Swiss Media Brand Blick Partners with Code and Theory for Transformational Relaunch

Today, Blick, one of Switzerland's leading media companies, with technical support and expertise from Code und Theory, launched a bold, modern vision for the future of news with AI-powered features and modern video experiences for Blick.ch and its native Blick apps (iOS + Android). 

Blick, a 65-year-old traditional Swiss media brand, covers current affairs, entertainment, sports and lifestyle. Blick is the flagship brand of Ringier Media Switzerland (RMS) and part of Ringier, one of Europe's leading media and technology companies. With more than 4.6 million readers, RMS unites the most widely circulated magazine and newspaper titles in Switzerland. 

Blick's new digital look not only includes new publishing options, an optimized back end and a range of innovative AI features that offer users a variety of ways to engage with content, but also new Blick branding and a modern design system. The updated features contribute to an improved UX experience. 

AI-powered features include 'article listening', where the article is read aloud by an AI-trained voice. In the case of Blick, this is the synthesized voice of Steffi Buchli, Chief Content Officer of Ringier Media Switzerland and a well-known media personality in Switzerland.  

Blick's most-read stories will now be accompanied by AI-generated article summaries and an "Answers" section that asks readers relevant follow-up questions about the article they are reading. 

This redesigned, mobile-friendly experience aims to engage a new generation of readers with snackable content called "Blick Bites," a series of vertical videos that link to a more in-depth article on blick.ch. The goal is to encourage users to explore and learn more about a topic. 

This is a major shift that required changes and a new way of thinking in the Blick newsroom. The new content format, which builds on BlickTV, is more viral and takes advantage of modern browsing behavior common on social platforms.

Blick's new design system allows for a dynamic homepage that balances personalized content with editorial priorities and business needs. The new page structure enables editors to promote Blick's original content, such as seasonal series, with unique sponsorship integrations for advertisers. 

The advertising model behind blick.ch is robust and supports a variety of levels that are manifested throughout the offering. Personalization extends to a rich sports experience for passionate fans, including live scores, play-by-play and exclusive streaming rights for live games and highlights. 

All of this is designed to attract users to the premium Blick+ offering and make Blick the go-to source for breaking news and all entertainment needs. 

Ladina Heimgartner, CEO of Ringier Media Switzerland and member of the Ringier Group Executive Board, said, "The new brand identity underscores the transformation Blick has undergone in recent years: more depth, but still distinctive in its own way. Now we can give our content even more weight and more visual space. Thanks to the new features, we can integrate the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence into our news offering in an even more user-friendly way, thus continuing to meet the needs of our users and customers with modern and up-to-date content."

Code and Theory has a long history of modernizing content, with more than 200 publishing sites for major companies such as Bloomberg, Vogue, and the Los Angeles Times. They recently completed the digital transformation of the Minnesota Star Tribune's digital products and worked with CNN on the Magic Wall to get data to users faster than ever. 

Michael Treff, CEO of Code and Theory, said, “Blick has been a pioneer in publishing by being close to people and their stories from an analytical, explanatory and emotional level. With AI shifting every aspect of businesses, we partnered to reinvent their content and storytelling experiences, enabling their teams to publish with speed and impact. We made the content more snackable, entertaining and accessible, with experiences that are fit for format. In parallel with the recent launch of Blick's subscription offering Blick+, we created an experience that engages, retains and converts existing and new audiences into a deeper level of engagement. This allows for greater ad revenue, while increasing the quality of the user experience, reaching the expectations of both the business and the audience.”