Ringier chooses Purple as technology partner

Ringier selects SPRYLAB Purple DS as technology partner for all BLICK e-papers and subscription store for print & digital subscribers

Ringier is now using the Purple DS platform for its digital editions of the titles Blick, SonntagsBlick and Blick am Abend. In addition, SPRYLAB was also commissioned to relaunch the subscription store for print and digital subscribers and to provide technical support in the future. Together with its partner A&F Computersysteme, SPRYLAB was able to prevail over the competition on the market. The team convinced both technically and conceptually with the best proposals for a strong and future-oriented implementation strategy.

As an internationally active and modern media group, Ringier also focuses on digital products in addition to traditional media. Existing products are continuously developed further. For the digital relaunch of all Blick titles, the entire customer journey for app and web was revised in a customer-friendly way. A key challenge was the narrow time window between the completion of the print edition and the timely playout in the app and on the web. The use of the Purple DS PDF workflow guarantees a smooth, fully automated playout of new digital editions and a simple upgrade with a mobile-optimized reading mode - and that already with the morning coffee. A storefront developed especially for Ringier gives all app and web editions the BLICK-typical appearance.

In addition, a flexible subscription store was developed that allows customers to purchase both digital and print subscriptions (https://abo.blick.ch). The payment process was completely redesigned and significantly simplified. This required creating an interface from payment provider Datatrans to the in-house ERP system SAP and migrating all existing users. Since May, the daily editions of Blick and Blick am Abend as well as the weekly edition of SonntagsBlick have been available in the App Stores for Apple and Android.

"We were very pleased not only to accompany Ringier's e-paper plans, but to play a significant role in shaping them. We are thrilled that one of the highest-circulation newspapers in Switzerland is being produced digitally via Purple DS. Purple DS already supports a large number of publishers around the world in the efficient publication of their content. For Ringier, a large part of the processes have now been automated, enabling efficient daily playout to all end devices and the web. This means that readers can access the content from anywhere at any time. The fact that we also got the chance to develop the subscription store makes us proud and shows our good partnership and quality."

York Walterscheid, Director Marketing & Sales at SPRYLAB and Stefan Schärer Head of Sales and Marketing A&F

"We are convinced that in Purple we have found a very competent partner for the relaunch of the Blick e-paper products. With Purple DS, we are relying on a very powerful production system with which we can also flexibly implement future requirements. The great development expertise and team strength also convinced us to work with Purple beyond the e-paper app."

Martin Werren, Project Manager Technology & Data at Ringier AG

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