Why A News App

The Lifeline & ACP Program

The Lifeline Program in the USA provides low-income families with discounted or free telecommunications services, often accompanied with free mobile device to help bridge the digital divide. It is complemented by the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which offers further subsidies for broadband access. Both programs ensure essential communication tools are affordable for all Americans.

• Lifeline Subsidy: Free or up to $9.25 monthly discount on phone or internet services.
• ACP Subsidy: Up to $30 monthly towards broadband, and $75 on qualifying Tribal lands

While mobile carriers offer devices for free to subscribers, they bear the distribution costs. To sustain this model, generating additional revenue is crucial.

Integration & Distribution

Sliide integrates its apps seamlessly across devices using a versatile approach that adapts to various technological environments and partner requirements. By working closely with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Sliide ensures efficient access and integration into devices.

• Over The Air (OTA)
• Firmware (FW)
• Software Development Kits (SDK)
• Android Open Source Project (AOSP)

The News App

The News App served as a dynamic platform for experimenting with various content formats and A/B testing to optimise user engagement. Designed to offer a more subtle user experience than lock screen products, it helped Sliide expand into new markets and attract additional partners. By focusing on a less intrusive approach, the app provided an effective entry point for showcasing diverse content, driving engagement, and facilitating Sliide’s strategic growth into broader markets and partnerships.

Content Strategy

With the News App, we enhanced our content strategy by expanding into a broader range of content providers and formats. This approach extended beyond traditional news to include additional verticals such as app and game downloads, horoscopes, videos, and more. Our aim was to identify content that resonated with our partners’ user base, ensuring flexibility within the app to support diverse offerings. This adaptability not only boosted user engagement but also strengthened partnerships by catering to varied user interests and preferences.

App Deep-Linking

As part of our app ecosystem, we aimed to ensure all products worked cohesively together for a seamless experience. We implemented smart strategies to connect our product portfolio, using app deep-linking to create fluid transitions between apps when relevant. This approach enhanced the user experience by linking the News App with our lock screen apps and other products, ensuring that users could easily navigate between apps within the ecosystem while enjoying a consistent, integrated journey across the portfolio.

Fully Upgraded

News 2.0 marked a major evolution in our product, fully optimised for larger, higher-spec devices and designed to reach new audiences and partners. Building on the original app’s success, this version introduced fresh layouts and expanded functionality to enhance the user experience.

With an improved, user-centric on/offboarding process, richer content verticals, including expanded providers and video options, and advanced customisation for content categories, News 2.0 offered a dynamic, adaptable experience. This upgrade not only broadened our reach but also strengthened engagement, delivering a powerful, future-ready solution for partners and users alike.

Content Personalisation

To elevate user engagement in the News App, we focused on delivering a personalised content experience. By partnering with a range of content providers, we broadened our offering to cover diverse interests, while integrating deeper customisation options directly within the app. This approach enabled users to tailor their experience according to their preferences, ensuring they received content that resonated with them. Personalisation became a core feature, helping to improve engagement scores and making the app more appealing to a wider audience.

On/Off Boarding

To enhance the user experience, we revisited the on and off-boarding process, focusing on usability and customisation. Informative guides and tailored options were introduced to ensure that users could easily navigate and personalise their app experience from the start. As we expanded into new markets, it became essential to make the app as intuitive and accessible as possible, accommodating varying user needs. These improvements aimed to maximise user satisfaction, helping users quickly realise the app’s value and engage more deeply.

Targeted News and Notifications

We implemented a strategy focused on delivering timely, targeted news and notifications based on events that users cared about. This approach allowed us to drive engagement and improve key performance metrics by aligning content with users’ interests and real-world events. By focusing on major moments, we increased app traffic and user interaction.

• COVID Alerts
• Elections
• Major Sporting Events
• And Many More…

This strategy ensured that users received relevant updates, driving them back into our apps consistently.

Product Evolution

Building on insights from News 2.0, we developed the Content App, designed specifically for Tier 1 markets and tailored to both user and partner needs. This app capitalised on user testing and partner feedback, offering deeper customisation and engagement levels. The Content App represented the next phase in our news strategy, delivering an elevated experience with enhanced personalisation options, user-friendly features, and diverse content verticals. This evolution marked a significant step in our journey to create a high-impact, adaptable product for expanded market penetration.

AI News Summarisation

By partnering with new content providers and expanding into diverse verticals, we began investing in innovative AI-driven experiences. This allowed us to explore fresh ways for users to consume news, utilising AI to discover new opportunities and enhance user interaction. Through AI-powered summarisation, we created unique user interfaces (UI) and experiences (UX), making it easier for users to access relevant news quickly and efficiently. This step forward enabled us to deliver a more personalized and dynamic news experience like never before.

Total Customisation

We designed the Content App to offer users an exceptionally tailored and relevant experience. With a wide selection of topics and categories to choose from, users could fine-tune their content preferences with a high level of granularity. This customisation was supported by our advanced machine learning and AI innovations, which further refined the content delivery to ensure users always saw what mattered most to them. The result was a highly personalised app experience that continually adapted to each user’s specific interests and needs.

Monetisation Strategy

In the redesign, we focused on creating a highly monetisable yet user-friendly platform that catered to our partners’ needs for revenue generation. Our apps now support multiple monetisation methods, all powered by our proprietary monetisation engines, offering a one-of-a-kind solution that maximises flexibility and impact. The strategy strikes a balance between user experience and revenue, ensuring diverse monetisation options to suit various partners’ goals.

• Display Advertising
• Sponsored Advertising
• Native Advertising
• Interstitial Advertising