Member Article

Corporation Pop launches UNILAD app

UNILAD, the Manchester-based news site that is fast becoming the go-to source of news and comment for the millennial generation, has taken its winning formula mobile with an app developed by Corporation Pop.

The app is intended to better-appeal to UNILAD’s core audience by making its content more accessible and delivering an improved user experience. As well as making it easier to browse UNILAD’s news feed natively on a mobile device, fans will be able to access exclusive content and bookmark stories to read when they are offline.

Corporation Pop developed the UNILAD app to work on Android and iOS devices. It can be downloaded for free at the iTunes and Google Play stores.

Since launching in 2014 Unilad.co.uk now has 30 million monthly unique visitors and over one billion video views a month. On Facebook, UNILAD has reached a following of over 13 million fans and it has become the only Facebook page in Europe to get over one billion monthly video views on two separate months.

Corporation Pop and UNILAD share a building on Shudehill in Manchester’s cultural Northern Quarter.

Dom Raban, Managing Director at Corporation Pop said: “We got to know the UNILAD team by bumping into them in the corridor, so it’s been great to develop that relationship and collaborate with a business right on our doorstep. I had a particular interest in the project personally because UNILAD is my children’s primary news source.

“We’ve built an app that takes their web-based content and wraps it in a user friendly mobile package that can be enjoyed wherever you are, with or without an internet connection. Designing a user experience that exploits the benefits of smart mobile devices has been central to our approach and will ensure that readers come back to it time and time again. Given UNILAD’s enormous reader base we are expecting heavy loads on the app, so optimisation has also been a key consideration.”

Sam Bentley, Creative Director at UNILAD said: “The cool thing about UNILAD is the range of topics we cover. One minute you could be reading about the lack of diversity at the Oscars, the next you could be reading about things your Dad doesn’t understand about modern culture. We’re constantly monitoring what’s trending and making sure we’re talking about it.

“As well as delivering what young people are interested in, we need to be where they are. We established there’s been a massive shift in traffic from desktop to mobile, so we have to respond to that.

“Corporation Pop have helped us turn around the app quickly and met our need for something that wasn’t just a replica of the website. We wanted to give our app users more, so we’ve added features like bookmarking so people can catch up with news when they’re travelling without internet access. We also have a large talent network which includes popular YouTubers and Viners who will be producing unique content for the app; content that won’t be available anywhere else.”

For more information visit www.corporationpop.co.uk and www.unilad.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Corporation Pop .