KLM Newsroom: from 1.0 to 3.0

KLM’s communications team was growing increasingly discontent with the Content Management System (CMS) they were working with to publish news to their native newsroom. “Within KLM there was a corporate mentality, resulting in a workflow with little flexibility. Platforms that were chosen at the time were functioning satisfactorily, but changes in the communications industry were so drastic that we felt we were lagging behind”, says Lars van Straten, Online Communications & Reputation Specialist at KLM. “The CMS was well suited for regular corporate communications, but fell short when something had to be published instantly. We were no longer able to do what was expected from us.”

“We could not publish content as quickly as we wanted because press releases were placed in a publication queue”, Lars continues. “We wanted to work in a cost-efficient way with a better workflow. We wanted to increase our publishing speed and share content through our existing social media channels. I then took it upon myself to pursue a solution through which we could disseminate news when and where we wanted to.”

Better workflow thanks to PressPage

The introduction to PressPage’s platform four years ago, proved to be the solution KLM was looking for. Lars: ‘The big step forward meant going from a 1.0 to a 3.0 situation. “With PressPage it’s ‘publish as you speak’. Within our new workflow, publishing press releases has become something numerous colleagues are able to do. We’re no longer dependent on third parties; everything is published directly in the newsroom and subsequently shared through our social media channels.” Lars and his communications team are also excited about their collaboration with the PressPage team. “They are a great help. We really appreciate the personal contact and their professional drive. If there is an issue or room for improvement, PressPage picks up on this immediately. This way, we learn a lot from each other and keep each other focussed.”

Emergency situations

In case of emergency situations, it’s crucial to be able to quickly issue news releases, Lars explains. “Thanks to the scalability of the platform, we know that in case of a crisis we can continue publishing without having to worry that the site will not be accessible or that it will go offline. That is quite relieving, especially in a time of crisis when things are already stressful.”

Results

It is the result that counts, and in this regard too, KLM is very pleased with PressPage. The use of the newsroom platform has provided the airliner with a growing number of visitors. “We’ve especially experienced a significant increase in the use of our RSS-feed”, Lars explains. “KLM hopes to continue this upward trend with continuous improvements to the newsroom. We have already made great progress with the look and feel and have gradually adjusted the newsroom to our needs. The reactions have been very positive.”

In looking for continuous improvements to the newsroom when it comes to functionality, usability, and performance, Lars finds PressPage to be a valued partner. ‘The platform is continually optimised and there is a roadmap we are given access to. This gives us something to hold on to, it helps us realize when we have to make adjustments.’