The Desired Outcome Without the Jargon – Nelonenpressi.fi is a Comprehensive Brand-Aligned Press Portal

In October 2024, a long journey came to an end as the Venetsia program information system, operational since the 1990s, was shut down.

It forced media companies to start independently managing program details, images, and previews. Each organization now needed to find alternative distribution services.

“The service was essentially pulled from under us,” says Nelonen Media’s Communications Specialist Mia Paavonen.

Proactively, Nelonen Media explored new solutions, recognizing their existing resources were inadequate.

“Our search quickly highlighted Media Tailor. We knew that they had a similar service with Yle. We’ve also consistently experienced Media Tailor as a good and reliable partner,” explains Nelonen Media’s Development Manager Tommi Heikkilä, and continues:

“Since we have an established relationship, investigating their potential service was a natural next step.”

While numerous international providers exist, Nelonen Media’s decade-long relationship with Media Tailor made the choice straightforward.

Media Tailor is a trusted partner. We know we can effectively collaborate, and their references for this service type were compelling. The synergies with our existing systems further solidified our decision.

Media Portal adapts to needs and brand identity

Media Portal is the newest addition to Media Tailor’s product lineup. It’s an extension of the media management platform Media Pocket. This comprehensive solution seamlessly handles media content management, distribution, and sharing with remarkable versatility. Whether functioning as a press portal, brand hub, newsroom, or material repository, the platform seamlessly adopts the client’s visual language and brand identity.

Yet, this wasn’t precisely what Nelonen initially envisioned.

“At first, Media Tailor’s service seemed more like a press service. What we were seeking was a system capable of distributing program information to those who need it. Initially, that specific feature wasn’t part of the Media Portal. However, in other aspects, it appeared the service could handle our requirements,” explains Heikkilä.

The project’s initial goal was straightforward: develop an interface enabling a program information system to distribute Nelonen’s programming details.

It didn’t take too much time when they decided to expand the service to include even more versatile features.  The goal became creating a website offering program previews, information, images, and program schedules.

Leveraging their existing Media Pocket infrastructure made the implementation remarkably smooth. This wasn’t an entirely new system, but a strategic extension of their current digital ecosystem.

“System integrations are typically a project’s most complex challenge,” Heikkilä notes. “In our case, the groundwork was already solid. We merely needed to fine-tune the platform to meet our press service requirements.”

The project’s blueprint emerged through close collaboration between Media Tailor and Nelonen. Media Tailor’s philosophy distinguishes them: clients aren’t expected to arrive with a fully-formed concept. Instead, they co-create solutions, harmonizing client needs with technological expertise.

“We got started very quickly. After a few kick-off meetings with Media Tailor, they demonstrated excellent insight and approach. They efficiently gathered the necessary baseline information to provide an offer and describe the final product’s contents.”

“Technically, this was a straightforward project,” Heikkilä summarizes.

Achieving tight deadlines through seamless communication

The project timeline was razor-thin, as the Venetsia shutdown date had long been set in stone. Nevertheless, the development work was completed swiftly, the plan held, and nelonenpressi.fi was successfully launched on October 1, 2024.

“Our timeline was right, and we were nervously wondering if we could stay on track. Yet we managed smoothly, without undue pressure,” Heikkilä candidly reveals.

Media Tailor’s project management team deserves high praise, particularly the dynamic development duo Kristian Lauronen and Henri Mitikka.

“I’m completely lost when it comes to technical jargon and interfaces,” Paavonen admits with a self-deprecating laugh. “In our first meeting, I immediately requested we speak in plain human language.”

“Henri and Kristian have been incredibly patient. I’ve interrupted numerous meetings, confessing my lack of understanding. Remarkably, they never showed even a hint of frustration.”

After launching the press service, communication didn’t stop but continued on a shared Slack channel. This has made communication easy for both parties.

“In smaller organizations, people often juggle multiple roles. A technical expert might unexpectedly find themselves in a sales position, which isn’t always comfortable,” Heikkilä observes.

But they avoided such a situation, and no “tech-layman-tech dictionary” was needed.

“Kristian has been a very natural project manager and able to speak the same language as end-users. Not just technical jargon. That was really pleasant.”

We were somewhat prepared to act as interpreters between Media Tailor and our end-users. However, there was no need for that.

Service found its users – development continues after launch

The brand-new nelonenpressi.fi is not just a program information distribution center, but a comprehensive press service offering all Nelonen program-related materials and functions for media and journalists.

The result was not what Nelonen initially sought. This is by no means a bad thing; in many ways, the result is better.

“Our main goal was to replace Venetsia. Afterward and during the project, we realized it’s a great thing that we simultaneously updated our current press service, which was a bit behind the times, to the same level as our competitors.”

“Ultimately, our wishes and goals were fulfilled better than with a more limited solution,” Heikkilä explains.

The project found the right track immediately after launch. The service currently has about 150 logged-in users, including entertainment and culture journalists, editorial managers, freelancers, and those compiling program information pages.

Practically, all those who needed to, have found their way to the service.

“My colleagues and I were somewhat anxious about what reception the service would receive. But the feedback from journalists has been really good and positive. It’s given me a feeling that we truly succeeded,” Paavonen opens up.

Implementing new services is just a brief moment in the service’s lifecycle. The service has functioned as it should since its launch, without any hiccups, which promises well for the future.

“Service maintenance has started organically and doesn’t heavily burden us. If small bugs have appeared, they’ve been fixed. Our daily maintenance work is basically just approving new users, which has been going very well. In that sense, the site usage has been effortless,” Paavonen praises.

As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, development remains ongoing. The strong partnership between Nelonen and Media Tailor continues to evolve, with both parties enthusiastic about their collaborative journey.

“In typical Finnish fashion, we don’t celebrate too loudly,” Heikkilä chuckles. “No feedback essentially means everything is working perfectly.”