Description:

ThreeNow is New Zealand’s fastest growing free video streaming service. It features a broad range of TV shows and movies across the platform, which can be watched live or on-demand, on a range of devices including smartphones, tablets, smart TV, and web.

While the service has long been a popular choice for many New Zealanders, in 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand (WBD) - ThreeNow’s parent company - set out to revitalise the offering and ensure the product was fighting fit for the future. Specifically, their mission was to provide consumers with new and innovative ways to discover and watch great content, and in doing so, transform existing perceptions of ThreeNow and exceed customer expectations.

WBD recognised that in a market which offer numerous streaming platforms, each with vast amounts of choice, many viewers were beginning to experience decision fatigue. As an antidote to this viewer paralysis, they wanted to provide audiences with tightly curated packages of content, tailored to their specific interests. Enter, FAST Channels.

FAST Channels (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) solve for the issue that while fewer people are watching broadcast TV today, there is still a strong desire from consumers to keep the viewing experience simple i.e. “just show me a stream of shows I’ll like, without making me choose”. WBD recognised that this was an underserved need in the digital streaming space in NZ and with its deep content library, ThreeNow was well-placed to deliver it.

Alongside this new proposition, ThreeNow was also being rebranded to reset customer perceptions and deliver a clear, immediate, playful, and energetic narrative.

The design team were focussed on delivering a distinct offering that would set ThreeNow apart from the competition. This encompassed both a redesign of the experience layer and a revamp of the underlying technology, across a range of different endpoints – from mobile phone, through to web and television.

Working with ThreeNow’s new brand, the design team were able to experiment with colours, shapes and animations to add a layer of personality and character to the interface that many other streaming services lack – helping ThreeNow stand out from the crowd and ensure that the experience looks, feels and moves like a premium video on demand service.

To support multiple development teams, building out more than 13 endpoints, we used a tokenised design system, which was optimised for every technology platform (including smart televisions with limited processing capacity). This allowed design details to be captured for each layout, so developers could then apply them across each endpoint, with the code changing dynamically.

The tokens fast-tracked the development across all work-streams, and ensured consistency of brand experience regardless of the channel or platform.

ThreeNow is a shining example of how bold design decisions, attention to detail and a compelling vision (along with clever implementation) can transform and elevate an entire digital offering. ThreeNow also has a distinctive and compelling brand identity to propel it into the future, and a unique viewing experience that users love.