MSN India re-designs portal, launches tabloid version

MSN India has re-designed its portal and added an alternative version, MSN Tabloid

MSN India has unveiled a new design for its home page. The slick new design offers visitors the option of choosing a wide or narrow layout and of changing the colour of the page. In a first for any market, MSN has also introduced an alternative version of its home page, MSN Tabloid. The tabloid version contains more gossip and entertainment related content.

MSN India re-designs portal, launches tabloid version

The regular home page

Speaking to agencyfaqs!, Andrew Hoppie, executive producer, MSN APAC, says, “India is one of the first markets with a fresh home page. We are creating individual home pages for different markets. We analyse the traffic and make sure we have relevant content.” For instance, the MSN Japan site has an earthquake monitoring module – information useful for the locals. Hoppie adds that the MSN China home page was re-designed in July and has led to a 40 per cent increase in traffic after the change.

However, all the MSN versions have a distinct global identity, in terms of layout and colours. Hoppie agrees, “Yes, there is an element of a global identity and there are some standard features, but the key differentiating element is the content.”

The tabloid version

For MSN India, one of the major localised features is MSN Tabloid. “It has more entertainment content. It’s more like a ‘fun home page’,” says Hoppie. He adds that the categories of focus in MSN India are cricket, news and entertainment. Another local feature is the comments and ratings that visitors can place on stories on the site. Krishna Prasad, executive producer, MSN India, says, “If you look at traditional media, many tabloid editions are coming out. From our understanding of consumers, this is the kind of content they want.”

Prasad adds that for now, MSN India will offer only one level of personalisation – choosing the colour and layout of the page. But the company is working on the second level globally, and this level “will provide a social portal connect. This should happen in the next six-eight months,” he adds.

The company is also planning to launch a campaign to promote the new-look home page in the next four weeks.

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