy media can thrive in digital by combining strong editorial identity with product innovation. By combining a cross-brand strategy, a modernised technical infrastructure, and a restructured newsroom, stern has laid the foundation for its sustainable digital journalism.

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