Objectives
The rise of technology causes the downfall of offline publication industry encourages exploration to formulate hybrid platforms aiming to bridge the offline and online experience. Through this, we created Ellie, a personal reading and travel assistant for hellobali, Bali’s most renowned printed publication chain.
Problem
Gone are the flourishing days of offline publication industry creating the need to reinvent revival methods.
The decreased amount of circulations and engagement
Readers have mostly shifted from print to digital platform for media consumption which is more affordable.
Advertisers have shifted their budget from print to online
With advertising dominating most of the company’s revenue, the extensive budget cut off for print advertising causes major problem in the company’s sustainability.
hellobali clearly felt the need in tweaking its product strategy by first tailoring its non-existing digital ecosystem followed by the magazine revamp.
The prospect to reinvent the product strategy to appeal to both offline and online readers is discovered through the decreasing circulation and engagement rate of offline publication in the digital age.
Solution
In order to bridge and create a dynamic interaction between offline and online platform, a chatbot named Ellie that acts as a reading and travel assistant is created. With the magazine being the touchpoint to access the chatbot, it is believed that reader’s on-demand reading experience would be enhanced. The chatbot itself loads on mobile web and powered by PWA (Progressive Web App), therefore readers are not required to download memory-consuming mobile app.
To capture user’s traveling behaviour, a profiling system is a fundamental aspect of the AI required to be completed on the welcome screen of the chatbot. The profiling information will be utilised to provide contextual algorithm of travel recommendations that might appeal to the user based on their inputs.
Future Developments and Findings
After conducting multiple user testings, apparently the habit of interacting with a phone while reading a magazine is unnatural, therefore its level of engagement remains questionable. Altering user’s reading habit is indeed a challenging aspect, not to mention embedding digitalism into it. User should ideally be encouraged to interact with either one of the platform without enforcing them to shift if unintrigued.
