Delta Airlines — News Hub

The Setup

Delta wanted a more robust content publishing platform to support a new storytelling strategy: a modern, best-in-class digital newsroom that would get Delta’s stories circulated and relied on by the people who cover the airline.

The Challenge

The existing newsroom wasn’t built for how journalists actually work. Delta needed its key audiences, starting with broadcast, print and digital media, to find, publish and share news faster, with rich media and social built in from the start.

What I Led

At Sparks Grove, I led the team that designed and built the Delta News Hub end to end in 15 weeks. That covered research and insights, platform and hosting selection, the visual experience across desktop, tablet and mobile, the back-end publishing workflow, content strategy, analytics, testing and launch. Speed only worked because the strategy was disciplined. We scoped the first release around five drivers: Acquisition, Engagement, Referral, Retention and Recirculation. We also borrowed publishing best practices from fast-growing media companies, so Delta’s stories were built to be shared, not just posted. I also led the branding of four new editorial sections, each designed to engage a specific reader group.

What We Delivered

A multi-platform News Hub with a dynamic taxonomy, rich-media support for video, images and galleries, and a publishing experience designed for writers and editors. It was built to keep evolving: the News Hub at six months was never going to be the News Hub at launch.

Outcomes & Legacy

In its first week, the News Hub averaged 3,900 unique visitors per business day, up 10%. Homepage bounce rate was 40.23%, down from 71% site-wide, and users averaged 4.79 page views (7.21 in the News Archive, up from 2.2). After three months, total visits were up 108%, page views up 98%, average page views up 5x and return visitors up 468%.

Check out the live site