CNBC?s newly redesigned app hones in on personalization, video
Business news television channel CNBC has redesigned its mobile application to perfect its video-playing capabilities and allow for user personalization at a time where a tailored user experience has never been more crucial.
The iOS universal app features enhanced video offerings and a playlist experience along with personalized stock watch lists. As CNBC expects its audience to continue seeking news content on mobile devices more frequently in the future, the news provider aims to create an experience on the app that involves every piece of news content that is released.
"We are a very video-centric brand,? said Kevin Krim, general manager and senior vice president of digital at CNBC. ?As the leading business news provider on TV and one of the biggest financial news and information players in digital, we know that our sophisticated audience of business leaders and affluent investors are trying to stay in constant contact with us throughout their day, across multiple screens.
?They watch CNBC as they get ready in the morning, are on our mobile apps during their commutes, while grabbing lunch or in meetings and then watch CNBC and are on CNBC.com at work.?
User adaptability
The newly redesigned app is available for free on all iOS 7 and above devices.
In response to an audience that highly values video and TV, CNBC enabled enhanced video offerings and playlist experiences.
Users can subscribe to CNBC?s live Tv Everywhere programming and watch the day?s Top, Latest and Most Popular video news clips. The app also hosts free, full-length episodes of Mad Money with Jim Cramer and CNBC?s primetime programs, including The Profit and Restaurant Startup.
A new tool, the Video Playlist, allows users to create customized video lists through single taps. Users can tap the Add to Playlist icon to build a playlist that continuously plays.
AirPlay is available for all video, which enables to play wirelessly from app to HDTV with Apple TV.
Before the redesign, users could view stock watchlists, and now those lists can be personalized based on the user. Users can create and track their own favorite stocks, bonds and currencies in real time, whether it is stocks they own or stocks dealing with their business.
These lists can be managed by volume, percent change or alphabetization for easy reference and usability.
Comprehensive and integrated charts will now be featured in high resolution and equipped with pinch and zoom capabilities. The chart interfaces are now adjustable and can be customized according to time horizons, style, event overlays and upper or lower indicators.
The advertising sphere
Through the new redesign, CNBC?s iOS app?s video capabilities open a realm of possibilities for its advertisers.
These partnering companies value video opportunities and will now be able to integrate their video ads seamlessly alongside CNBC?s editorial content.
Media companies have been working towards these goals of integrating video ads.
In fact, the History Channel and on-demand media streamer Netflix are a few initial experimenters to try new native ads that appear on publishing Web sites and take over the user?s entire screen.
So far, the ads have shown some success, garnering an average view time of 57 seconds. Delivered in partnership by international media and marketing solutions company Gannett and New York-based SaaS analytics company Moat, these particular ads, appearing on USAToday.com, show the brands? reliance on native advertising (see story).
Furthermore, People and Entertainment Weekly magazines hosted mobile-centric video ads to promote Fox?s TV show Gotham and saw a lift in engagement 8 times higher than traditional desktop campaigns.
The campaign ran for three days during annual event Comic-Con and utilized advertising platform Celtra to create the rich media experience, which bypassed the iOS native player and auto-streamed the video in-line with editorial content. Serving as less of a disruption than typical redirecting video ads, the campaign video garnered 5 million plays and more than 300,000 minutes of consumption (see story).
Enabling video on mobile has shown to be productive and successful for media establishments. With mobile usage growing, news providers are looking for the best ways to be profitable and present on these channels.
?The all-new CNBC iOS app gives our users a fully updated starting point on a screen that is very important to them,? Mr. Krim said.
Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York