Traditional media companies have been at the epicentre of digital disruption. To embrace this new reality, we partnered with Pageant Media to transform their business. To date, they’ve tripled in size and turnover.
Developing digital capabilities for a challenging business landscape
Pageant Media is a provider of global intelligence for the finance sectors. As a traditional B2B publisher, their business model had relied on declining print and advertising revenues. Changing customer expectations and market shifts demanded new products, services and digital-first branding. Over five years, we partnered with c-suite stakeholders and employees across the business globally using a process we coined “transformative evolution”.
Playfields helped us grow our business, leading the way with our expansion into digital, whilst breathing new life into our brands. They integrated seamlessly with our different teams and have become our trusted partners.
Research and discovery to understand the customers, markets and business for each specialist brand
Research was performed across London and New York. We analysed data; explored direct and indirect competitors, audited the current provision, services and cultures. For each brand, at the heart of our research was a focus on the customer. We visited customer’s offices, conducted remote interviews, attended events, and conducted focus groups. This research put us in an unrivalled, and impartial position to advise and collaborate with Pageant’s business units and create a transformation framework.
Rebranding and developing new products and services
With the framework agreed, we went deeper, brand by brand. Working alongside fast-growing in-house teams and third-party providers, it became clear they would benefit from a similar, scalable digital ecosystem of content and data products. Each rebrand was different, and the scale of changed defined by customer feedback and business appetite.
During our engagement, they also acquired companies that we helped integrate and develop into a new service brands, namely Fundmap and Fund Intelligence.
Playfields took to time to really gain an understanding of our business and build relationships. They've consistently delivered high quality work, and have supported us throughout. They are enjoyable to work with and rightly take huge pride in their work.
Group brand refresh and new online presence
Pageant Media’s corporate brand needed to attract investors, talent and make their current employees proud of their work place. To achieve this, we developed a bolder, more confident personality and tone, photographed their environments and people, and developed a powerful messaging approach.
Defining and crafting their businesses story for different audiences
We devised a stakeholder engagement process for c-suite stakeholders. These workshops enabled us to include a broad stakeholder group and capture their story, values, culture, purpose, and impact. It opened up the different perspectives and needs of each department and the audiences they wanted to talk to.
The transformation came together in a new responsive content and site architecture that we designed to be open, easy to read, scannable, fresh and varied.
Set for the next stage of transformation
During our engagement, Pageant Media tripled its turnover and their digital division grew from two to around 45 staff members. Each brand now has a digital-first membership brand and a smart digital ecosystem delivering high-quality content and data. Pageant itself has a totally refreshed set of brand messaging and guidelines. They are now set for the next stage of transformation and growth.