The innovation
ZOS Radio, a BIH female-led radio, upgraded its work by introducing two separate, but complementary streams of support. Initially, they successfully introduced a marketing agency in their portfolio which serves as an intermediary between local companies and big advertising agencies located in the capital. They also offer internet marketing services, promotional campaigns, and other marketing services.
During the latest phase of the Media for All project, the media further broadened their audience base by purchasing a small local portal from the Doboj region, Jelah.info. Because the portal had some downtime, the key goals were to bring back old and attract new portal readers, start publishing new content, and generate revenue from selling advertising space on the new portal to ensure its sustainability. Namely, all old content on the portal that does not comply with the law on intellectual property protection and other media rules was removed. Local audiences got another source of information tailored to their needs and up to the highest professional standards.
Pre-redesign objectives
In the case of the ZOS Radio team, there was no need for a radical change in mindset because they had significantly improved their business skills during the previous phase of support.
The Jelah.info portal and the ZOS Radio portal cover the same region but target different audiences. Unlike the ZOS Radio portal, Jelah.info caters to the rural population. After the purchase, the ZOS team discovered that the portal contains a large number of texts and photographs with unknown origins and authorship. The portal also had inactive YouTube and Instagram accounts for an extended period. Following the acquisition of the Jelah.info, ZOS Radio strengthened its presence in the Doboj region, which can have a favourable impact on the competitiveness of their offerings to advertisers.
Supporting expansion
The primary goal of ZOS Radio was to enhance its presence in the Doboj region and expand its market share by creating synergy between ZOS Radio, Jelah.Info, and the advertising agency established during the initial stage of the project. To achieve this, they needed to redesign the new portal, remove non-compliant content, develop a strategic work plan, and establish a clear difference and relationship between the existing media (ZOS Radio portal) and the new Jelah.Info. Initially, the team discussed new content types. As the region has a predominantly rural population, the outlet launched Agrar, a dedicated section on the website for agricultural topics. To engage rural women, they also introduced a Magazine section featuring appealing content for the local female audience. These sections significantly boosted the media’s readership and increased the number of followers on their Facebook page. To enhance visibility, the portal organised symbolic giveaway campaigns, such as offering cakes from a local pastry shop to women tagged by their Facebook friends. Additionally, they initiated cooperation and co-branding efforts with a young local meteorologist to provide farmers with the latest localised weather information.
Overload challenges
The biggest challenge was the increased volume of work, along with work on redesigning the portal, removing inappropriate content and creating content for the new portal. Hiring of a part-time journalist who took over part of the work helped. Additional team members would significantly facilitate everyday work and support the further growth of income.
Their redesigned and rebranded portal, maintained to the highest professional standards, resulted in an expanded audience for Jelah.Info and increased market share for the ZOS Group.
“Thanks to the support of the Media for All project, I no longer have to worry about whether I will be able to pay the workers, since I can negotiate with advertisers and other clients more boldly, and therefore achieve a better price.” – Amela Sejdić, Manager, ZOS Radio
