Hevosurheilu has transitioned its hundred-year print history into the digital realm while maintaining still a strong presence in print media. This was achieved in collaboration with Fiare Media Tools, which provided a comprehensive solution with products produced by Quintype. Bold serves as an editorial tool and CMS, Pagebuilder as a standardized web publishing platform, and Accestype enables the restriction of publications to subscribers and website visitors.
Hevosurheilu Oy publishes two online publications; hevosurheilu.fi and ratsastus.hevosurheilu.fi, as well as two weekly print publications Hevosurheilu and 7oikein magazine. Hevosurheilu and Ratsastus have very different target audiences, but at least two things unite them - readers are from all over Finland, and the focus is on the horse. Previously, between the weekly issues of Hevosurheilu, the Ratsastus print publication was inserted, but not anymore, now that digital distribution is in place, serving both reader groups.
"When we caricature a bit, Hevosurheilu's readership consists of older men from the countryside, for whom the paper is the thing. Ratsastus' readership, on the other hand, consists of 35-55-year-old city women who are very digitally oriented. That's why we also need to serve them slightly differently. With the print magazine, it was quite difficult - Ratsastus shrunk to eight pages over the years, and then it still had to be its own supplement so that the 'horsemen' could omit it from their reading package if they wished. It always felt like no one was really satisfied. Until now, when we can invest much more in Ratsastus and be very real-time while still maintaining the important paper magazine for the trotting crowd, it feels like everyone has won," says Keijo Kinnula, CEO of Hevosurheilu Oy.
In Kinnula's narrative, it is emphasized in many places that whether it's a rider or someone interested in harness racing, the focus is always on a healthy horse, which everyone is interested in. Kinnula mentions that the best selling point of a publication is a representative picture of a lively horse; nothing more is needed, and sales go smoothly.
Hevosurheilu's content management system is Quintype's Bold. Both Hevosurheilu's and Ratsastus' stories are delivered from the same system. The site for which the publication is intended is chosen during the publishing phase. Thus, journalists use Bold, which allows them to see in real-time what the article, with its images, highlights, infoboxes, etc., will look like on the site. Bold can also be used on a mobile phone in field conditions. The site's front end is implemented with Quintype's standard front end, Pagebuilder.
Some content is open to all online visitors, which is part of the modern marketing of one's publications. However, this is different for new articles, as a paywall is in place. In the case of Hevosurheilu and Ratsastus, Quintype's Accestype serves as the paywall. Bold, Pagebuilde, and Accesstype form an integrated and functional entity for managing online media. From Bold, articles with images are also integrated for printing, where they then become the weekly printed Hevosurheilu magazine.
With the digital leap, subscriptions have increased, and everyone is more satisfied. "Hevosurheilu's digital with its very active articles and images, combined with a weekly paper magazine and a digital archive dating back to 1924, it's a strong package for a trotting enthusiast," Kinnula proudly describes the current state of his 100-year-old magazine.
In a very short time, the number of digital subscriptions alone increased by 25% compared to the total number of subscribers, and the growth continues. Kinnula describes the relationship between print and digital as fluctuating and difficult to predict. "Our print readers are really important to us. We essentially produce content with a digital-first approach, but ultimately, there's not much where the web is significantly ahead of print. However, nothing is held back; everything is published as soon as it's ready," Kinnula explains.