Earlier this spring, VG was announced as the winner of the European award from the international media organization Wan-Ifra. Now it’s confirmed that VG’s U.S. election coverage was also judged the best globally.“VG redefined election coverage with mobile-first, interactivity, and a 500 percent increase in video views and engagement among younger audiences,”wrote the jury in its statement.
Schibsted and VG developed a vertical video solution specifically designed to give mobile users the best possible TV experience – without needing to rotate their phones horizontally. During the U.S. election last fall, VG went all-in on vertical format for all video content.
A new record
With 1.14 million video streams started on Tuesday, November 5, VG set a new record for vertical video even before the U.S. polls had closed. But the very next day, that record was shattered: VG users launched 1.69 million vertical videos featuring breaking news – including Donald Trump’s election win.
“Traditional TV news has three problems: you have to be in front of the ‘box’, it’s often slow, and there’s a lot of repetition. That’s why VG took a completely new approach during the U.S. election – a vertical TV broadcast, tailor-made for mobile. It’s incredibly exciting to see the jury honor this innovation,” said VG’s Head of Video, Roy Furuhaug, who attended the awards ceremony in Krakow along with News Editor Bjørnar Bekkevard.
800,000 views came from VG’s continuous election livestream, which was also published on VG’s TikTok account, where a total of 1.2 million views were recorded.
Many young users
And perhaps most encouraging of all: internal measurements showed a significant increase in the number of young users visiting VG’s front page, and these users spent more time on the video content than usual.
In addition to revamping the entire video format, VG also introduced another innovation: a live chat integrated into the ongoing election broadcast.
“It’s inspiring to see our video innovation recognized internationally. This method has already become standard for us, and we’re now working to further develop our storytelling techniques to fit mobile and young media users’ habits,” said VG’s Development Editor, Øyvind Brenne.
