Advanced Course Concepting Plus

AC CONCEPTING+

ARCHITECTS

Sarah Bartholomé | Victoria Finlay | James Heath | Maaike Krielaart | Müge Ömür | Lecturer

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| Dirk Hens

Table of Contents

Who we are 3 About National Geographic 4 Model “From House to Home” 6 Origins of “From House to Home”

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Applying the Model to National Geographic

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Pain Points and Opportunities 28 Individual parts: Sarah Bartholomé // Natgeractive 30 Victoria Finlay // On-The-Go app 35 James Heath // Geo Live Adventures 39 Maaike Krielaart // Exploring the geographic world together 43 Müge Omür // NatGeo 47

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Who we are Hello!

We are a group of Dutch and International students who are studying at the Fontys Academy for Creative Industries. During the Advanced Course, Concepting Plus we collaborated for our assignment to create a new model that helps build your company and brand. A creative model that helps you to become distinguishable, original and outstanding. We applied our model to National Geographic and as a result of our analysis we noticed some pain points and opportunities for National Geographic. With these in mind we advised with new concepts and recommendations which we think will benefit National Geographic as a world renowned organisation.

Thank you and have fun with reading our advice report.

James Sarah Victoria MĂźge Maaike

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About National Geographic

Basic Information National Geographic

The National Geographic Society has been inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888. It is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, and the promotion of environmental and historical conservation. (National Geographic, n.d.)

They focus on the human story, which is the idea of exploring where humans came from and discussing current and future trends in the way that we live. Additionally, they focus on critical subjects, which they discuss, celebrate and educate about all that we have on this planet.

As well as exploring the living planet, which is understanding the planet as a whole, and the way that the systems connect, they are also heavily active in the new and next, searching for answers to questions that we do not know the answers to.

National Geographic has a lot of touchpoints to reach their audience:

Television channel

— The National Geographic television channel is a channel that focuses on bringing programmes about environment and culture that educate to the masses.

They use a combination of documentary-style programmes that they have created themselves and television series-style shows that focus on anything from fishing to gold-mining. National Geographic programming is accessible around the world and available in a number of languages.

Magazine

— The National Geographic Magazine is a magazine filled with articles and photographs that show what the institution is interested in, and wants to bring audiences the attention. These articles are usually related to world news, educating people about countries and cultures emphasising the work of talented photographers. There is a main magazine, and also a children’s magazine offered physically,

subscription-based and as e-pubs.

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Events — National

Geographic also create events, which range from public speakers to museum exhibits, aimed at educating and raising awareness for the issues that the institution feels are important, based on their core values.

Social Media

— National Geographic has a Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Channel and website to inspiring people with photos, articles and videos.

National Geographic have a heavy focus on sustainability. They put emphasis on being green and helping the environment, with their own green vision: “The National Geographic Society aims to be an international leader for global conservation and environmental sustainability. Leading by example, the Society has developed green initiatives related to water, energy, recycling, and employee programs that are in line with our belief in the power of science, exploration, and storytelling to change the world.” (National Geographic Environment, n.d.)

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Model the phases 1. Architecture

2. Building

3. Decorating

4. Housewarming

Phase 1: Architecture This is the first phase of creating your new home. It begins with designing the house. Through defining the fundamentals, you are going to find your ‘Why?’

Step 1: Location and Foundations When you are building a house, you start looking for your dream location. Where do you want to live? Do you want a quiet street, or a busy life in the city? Why this place?

Before building begins, you need to choose somewhere that represents your ideal lifestyle.

It is going to be a place that, in time, you will call home. Therefore, to be able to withstand the effects of time and all potential threats, it is imperative to build strong and lasting foundations on your ideal plot of land.

Just in the same way, every company begins with an ideology; long term success and achievement are built from the ground up. The core ideology

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must be unshakeable and give purpose to your business as it does your home.

Whether you want to build a shack by the beach or a lodge in the forest, it all begins with a location and strong foundations.

Simply ask yourself:

why will you do business?

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Step 2: Design Draft

middle of the city.

Brilliant! Now that you have chosen the ideal location for your house and the purpose behind your great ideas in answering the question, ‘why?’, it’s time to design! So take out your drawing equipment, sketch book, colouring pencils and paintbrushes.

For your business, the draft will take your core ideology; expand and compartmentalise it into a series of values. These will be the principles that will guide your progress; statements for the company to live by that cannot be wavered or compromised by the allure of financial gains.

It is important to remember, though, that your design must be a reflection of your location. It is not ideal to build a hunting lodge in the

Your values take the form of unique, simple and authentic statements that express your beliefs; in effect they are your initial design.

STEP 3: Blueprint Now we’re at the point where all creative ideas and the essence come together as one big master plan - the blueprint, so I hope you did your math homework! Bust out your ruler and use the right formulas because this will be the final design going forward for your brand new house.

To be built according to plan, you must provide clear direction for the builders and depict a

| 9 vision for the house’s future. A business is no different and requires its own blueprint, a statement that defines current mission and another that indicates future vision. These statements are a representation of the core ideology and a summation of the core values, driving the business and motivating employees.

Therefore your mission statement should explain why your business exists, and your vision statement should propose where you see your business going.

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Phase 2: building Designing is done! You are now going to build your house.

Bricklaying

What activities are most important when building your house? Don’t forget, your house needs strong walls, a roof and rooms.

The building phase represents all facets of construction from materials to mortgage, What are the key activities of your each one a building block on your way companies? to completing your house. At this is the stage you must adhere to the blueprints, Bricks and Mortar to construct a physical framework that When you are building a house, you should strive to make it your keeps the essence and your ‘why’ intact.

Construction Companies

Where do you source your building materials?

What stores will be most helpful in completing the building phase of your house? Do you have a loyalty card that allows you to get a discount?

Who are your key partners?

own. Your house shouldn’t look like all of the other houses on the street.

Which assets are important / necessary in order to create the value proposition?

Brand New Home

Which parts of your house are unique? Why is your house special in comparison to the other houses on the street?

What does you company offer?

Neighbours

A good neighbour is worth more than a distant friend.

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Who are your customers, and what kind of relationship do you have with them?

Mortgage

How are you financing your house? Do you rent it, or is it a home that you have purchased?

Are you renting out guest rooms in order to earn extra revenue?

What are the costs for your company, and what revenue streams do you expect to have?

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Phase 3: decorating

Your house is finally built; from the architecture to foundations you have designed and created your beautiful new house. You have built it with passion and hard work, and it is time to transform the bare bones of your house into a cosy home where visitors will feel welcomed and comforted. It’s time make your house a home.

You want your house to be unique, to be different from every other house on the street.

You want to distinguish yourself from your neighbours and create a place that others love and admire. How? Decorate it with things that you love, add your own creativity, create a place that friends and guests want to visit.

It is essential to distinguish yourself from competitor companies; you need to stand out in what you do. The company should be individual, with your own personal touch visible in each product/service design and concept.

Always be sure: To be consistent with company values, create a theme and brand, Balance achieving goals with maintaining a loyal and emotional connection to consumers, Consider the importance of engaging the senses.

It’s all about the Feng Shui.

Wallpaper It is not enough to leave your room

bare, your walls may be strong but they are bare; you need to make them attractive and appealing. Pick out the perfect wallpaper that completes the room, one that links it all together, theming your home into one solid and attractive product.

In today’s economy, simply providing a product is no longer enough. You need to provide your consumers with a service, a full package.

In doing this successfully, you can provide consumers with a company that is specialised and offers more than the customer expects.

How will you provide a complete and engaging product or service that is up to date, relevant that anticipates consumer needs?

That of course, is in keeping to the core values.

Colour Scheme

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There are many ways to make your house a home, and one way to make it unique is the colours that you choose to dress the room in. From the carpeting to the colour of your furniture, colour scheme is something that you can control, and is a tool that you can use to make your home as unique as possible.

In order to be successful nowadays, companies need to stand out from the crowd. This can be done via customer interaction, an original service, or simply through providing unique products. These things will all make your company stand out among the thousands of other businesses that are active today.

What makes you special? How will you set yourself apart from the competition?

What is the impact you wish to have with your product?

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Furniture

There’s nothing easier than creating comfort in your home. You want people to feel warm and cosy in your new abode, so scatter some cushions around for people to get comfortable!

Your customer should be the most important aspect of your company. They determine your success and are often your biggest critics.

Considering this, you should always think about how you can make them feel valued. Are there ways in which you can make the lives of

your customers any easier, or can your reward them via a loyalty scheme? Recognising and celebrating your customers makes them feel more valued, and will likely result in repeat business.

In what way will the customer feel valued? What will the customer love and respect about the product or service? How are you emotionally relatable, considerate and loyal?

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Phase 4: housewarming The big day has arrived: your Dress For the Occasion Are these people you know and love, see from housewarming! Today you will show the time to time, or are yet to get to know? Either whole world and all of your loved ones way you, yourself, must look the part. You the home that you have worked so hard must purchase an outfit that is Distinct, yet recognisable. Trendy, but timeless. to create. You have grafted, built and decorated, transforming the structure from a house to a home. Only one question Talk smooth and look sharp. now remains: how do you invite them Businesses must dress themselves up in a way that consumers along? Do you send out invitations, post it on Facebook, how will you spread your will continually recognise and associate your product message to the world? to your business. This This is the final phase of the house-to-home concept. At this stage, you will unveil your company to the world, showcasing your new business venture and what it has to offer, in total alignment to the company’s core ideologies and values.

is achieved through branding; utilising colours, themes, logos and shapes to consistently tie together all that is associated with you

16 | and your business. It is important to take time during this step to really consider what visual representations you will be associated with and the emotive impacts of your design/theme.

communication and printed media at this stage as well.

This is the point where you will express an emotional connection, utilising your branding and message to bring the company and customer together.

How will you brand yourself? Do you have a logo and theme associated with the brand and is it emotionally relatable? How How does your company invite people to are you engaging the senses and creating use the products or service? Does it ignite intimacy with your target audience? the customers emotional affiliation with the company, products and brand?

Invitations

You need to decide how you are inviting your guests. Will you do it online, through word-ofmouth or through paper invitations?

The main concern at this stage is how to market your brand to the consumers of the world. The communication tools used should relate back to the company, as well as tying into the core ideologies and values of the company itself.

For instance, if you market yourself as being a company interested in green matters, then you should not print thousands of flyers on paper.

You should also think about the promotional materials in terms of social media, offline

Socialise

Lastly, it’s important to also enjoy the party and be a part of the fun. Walk around your party, see what people are doing, have a drink have a chat and find out if people are having a good time and ask them what they think about your new home.

It is essential to continually source feedback in regards to products, services and the company in general to understand the customer’s perception and highlight the areas that could be enhanced. Its important to always be ready to adapt - in this technologically fast-paced world, falling behind is all too easy. So stay up to date and understand what people want and how they want it.

Do you have a feedback system? Do you have a self-review system? Are you up to date and meeting the consumers’ demands?

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Origins of the model

House to Home is a concept designed to be a thorough and all encompassing model, that pulls together the crucial points from a number of different business models that were analysed as a part of our concepting class.

It was agreed that we wanted the theory to not just be a step by step process a but a guide on how to

build a successful company and shape it into something loveable.

Built to Last and Golden Circle

After our analysis and presentation of the ‘Built to Last’ theory, it became evident that our model must include the critical aspect of determining the Why? To emulate the success of companies such as HP and Motorola a company

must state what it values and what it defines as its core ideology. The result being a guiding light for employees inspiration beyond any financial motivation, giving meaning to the actions of the company and its employees.

We aligned with the idea that it is important that before creation, there must be clear and consistent values as well as a core ideology for a company to live by. As these beliefs are in essence the fundamentals, reflected through every aspect of the company, they are grand design.

This led us to a concept of designing before construction, like creating a guide or blueprint from which all will be built.

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Benefit Ladder

LoveMarks

• Emotional Benefits - How it makes the customer feel?

• Functional Benefits - What the customer gets?

• Product Benefits- What the product actually does?

• Product Attributes- What are the unique qualities of the product?

The Love marks theory is based on the two axis of Respect and Love, and indicates that achieving high levels will see a customer devotion beyond reasoning. This adoration leaves

To expand our concept, we researched into the Benefit Ladder, a model which focuses on the areas of which the each stakeholder benefits by analysing the company against the following:

A specific method which we looked to include in our model and can be seen throughout the 4 Phases, in an order that could achieve the best results.

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As we began to assess modern companies and their branding methods such as Apple, the power of “Love Marks” and the importance of creating an ongoing clientele by establishing an emotional connection was undeniable.

the customer willing to sacrifice other necessities for a company, product or brand, by making use of sensuality, mystery and intimacy.

Aspects of the LoveMarks theory were implemented within our Decorating Phase, to really drive the concept of taking a house and turning it into a home. Love, intimacy and respect is feeling at home and will emphasise what makes your company special in the eyes of your customers.

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Applying the model to Phase 1: architecture

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Strong foundations: Why will you do business?

“The National Geographic Society has been inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888. It is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, and the promotion of environmental and historical conservation.�

(National Geographic, n.d.)

Core ideology The core Ideology is the foundation of a company, it is the roots that define the core values, purpose, vision and mission.

Each of these factors are strongly linked and intertwined as they give reason to why the company exists. They are a guide to towards the bigger picture, ensuring Step 2: Design draft that the company will remain future Core Values proof whilst keeping to its original vision. (Mello, Mafrici, Minhas, Step 1: Location and Foundations Location: international brand

& Recognisability

& Walker, 2014)

Heritage, visuals, empathy, content, wonder and

awe.

125 years of publication has provided NG with a firm seat as one of the most influential magazines of our time. Through consistency in their content, tone and imagery, the magazine has become synonymous with awe inspiring photography and thought.

& Differentiation

Exploration, education, quality, natural world.

NG has managed to differentiate itself from its competitors by maintaining an unfaltering level of quality throughout their publications, maintaining their position as leaders in the field of nature photography and exploration.

& Beliefs and values

Sustainability, conservation, neutrality, honesty, pioneering.

The magazine has always justify efforts of conservation, inspiring others to be believers of sustainable living. They are always at the heart of the cultural and ecological issues they cover and maintain a strict policy of honesty and neutrality.

& Identity

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Discovery, maturity, friendly, trustworthy.

NG is a mature brand with many loyal followers.

They understand their customer base and appeal to their sensibilities with understated, mind expanding content focusing on discovery and exploration.

Step 3: Blueprint Vision statement: “The worlds and all that is in it is our theme.�

– Alexander Graham Bell (one of the founders of National Geographic)

From the creation of the company, the core focus has been showing the world as it is.

Although many things have changed within our world through the brands life, this core belief has remained. NG have held particular interest in the environment, culture and global issues over the years, while regarding the education of individuals with awe-inspiring and empathetic information to be the best means of solving large scale issues. For NG, heavy stress is placed on the education of the public

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| on international issues through the enjoyment of learning, opposed the guilt of a situation; providing facts and understanding so that individuals can form their own opinion and act out of their own will.

Mission “Collectively exploring our world through technology” Collective

The crowdsourcing and social trends all point towards the creation of community, utilising the idea of a group of people collectively working together

Exploring

Exploring is the essence of NG. It’s what they’ve funded, recorded and promoted throughout their history

‘Our’ world

This is the content. Alexander Graham Bell (one of the founders of NG) once said ‘The world and all that is in it is our theme’, with ‘our’ particularly hinting at exploring together.

Technology

NG used to be a pioneer through the technology they used. Reinvigorating them with a new wave of tech, where the limits are pushed, would take them back to their roots but in a new age.

phase 2 building Constructions companies

Blancpain || Canon U.S.A || Davidoff || Geico Google || Oracle || PNC || Shell Swedish Postcode Lottery

National Geographic have a wide range of photographers working for them, who are featured on the site. They take photographs that showcase the world we live in, and are featured on all platforms that they company own.

Bricklaying

Inspiring people to care about the planet.

Bricks and Mortar

The reliability of their information and

how they inform the people to care about the planet.

Brand new home

* They offer a Committee for Research and Exploration, which is a committee that awards people with advanced degrees a grant of money to do research into scientific field theories.

The research is usually of an educational nature. * National Geographic also offer an education foundation. This foundation awards grants to further and promote geographic education in the US and Canada. This foundation supports state and place-based programmes, educational resources and professional development and communications, research and policy. * There is also a Conservation Trust, which has a grant programme that is given to people in order to further and improve conservation efforts and other issues of global concern.

This applies to both wildlife and the planet itself. They have Greendex, which is a survey that shows how green the surveyed countries are, giving them a rank based on how green they are / how they are becoming.

| 23 * National Geographic also offer events, which range from public speakers to museum exhibits, aimed at educating and raising awareness for the issues that the institution feels are important based on their core values. * National Geographic offers magazines. The National Geographic Magazine is a magazine filled with articles and photographs that show what the institution is interested in, and wants to bring into the limelight. These articles are usually related to world news, educating people about other countries and cultures and bringing the work of nature photographers into the spotlight. There is a main magazine, and also a children’s magazine.

The magazines are subscription-based and are also available as e-pubs. * The National Geographic television channel is a channel that focuses on bringing programmes about environment and culture that educate to the masses. They use a combination of documentary-style programmes that they have created themselves and television seriesstyle shows that focus on anything from fishing to gold-mining. There are versions of this channel for multiple countries, including the Netherlands.

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Target group of National Geographic: * Between ages 35 and 49, high educated. * 52 % is men, 48 % is woman. * They have a high income. * Interested in photography, history, culture, nature, sustainability and organic food and drinks. * They travel a lot. * Attach great importance to the world around them.

Mortgage

Costs for to produce the magazine, television channels, events, promotion, advertising, salary for their employments and website They get money with their magazines, Books, Products, Contributions, Federal grants and sponsors.

Source: Issuu.com (2014)

phase 3 decorating Wallpaper

National Geographic give their customer a complete and well-rounded package. They provide a service that is modern, up-to-date and rolls with the times for the most part. They do this by introducing multiple formats, engaging news that makes use of the many photographers that they have. This makes their website, magazine

and television channel engaging and exciting, with many visuals that place the consumer in the shoes of the people who work at National Geographic. It allows them to see the world from the comfort of their own house. This shows that they are thinking of their consumers, particularly the ones that cannot simply leave the house and travel to some of the areas that they show through their attractive media.

Additionally, they do not come across as fake or ‘empty’. They decorate their company with these things, but they ensure that what they post keeps in line with the core ideologies that they have kept to over the years. This makes them reliable and keeps them as a strong brand - not just a shell without any personality.

Colour Scheme

National Geographic are all about education - they want to educate the people about the amazing world that we all live on. This is done through the multiple channels that they have and is what makes them unique in a sense - they keep very strongly to their core values, and report as accurately as possible. Where other companies may focus solely on monetary gain, National Geographic focuses on creating an

| 25 exciting and engaging learning environment that fits in with the strong core values that they have based the organisation on.

Additionally, National Geographic have managed to create the impression that they are ‘‘a trusted and reliable source of important information’’ (National Geographic, 2015) they do not attempt to create sensationalism or dramaticise things in order to sell issues.

They simply wish to educate in such a way that the real, important issues about the world are conveyed without any confusion or sensationalism. This is what sets them apart from the rest of the world of geographic news.

Furniture

An important aspect of businesses is connecting with their consumers, making them feel comfortable. National Geographic do this through the content on their site. Not only do they post news that people can read, they also post things that people can relate to on a personal level, such as travel advice. They also have ‘Your Shot’’, which is a way in which National Geographic fans who are also budding photographers can get involved by submitting their own photographs to ‘assignments’ that

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| are given. This allows the fans to feel like they are contributing to the content of the organisation, which will automatically create a more personal connection between themselves and the organisation.

Another way in which this may be shown is through the finding and grants that they offer.

This allows for professionals who use National Geographic to further their research with the help of the organisation. In short, National Geographic is giving back to the people that they care about, as well as keeping their selfimage as a company that wants to contribute to learning.

phase 4 housewarming Dress For the Occasion

National Geographic have been around for years now, and have carved themselves out an image in the world. They have an easily recognisable logo, which is simplistic and doesn’t confuse the consumer. They use this logo throughout all of their platforms. It is a small yellow frame, but the middle is empty – this could signify the constant quest for more knowledge – and it

has the brand name beside it. This creates an instant sense for the consumer as to what brand they are looking at.

Additionally, both through the website and through their small social media platforms, National Geographic try to actively engage the consumers by asking questions, starting conversation and generally creating a more intimate and talkative atmosphere.

Invitations

National Geographic have a large spread when it comes to how to invite people to use their brand. Firstly, they haver their television channel, which is advertised on other television channels and may drive people towards the other outlets as well. The television channel itself is also a promotional tool, as they frequently show advertisements for the website and the magazine amongst other things. The television adverts for National Geographic tend to use atmospheric shots of interesting or intriguing pieces of discovery, animals or space travel in order to grab the attention of the viewer (Youtube, 2011). In particular, the shots of animals will resonate well with viewers, giving them an instant connection to the brand.

As well as television, National Geographic also run several social media platforms, which are also doubling up as advertising channels.

These work as they constantly post and engage with the people on the page. Additionally, they also have paper advertisements, which follow in a similar vein and use the photography to make the piece more attractive to the potential consumers.

Socialise

Although it can be difficult to find, National Geographic do have a feedback system which allows readers, viewers and users of the website to give their opinions to the organisation (Kampyle, n.d). It is possible that this is not visible enough, but it does allow for feedback.

For the most part, National Geographic are keeping up with the times by utilising social media and the internet in general, but they are a little behind when it comes to addressing issues such as information overload, the introduction of Generation Z and the lack of an all-encompassing app. This is something that may hinder National Geographic in the future, as they can be seen as slow and old.

references

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• Kampyle (n.d). National Geographic Feedback Form. Retreived 19 June 2015, from https:// www.kampyle.com/feedback_form/ff-feedbackform.php?site_code=7708904&lang=en&form_ id=61997 • Mello, R. D., Mafrici, R., Minhas, T., & Walker, D. (2014, September). National Geographic Brand Report. Retrieved from www. issuu.com: http://issuu.com/lukefirth/docs/ luke_firth_group_ng_report • National Geographic (n.d.). About us.

Retrieved 9 June 2015, from: http://www. nationalgeographic.com/about/ • National Geographic (n.d). National Geographic Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2015 from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/ advertising.html • Youtube (2011). National geographic channel commercial. Retrieved 19 June 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzbSuMcPmnc

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Pain points & opportunities

Pain point 1 Decreasing magazine sales

The first pain point we noticed occurred between the Building Phase and Decorating phase as we assed the current range of products that National Geographic currently offered and analysed it against their financials (mortgage section). What was observed was that the National Geographic’s primary source of income was through their magazine sales, which upon research into the print industry is currently in decline.

This is a serious threat the National Geographic brand, if it is continue to generate sufficient revenue, it is imperative that this ‘Building Phase issue’ is acknowledged.

Ultimately there is a huge opportunity in terms of finding a new methodology and new products that meeting consumer demand as well as ensure the companies financial future.

pain point 2 Digital Domination

Second issue that came into light was National Geographic’s insufficient digital options, resulting from a direct analysis of the organisations decorating tools. After looking at the companies Wallpaper it was clear that they were not providing an all encompassing product range, in particular their app and smartphone options. Although, applications for National Geographic branded games are offered; there is not a specific app that provides a source for NG related shows and articles.

The opportunity left could fill the void left in the ‘decorating phase’ while enhancing aspects the ‘housewarming phase’ by inviting consumers in dynamic and relevant ways.

Pain point 3 A Social Reality

Our third pain point become apparent during the Decorating Phase as we noticed National Geographic’s inability to meet consumer need in a particular age bracket Lacking the love and respect factor of its younger audience. the organisation is currently failing to provide the right furniture, not providing a comfortable place for the young to rest their minds.

Exploring the opportunities in regards to current youth trends, tastes and demands could see an opportunity to take the level of love & respect as a brand by youth through catered options.

Pain point 4 Generation Z

After analysing the Housewarming phase against National Geographic’s current methodology, there was a clear gap between its current audience and potential audience. This gap is missing a generation that does acknowledge National Geographic as being relevant to their

| 29 lives. There is a clear opportunity in the way that National Geographic is interacting with this defiant generation, with improvement need in their use of Invitation Tools.

Painpoint 5 Information Overload

Similarly to pain point 1, the last pain point was highlighted in mostly the Building Phase but also within the Decorating Phase. It was found that National Geographic was failing to counter the current information overload suffered in the modern society and therein lies an opportunity for the National Geographic society to set itself apart from competitors and actively embrace the issue, its time for a redesigned Colour Scheme and Wallpaper.

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Individual part

Sarah bartholomé

natgeractive

Pain Point: Decreasing magazine sales

Even though the sales of physic magazines are decreasing, according to the Brand Report of NG (2014) physic prints are still NG’s biggest income. As a matter of fact, this is really contradictive because people are losing interest in buying physical magazines to have access to qualitative content. They are not willing to pay more money for getting the magazines as a physical copy.

Like is discussed in the brand report of NG (Mello, Mafrici, Minhas, & Walker, 2014) consumers are moving to free tech. People feel that paid-for magazines were worth the cost while also offering more relevant information.

This number has the potential to decrease: with the rise of free information on the web, people may start to feel that magazines simply aren’t worth the extra cost. Also people think that you can find all the content from print and digital magazines online.

Source: Issuu.com (2014) For years, NG had a lot of success with their magazines. Besides nature and photography, magazines is one of the three words that pops up in people mind (Mello, Mafrici, Minhas, & Walker, 2014). Also quality content is what they are known for. But NG’s long heritage now slightly leads to boundaries to keep up with the familiar digitalization. At this point, the society moved into a diverse range of touch points, moved online. In the Brand Report of

NG (Mello, Mafrici, Minhas, & Walker, 2014), if given the choice between reading articles on a physical publication or through a digital medium, most of the people prefer a digital medium in top of a physical publication.

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these technologies. With Natgeractive, they keep up with the technology efficiently and creates more in-depth stories through multiple perspectives and with gaming elements. It makes the public more involved and engaged and allows more perspective in in the stories and topics that NG wants to tell to their public.

Concept: Natgeractive

Source: Issuu.com It is clear that NG needs to step up their game on the digital front and make use of future technologies to push these boundaries by using documentary storytelling in the age of the interface and still keep their strong brand awareness (DocLab, n.d.). In their mission, as we discovered in our model “From House to Home”, they claim to collectively exploring ‘our’ world through technology, but they need to step up a little more than that by emerging

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Emerging technologies make NG’s brand values and objectives easier to achieve and in much more exciting and engaging ways. At the moment NG has implement some innovative techniques, but don’t use them in the efficient way they could. Instead of buying a (physical) magazine and just read about the discussed topic, interactive documentaries could offer so much more opportunities for NG. This could fit in the interest and success where physical Magazines seem to lack: people feel that free magazines are as good as paid ones and think they can find the content from print and digital magazines online. They are less willing to pay for physical magazines. With the concept “Natgeractive”, implementing interactive documentaries is a new and distinguished way to tell stories in visually exciting, multiple

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| format-friendly ways (Submarine, n.d.). And with investment capital available, NG have the budget to realize this concept.

The Natgeractives that NG produce could look like interactive documentaries that already exist. Projects like Last Hijack and Refugee Republic, created by the Submarine Channel, are great examples for successful projects.

These examples are free online transmedia experiences, which both contain film and interactive elements.

Last Hijack is about piracy in Somalia, the interface allows users to view the same story from multiple perspectives. Project Refugee Republic even ended first in the category Best Storytelling by VOJN (Association Online Journalists of the Netherlands) (Volkskrant, 2015). It is about an interactive transmedia documentary about everyday life in Domiz Camp, a Syrian refugee camp in northern Iraq. This proves how successful interactive documentaries can be.

What can be interesting for NG, is creating a platform for interactive stories: There are many ways to visualize Natgeractives.

NG could choose produce an interactive design depending on the subject the documentary got.

For instance, an interactive timeline the users can go through by using their keyboard or touchpad, elements they can click/tap on and choose their own way to follow the documentary, chronological or in mixed order. Another option for the interface could be a world map users can go to the places where the documentary takes place.

Elements in the Natgeractives can be: videos with (personal) stories, relevant (news) articles, photos with voice-overs, audio recordings, different perspectives from interviewees, music and educative mini-games.

A whole interactive database

In the bigger picture, NG uses a world map and with the NG logos visible on the map.

Users can click on the NG logos to follow a complete interactive documentary out of the NG database. For NG’s income, people pay an amount of money to get access to these documentaries, for example for 24 hours. In addition, it is possible to create room for discussion right after the interactive documentary on a discussion panel on the website.

Persona Sophia van Mare (24)

Demographic:

happy single, lives in an apartment in Utrecht, owns a cat, highly educated: just finished her master program in Cultural Anthropology on Utrecht University, has an average income by working as a waitress at Bibelot (French restaurant), her hobbies are fitness, walking in the nature, meet friends and family.

Geographic:

Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Personal background:

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As a girl, Sophia grew up in Soest. As the oldest of 1 brother and 1 sister, she always took care of her siblings. Her parents worked a lot, now retired, they have more time to spend with their grown kids. Sophia’s sister was adopted when Sophia was 6. Still, she has a close bond with her adopted sister whose origins are in Mexico. That’s the trigger why Sophia is interested in intercultural behaviour. She wants to get into the history and cultural factors of Mexico and thinks that her study of Cultural Anthropology helps her with understanding.

“I haven’t a lot of spare time due to my work and study, so I mostly look for short docs about Mexico online.”

Her dream is to travel to Mexico sometimes to understand the Mexican culture. But for that she needs to save money and do some preliminary research about Mexico. As a child, Sophia watched the National Geographic Channel to find more information about cultures. Unfortunately as a driven worker and student, she hasn’t enough time to fully read the magazines. She is also less interested, because mostly they contain a lot of text: too much to read in

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| her short amount of time. And because of her savings, she doesn’t quickly subscribe for National Geographic. In this case, she prefers searching alternative free sources to figure out more about Mexico. She reads free articles Geographic on the NG’s their website.

“Even though the content of National Geographic’s articles always are qualitative, I don’t feel like spending money on them to read it. There are enough free sources to find on the internet with similar quality.”

A few days ago Sophia received a mail from National Geographic about a new way to watch and read about topics: Natgeractives.

It seems to be a new way to experience the documentaries, because they are interactive. It immediately grabs her attention, because it is a more immersive way to watch documentaries.

The mail explains that NG want their (free) subscribers to enjoy the first Natgeractive and offer them this one for free. The topic is about Neza-Chalco-Itza, Mexican’s largest slum in the world with roughly four million people.

This is definitely a topic she want to get more information about. She likes the user-friendly interface, where on a map of the slum she can click on areas to discover the personal stories behind people living there. With videos with

interviews of the people, pages of diaries, photos made in the slums, the really gets involved in the story. She also likes that she can control in which order she follows the story and discover everything. She is glad with this way of watching and interacting with a documentary and hope that more Natgeractives will follow.

References

• DocLab. (n.d.). About IDFA DocLab. Retrieved from www.doclab.org: http://www.doclab.org/ about/ • Mello, R. D., Mafrici, R., Minhas, T., & Walker, D. (2014, September). National Geographic Brand Report. Retrieved from www. issuu.com: http://issuu.com/lukefirth/docs/ luke_firth_group_ng_report • Submarine. (n.d.). Submarine Channel.

Retrieved from www.submarinechannel.com: http://www.submarine.nl/#!/channel/ • Volkskrant, d. (2015, June 12). Interactieve docu Refugee Republic wint eerste prijs. de Volkskrant. Retrieved from http:// www.volkskrant.nl/media/interactievedocumentaire-refugee-republic-wint-eersteprijs~a4074909/

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Individual part Pain Point: Digital Domination Upon analysing the organisation through our concepting model, we found that there were a few pain points to be addressed within the National Geographic framework. The pain point that I will be discussing is linked to the fact that, despite the fact that they are a multi-national organisation, National Geographic is not moving with the times as quickly as they should be. They have multiple apps for games, and a few apps for specific regions, but there is not an app available for all when it comes to television and news articles. As this would be a very strong aspect of the housewarming stage – it would invite people to use the company in a different way than normal – this is a serious gap for the organisation, especially considering that we live in a digitally dominated world. Recent statistics show that 90% of American adults use mobile phones, and 64% own some form of

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Victoria finlay

on-The-Go app smartphone (Pew Research Centre, 2013), which is a large chunk of the organisation. Between 2009 and 2013, Research was conducted that suggested the number of apps downloaded was “expected to reach 268.69 billion in 2017” (Statista, 2015), which shows the massive reach that apps can have for a company. Without the addition of an app, National Geographic is putting itself at risk of seeming too oldfashioned, something which may turn existing customers to a different brand to get the same news. Instead of ignoring this factor, National Geographic should be embracing the digital age and making it easier for their consumers to get information as conveniently as possible.

Concept National Geographic on-the-Go The concept that I have created to eradicate this pain point is the ‘National Geographic On-The-Go’ app. This app is designed for

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| existing fans of National Geographic, allowing them to have an easy way to access information and television shows. There will be two main sections of the app: articles and television.

The articles section will be linked with the articles section of the website, and will provide users with an easy way to search and browse articles on the app without having to travel to the website via their mobile browser.

It will also contain a subscription-style notification system, where users can subscribe to specific topics or keywords that interest them. When any articles are posted that correlate with that keyword, the user is sent a push notification direct to their smartphone.

The television section will contain a timetable of shows for the region / country that they are in. It will also contain a streaming service that allows users to watch television shows that National Geographic air via the app whilst they are on the go. The app will be enhanced for all operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.) and will be available through all major app stores. It will also be available for download through the main website of choice for those who do not have an app store installed on their smartphone / tablet of choice.

This app is one that promotes building a brand resonance from the ground up, rather than just throwing something out there to keep the consumer happy. It will use main aspects of the ‘building a house’ stages, such as looking at the vision and mission and staying true to these as you build from the foundation up. It looks at what customers need, and not what the company thinks the customer needs. In a world where everyone is becoming increasingly busy and more people are working, it allows the everyday consumer to catch up on news while they travel, rather than having to visit the main site, which sometimes does not work with certain mobile browsers. This allows them to become fonder of the brand, as they are doing something to make like easier for the consumers – they are thinking of them more as ‘neighbours’ than as consumers. It also allows National Geographic to update their brand image, as they will be buying into the modern notion of the digital age.

Persona Olivia Lyons (27)

| 37 Demographic: mother of one, married. Works as a bank manager. Has a relatively high income, but no time to travel the world.

Geographic:

Battersea, London (United Kingdom)

Personal:

Grew up in a rural farmland area, where her love for animals was cultivated at a young age. Moved to London when she met her husband, and set up family there. Her days now consist of looking after her toddler and spending time travelling to and from work via the London Underground / Overground systems.

Technical Apparatus:

iPad, iPhone, company work phone, laptop, desktop computer, Samsung SmartTV television.

27-year old Olivia is a mother of a toddler, but also works as a bank manager in central London order to supplement her husband’s income. As an avid animal lover, she enjoys reading the articles on National Geographic.

She also watches the National Geographic channel on her television. However, Olivia has an issue – she is always extremely busy and doesn’t always have the time to sit in front of the television or her laptop in order to get

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| her National Geographic fix. To make matters worse, her smartphone does not work well with the website as it is not optimised for her mobile browser. With her morning commute to the office being an hour long, she has been waiting for National Geographic finding a way to fix this so that she can check her favourite topics and watch television on the go.

On one of her morning commutes, Olivia is using her Facebook app when she notices that National Geographic have created an app for people who want to get the latest news on the go. She downloads and opens this app instantly, and is taken on a quick tour of the app. She is extremely happy to see that there is a ‘follow’ function for buzzwords, and she adds the keyword ‘whales’ to her following list. She is sent several notifications about articles posted about whales, which allows her to catch up with what she missed without having to search for hours.

Additionally, Olivia also notices that she can watch her favourite shows on the go. This is very helpful for Olivia, as she can now watch Gold Rush on the train to work every morning.

This works well for Olivia, as it now means that she can watch without having to worry about the million-and-one other things she has

to do on a daily basis!

After discovering the app, Olivia finds that she can interact with the brand more than she could previously. It provides a more modern and up-to-date version of National Geographic, and also makes her feel more valued as a consumer as she can personalise, or ‘decorate’ the app to her own liking. This makes her feel like National Geographic care about what she wants as an individual. The final impact is that Olivia feels more loved and appreciated, and is more likely to recommend National Geographic to her friends.

references

• Pew Research Center. (2013). Mobile Technology Fact Sheet. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/factsheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/ • Statista. (2015). Number of mobile app downloads 2009-2017. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from http://www.statista.com/ statistics/266488/forecast-of-mobile-appdownloads/

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Individual part geo live adventures

james heath

pain point A Social Reality, The Youth Rules

Upon analysing NatGeo through the House to Home concept in particular; the decorating phase.

It became evident that the organisation was imploring a number of methods to engage its current audience and to attract new consumers, However, it was not reaching the full scope of potential viewers/users as a result of failing to anticipate new demands with its product and services.

As a result losing viewership particularly from its younger audience, disregarding the housing foundation, the core value, that is to “Illuminate and Teach all”.

As of 2012 National Geographic Society was pulling the following numbers in regards to its audience (ABC 2012): • 4.2 million print and digital editions for National Geographic

• 2.9 million app downloads for National Geographic International • 19.4 million monthly unique visitors to NationalGeographic.com • 11.7 million Facebook likes • 2.7 million Twitter followers • 5.5 million newsletter distribution

NatGeo is taking steps to ensure that it is involving itself in the digital world, having an array of social media platforms from which it attempts to reach its audience. However, when we consider NatGeo’s 2.9 million app downloads, as well as an entire monthly digital audience of 30.9 million, against Facebook’s 118 million average monthly users of their application (Nielsen 2014) we see that social media is a power player.

In this digital world, sociability is the key to engaging your audience and staying relevant, they must be given something to talk, text and tweet about.

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| “..nine of the week’s top 10 original series telecasts in adults 18-49 were reality shows” (Variety 2014)

It can be said that reality television like ‘celebritism’ is deep rooted into people lives, it is a social talking point from which common ground can be found. Sprawled all over social media are the current trends and dramas that the audience, primarily those of a younger generation, feel emotionally involved with.

Reality television can take many forms, which although is tainted with the likes of scripted and dramatised shows, can be formed to be both educational and socially fuelling. On top of this they prove to be powerful tool for viewership retention and brand affiliation and economically, can be hugely beneficial. Just as Holmes (2004) emphasises reality television makes more of a mark with people, creating more of a brand with viewers which once it is established, people come back to them again and again.

concept

geolive adventures

A live, stream only, reality show based on the adventures of a careful chosen and trained

traveller from locations around the world. A constantly accessible insight into the journey of those potentially climbing the Swiss Alps or braving the Amazonian Jungle. Just like the enduringly successful series Big Brother the format will have continual footage streamed via satellite.

GeoLive will not compromise National Geographic’s core value of integrity, as it will intentionally provide constant access without any script or dramatisation.

Furthermore the series will not have the censorship rating that television requires, portraying real life complications, issues and achievements on the Adventurers travels.

The advantage of GeoLive is it takes the benefits of a reality show, whilst maintaining the primary mission to educate and teach their audience. It is an opportunity to capture the younger audience and keep up to date with the digitally evolving media, with the potential for mobile and tablet streaming.

persona Holden caulfield (20)

Psychographic:

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Enjoys the outdoors and camping in bush, loved the series Man Vs Wild, Social media monkey, Shamefully a regular selfie taker, likes to challenge his mind and body and regularly attends the gym, watches reality tv more than a man should.

Personal:

Grew up in a semi-rural, semiresidential town, participated in boy scouts as a child, holidays consist of camping with friends, his interest in social media and ‘friends’ hindered the opportunity to go on outdoor adventures and not matter where he is he always has access to a device.

Technical Apparatus:

iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Smart television, PayTV subscription (accessible on device as well), Smart watch and a YoYo for when he needs a break from technology.

Prior to GeoLive Demographic:

Studies Bachelor of Arts: Communication and Design, His low income hinders travel options

Geographic:

Blue Mountains, Australia

“I really do love a good outdoor adventure, I just don’t have the time to go out and see the world, I currently have to juggle my studies with seeing my friends and the gym, not to mention keeping up with Big Brother”

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| During stream: “Wait what is she about to do?”

Holden was thoroughly engaged when the adventurer was about wade through a Canadian stream 8 feet away from 4 Grizzly bears, following the entire process from the GoPro attached to her head. After which when the adventurer decided to rest, he then switched apps and began to tweet about what he saw.

Although Holden was not as enthralled for the next hour he regularly switched back to check on the status of the Adventurer as he switched from application to application.

Aftermath:

“Its just like Man Vs Wild, but real! I mean who knows what could happen to these people? NatGeo has never been so exciting and controversial, but honestly it really just makes me want to recruit the boys and join them and go out on our own adventure. In fact, I’m I’m creating a Facebook group for it asap. Hey does NatGeo have a Facebook page?”

As a result of Holdens interaction with GeoLive, it not only inspired him to go see the world a reinforcement of the NatGeo values, but it gave a wider and ongoing exposure for

the National Geographic brand. Keeping the organisation a part conversations across all social media through consumer driven exposure.

references

• National Geographic 2012, National Geographic Shows 30.9 Million Worldwide Audience via Consolidated Media Report http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/24/ national-geographic-shows-30-9-millionworldwide-audience-via-consolidated-mediareport/ Viewed June 5 2015 • Nielsen 2014, Tops of 2014: Digital Media and Entertainment http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/ news/2014/tops-of-2014-digital.html Viewed June 5 2015 • Variety 2014, Reality Shows Still Dominating the Summer Program Ranking http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/realityshows-still-dominating-the-summer-programrankings-1201253251/ Viewed June 6 2015 • S Holmes, 2004 Understanding Reality Television https://books.google.nl/books?hl=en&lr=& id=wYCCP4XLF94C&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=reality +television&ots=XxWGgP6Mde&sig=W7qTyNy6blC16ZHw9VjM0Y7tj8#v=onepage&q=reality%20 television&f=false

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Individual part

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maaike krielaart

Exploring the geographic world pain point together generation z Out of our analysis we noticed a few pain points for National Geographic. One of the pain points is the Generation Z. Generation Z are more rebellious than other generations and enjoy looking for unconventional and unusual companies. As an old company, National Geographic are not as ‘unconventional’ or ‘interesting’ to the emerging generations and potential future readers. (Doorenbos, 2011)

Generation Z is an open world citizen, with great dexterity in interactive new media. They want to do something for the society, with a lot of initiative. They are the digital negatives. They live in a world of abundance and with little restrictions. There get bored quickly and they zap through life. This also means that they can quickly find and filter information. But this also means that sometimes

the information is superficially processed (Ahlers and Boender, 2011).

But how can National Geographic responding to this trend?

concept Exploring the geographic world together

National Geographic has a small community at the moment. On Facebook and on their Website.

They have a forum where people coming together to share photos, the Photo community. But when you going to check the community you see that it is very out-dated. The newest messages are most times a few months old. The Forum isn’t

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| update. Generation Z wants to share, create and help each other. We are going to build a community where people can share their world.

They are going to exploring together the world.

The community will be an online community. We create a new website where all the people can come together. It will not be a part of the National Geographic website but a whole new website. On the website people can share tips, articles, photos, vacation storiess. National Geographic can share all these creations on Facebook. This makes the Facebook a lot more personal.

National Geographic has at the moment a magazine. This magazine is made by employees who are specialized. With my concept “Exploring the Geographic world together” there will be a whole new magazine. One of the magazine will be produced by the people of the community.

All the creations of them will be merged in one magazine. There is co creation with the generation Z and the company with this addition in the concept. The magazine contains only articles, story’s, tips and photos of people who join the community. (National Geographic, n.d.)

persona eva Dekkers (25)

Hello, my name is Eva. I am 25 years old and I live in Tilburg. I am a student at the graphic design lyceum in Den Bosch. I have a big passion for photography, traveling and design.

Eva loves to make photos. She has her own company in photography. She is exploring the world through her lens. She share her photos, tips and experiences with classmates and her Facebook friends. She likes to make photos of the nature, animals and people in different countries. She wants to share her live with everybody. But the problem she has that she only shares her experience with her friend now.

She wants to meet new people. People who also have the same passion as Eva. People who can give her tips and reviews on her photos. People who share the same love as Eva. Eva is a starter with her company. At the moment she only has assignments from friends and family. She wants to grow with her company.

For example, a big exposition of her photos of Berlin. Or her photos in a travel magazine. It is a big problem for Eva that she can’t find a way to meet new people who have the same passion and dream.

“Wow, Indonesia is amazing. I want to live here my whole live. I made the most beautiful pictures of this country. My friends liked the photos on Facebook. But I want to share my photos and experiences with other people.

People who lives in different countries than me.”

| 45 When Eva went home after her vacation in Indonesia she posted her photos on Facebook and blog. All her friend comment with big compliments. One of her friends noticed her that her photos where so beautiful that she has send them to National Geographic. Eva thought, why not? I can always try. But when she went to the Facebook of National Geographic she saw the Facebook: Exploring together the Geographic world. With high expectations and a little bit of hope she clicked on the Facebook. She saw a big community. A community with people of the whole world. She saw on the Facebook the website of Exploring together the Geographic world. On the website she saw the solution of her problem. A big community with people who share the same passion. Not they only share the same passion, they help each other to create a more beautiful passion together. Eva signed up and posted her photos of Indonesia. The next days she went every hour to the website.

She saw reviews and tips beneath her photos.

Reviews and tips of people from the whole world. Also she had private messages with big compliments and questions about how she made her photos. The next few months she made friends and they helped her to make her photos more beautiful. They were so beautiful that the photos publish in the magazine of March!

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References • Frankwatching. (2011) Wie is generatie Z en hoe bereik je ze. Accessed at 10 june 2015.

Retieved from: http://www.frankwatching.com/ archive/2011/11/10/wie-is-generatie-z-enhoe-bereik-je-ze/ • Dr. Jos Ahlers, René C.W. Boender (2011) Generatie Z (1e druk) • National Geographic (n.d.) Natgeo service Accessed at 10 juni 2015. Retrieverd from: http://www.natgeoservice.nl/

Individual part Pain Point Information Overload:

After we finished our concepting model, we found some pain points about National Geographic. One of these pain points of National Geographic is information overload.. As we mentioned before in our concepting model, in this technologically fast-paced world, falling behind is all too easy. You have to stay up to date and understand what people want and how they want it. It’s important for completing houswarming step…

In the modern information age, information overload is experienced as distracting and unmanageable information. As the world moves into a new era of globalization an increasing number of people are connecting to the internet to conduct their own research and are given the ability to produce as well as consume the data accessed on an increasing number of websites.

Due to the emergence of new technologies,

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47

Müge ömür

my natgeo

there is an over-abundance of information available online. This works for both consumer and company. National Geographic have a lot of information spread across a lot of areas and aspects, which can make the reader struggle to take in too much information. Likewise, there is a lot of information available to National Geographic about readers and their trends, which may make it more complicated for them to market to people. As Daya Prakash says “Data Management is all about enhancing customer expectations “(2012). And Hubert Yoshida also shares his experiences about dealing with information overload and he says: “The biggest challenge I have is keeping up with new Technologies and understanding where they fit our customer’s requirements. The greatest opportunity I have as CTO to work with talented engineers, researchers, and customers who keep me informed, challenged and excited about my job.” (2013) To sum up, you have to decide how to use all of the information you have in an effective way…

48 | National Geographic readers might be disappointed by not seeing the right subject which they are looking for. On the other hand, seeing to many different subjects which readers don’t want to see might be an another problem.

concept my natgeo

My concept is creating a portal called “My NatGeo”, where National Geographic readers, followers, fans can create their own magazines.

In this portal there will be a research area where readers can find every single article that published by National Geographic. Including published ones, there will be also bonus articles by authors.

On this portal, there will be also key words such as “animals, landscapes, culture..” besides these keywords, there will be a lot of categories under them. For example: animals - flying animals – birds - tropical birds etc… Readers will pick their keywords and categories. They will create their own magazines, they will only see and read the articles they want. This concept is for making readers feel like a part of the National Geographic.

Most of the people don’t buy magazines if they want to read just one article, or interested in only one subject in the magazine. With this portal, we will put all of the information in one place and let readers pick their own articles. So the information overload pain point will be fixed by readers.

persona Andy sanders (40)

40-year-old Andy Sanders is a photographer who lives in a small village in Norway. He likes travelling and taking pictures of people from different countries. He really likes the articles about different cultures in the NatGeo magazine, and he likes the photographers of Nat.Geo as well. He is also interested in landscapes. But he has one problem about the National Geographic magazine, which is: “Hi, my name is Andy Sanders, I live in a small village in Norway. I really like to read some articles in National Geographic magazine, but I would like to see more articles and pictures about different places and cultures. I only read few articles in the magazine so that’s why I sometimes regret buying it.”

“My NetGeo” portal will help people who have the same problem as Andy Sanders.

Because of the information overload, magazines, including National Geographic, have to be careful while they are picking the right information to use in their articles. And to pick their articles, magazines have to be aware of today’s trends as well and they have to think about every single customer who buys the magazine. So to overcome this problem “My NetGeo” portal will be the right solution.. As

| 49 I mentioned before with this portal, readers will create their own magazines to read..

After creating their own magazines, they will purchase it online. And they won’t have to see other articles that they don’t want to see.

“My NetGeo” portal will be a good solution to overcome information overload pain point as well.. Because readers will be the ones who solves the problem and again readers will pick the useful information by themselves.

references • Hubert Yoshida Interview (2013): Information Week Magazine, Srikanth RP • http://issuu.com/informationweek/docs/ iw_march_2013_all_pages • Daya Prakash Interview (2012): Information Week Magazine, Jasmine Kohli http://issuu.com/informationweek/docs/iw_ december_2012_all_pages • Dean D, Webb C (2011) McKinsey Quarterly: Recovering from Information Overload http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/ recovering_from_information_overload