Project Description
Project Brief
Don Sikorski, CEO of Go to Ground News (G2G), had developed a library of video content, over many years, centering on conflict in America.
The vision of G2G was to be a “startup news aggregator, content incubator, and media company focusing on reporting breaking news and vital, conflict-driven stories as they unfold inside the underbelly of America.”
So G2G needed to establish its digital presence and experience, and turned to Stormhold’s team of millennials, who completely understood G2G’s vision and mission.
Design Samples
Approach
Understanding that G2G required methods to deliver its content to a primarily millennial audience via the web, social media, and other platforms, Stormhold mobilized its millennials team.
Following a comprehensive review of the industry, the Stormhold team analyzed the competitors: Vice Media, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post.
The approach would be to develop a site that was similar, but unique, offering content and visual metaphor that the competitors did not have.
In particular, the team, working with the client, determined that breaking up each “War Reporting in America” documentary into 5 to 8 minute short-film segments, and delivering each segment over defined periods, would be the most effective method. The key would then be to design a continuously updated news site around that intent and framework.
The information architecture would be somewhat unique; G2G as a startup needed to drive cost efficiency in situations of minimal traffic, but at the same time needed to handle huge spikes of traffic – this required significant architectural planning.
According to Stormhold’s G2G team lead, Tyler Bisset, “We needed to give G2G, as a news organization centering on War Reporting in America, a bold look, with ‘In-Your-Face’ colors, so we chose a red and black in an aggressive style.”
Critical elements included external RSS feed integration with automated attribution, formatting and styling was a cornerstone of the site; creation of an enhanced library capable of curating G2G’s extensive media collection; and animated banners with effects including “Ken Burns Zoom” and parallax scrolling.
Finally, key components included seamless YouTube integration, offering up embedded videos in a responsive-design-friendly format, and social media integration, enabling G2G editors to bidirectionally publish, on an automated basis, between the G2G site and Facebook and Twitter (a very cool custom integration!).
Capabilities Employed
Great Experience
The Go to Ground site gives users the information they need in a format that exactly suits their lifestyle.
They are on-the-go millennials who tag the G2G site and keep it as their one-stop-shop for news and current events in our conflict-aware society.
More than a news site, G2G is an Internet location that seeks to “do good work” by exposing issues that otherwise might not see daylight, using a variety of compelling story-telling methods.
By establishing the digital presence of Go to Ground News, Stormhold has given the startup a huge advantage in an extremely competitive and established space.
Overjoyed Client
Don’t take our word for it!
According to Don Sikorski, CEO of Go to Ground News, “The team at Stormhold really delivered! I was looking for a site that would promote the content that we’ve developed over many years, and with the same level of care and craftsmanship that we put into our videos. I’ve worked with many creative teams over the years, and these folks are absolutely at the top of their game. I have no hesitation recommending their firm for a great digital experience.”
