Need
Time Inc, the giant consumer magazine publisher, faced critical challenges:
- The traditional print media model had been devastated by digital economics.
- An urgent need to transform from print to digital media business.
- Deeply entrenched culture resistant to change across 60 iconic brands.
- Traditional product development processes were too slow and costly for digital age.
- Difficulty in introducing innovation without disrupting core business operations.hey needed to adapt quickly to the new reality or risk becoming irrelevant in a dramatically altered market.
Solution
Paul Cheal, MD of Innovation at Time Inc UK, implemented a radical approach:
- Partnered with Magnetic, experts in rapid experimentation.
- Introduced apps and digital magazines as non-threatening initial innovations.
- Ran immersive, cross-functional ideation sessions to rapidly develop propositions.
- Adopted a low-cost, highly iterative approach to product development.
- Focused on thin slices of the business to integrate new capabilities.
- Reduced the product development cycle from 9-12 months to less than 12 weeks.
- Implemented real-world testing with actual customers for each iteration.
Value
The new approach yielded nine significant benefits:
- Seven business-critical themes explored in just seven months.
- Proof of concept cycle reduced from 6 months to 6 weeks.
- New personalized product range launched within two months of initial testing.
- Increased customer trust, leading to willingness to share personal data.
- Successful transition from print-focused to digital-first product offerings.
- Transformed corporate culture to embrace experimentation and innovation.
- Drastically reduced costs: from £10m marketing budgets to low-cost iterations.
- Greater certainty in product success through real-world testing.
- Ability to rapidly conceive, test, and launch products guaranteed to succeed.
This case study demonstrates how traditional industries can reinvent their approach to innovation, enabling faster, leaner, and more successful product development in the digital age.
