Get to know us
The goal of this project is to create road trip content and make it relevant and accessible to new, untapped audiences — especially younger demographics. Tied to a newsletter format, our team will take inspiration from well-performing digital road trip content Texas Highways has released in the past.
The Team
Riley Foster
Riley Foster is a senior Journalism major at the University of Texas at Austin. She has previous office experience in a Texas senate office and is passionate about telling undertold stories.
Bella Rose Mortel
Bella Rose Mortel is a fourth-year Journalism student with an Entrepreneurship minor. She has previous experience in editorial, advertising and marketing internship positions at Morning Brew and Workweek Media.
Daniela Roscero Cervantes
Daniela is a senior Journalism and history major at the University of Texas at Austin. Her work has been published in the Daily Texan as well as the Latin American Journalism Review. She also has experience working in communications and collections for museums and cultural organizations.
Nicole Swiggard
Nicole Swiggard is a senior Journalism student at the University of Texas. She currently works as a copy editor at the Daily Texan and is a contributing writer at Very Good Light.
The Design Challenge
Texas Highways, the official travel magazine of Texas, wants to start a newsletter focusing on road trips in the state of Texas.
The goal of this project is to create road trip content and make it relevant and accessible to new, untapped audiences — especially younger demographics. Tied to a newsletter format, our team will take inspiration from well-performing digital road trip content Texas Highways has released in the past.
The design question at the core of this project is: How can we present road trip features through a newsletter to an online audience?
Texas Highways’ objectives with this road trip-centric newsletter include audience growth, conversion and revenue. The magazine’s digital team wants to present road travel information to visitors, tourists, and Texas locals in the most effective and digestible way possible.
Possible constraints include outreach to new potential subscribers, and convincing existing Texas Highways consumers to subscribe. Additionally, understanding the desires of these audiences to better curate this newsletter for them. It is our goal to have one primary ad sponsor per newsletter edition.
Texas Highways has an ideal spring 2023 deadline for official launch of this newsletter. According to our finalized plan, the ten editions of this newsletter will run from March 29, 2023 - May 31, 2023.
The Solution
Prototype 1
Our first prototype was based on a brainstorming session we had in class. The second one was completed after we had gathered feedback from 89 people through a Google form and audited existing content we could use. From this information, we decided that it was important to include activities, restaurants and lodging suggestions for different types of travelers. We also set it up as a weekend itinerary because the majority of our survey respondents said they were most likely to take a road trip during a long weekend. We also had a section with additional destination and activity suggestions to cater to people who are planning longer trips.
The feedback we got from our focus group on the first prototype was overall positive. One hundred percent of respondents said they would find a newsletter like the first prototype helpful when planning a road trip. They suggested we add some sort of method to gauge costs as well as more content reflecting personal experiences at restaurants or attractions.
Prototype 2
In the second prototype, we implemented these suggestions by adding a price range indicator next to all activity and restaurant suggestions. We also added an intro video introducing the region at the beginning. Since the suggested itinerary for the first day included a long drive, we also added a stop suggestion for each type of traveler covered on day one. Finally, we added a Whataburger advertisement based on our conversation with the Texas Highways publisher. The format of the newsletter was otherwise very similar to the first prototype.
Next Steps
To proceed with this project beyond this prototype, Texas Highways will have five main goals.
01 - Advertising
Texas Highways will need to finalize advertisers for each of the ten editions of the newsletter. We have compiled a sample list of ten trips they could use to provide a clearer pathway for conversations with potential advertisers.
02 - Editorial
Texas Highways will need to contact their freelance writers and collect the copy for each of the ten editions. Using the framework we’ve created, they can outsource each newsletter using the same style. They should be sure to have advertisers finalized before this step, as it will be important to blend the advertisement with the editorial, so as to create a less abrupt ad experience.
03 - Influencer Outreach
Contacting influencers to help with the promotion will ensure a higher reach for the newsletter. In our social media plan, you will find samples for what these collaborations may look like and how to implement influencer marketing for this product.
04 - Graphics
Then, they will need to collect graphics. This includes maps and photos. In our prototype, we’ve built the small maps, pulled graphics from the Texas Highways site, and used copyright free imagery.
05 - Audience List
Finally, the fifth priority will be collecting an audience list. This should include an opt-in button on the website, as well as address collection through Instagram stories.
Then, by following the calendars and booklet we’ve provided — with any adjustments as needed — the newsletter can be implemented on its ten-week schedule.
Team Photo
Reflection
On our journey from design challenge to MVP
While this process was new for all of us, it ended up being incredibly rewarding. Using human-centered design to create this newsletter, while also balancing advertising and publishing needs, posed a challenge for us.
We started by sending out a survey to stakeholders to see what kind of content they would want to see in a newsletter about road trips. Using that information, we created a very rough prototype of what we wanted the newsletter to look like.
After polishing that prototype, we sent it back out to stakeholders to see what they thought. We also met with the publisher for Texas Highways to discuss the prototype and how it could be advertised. This is where we started to hit a roadblock.
What consumers wanted and what would sell well to advertisers weren’t lining up. We scrapped our original idea and made a new prototype that would accommodate both needs from advertisers and consumers. Overall, this experience has had its ups and downs, but we learned so much from the process and are so excited about our final product.