The original StayTuned idea needed an injection of modernity to reflect the quality of journalism that the show provided. We wanted StayTuned to be more than a TV news show on your phone. With Snapchat’s framework in mind the visual tone needed to be to-the-point and unlike any news show out. The name StayTuned suggests imagery of an old TV set or a family huddled around a radio. We wanted to bring that sentiment into the 21st century, while acquainting the under 25 user base with the NBC brand.

In order to find success with a short turnaround, Code and Theory’s designers embedded themselves at the NBC News offices full-time for one week, working a shoulder tap away from the Lead Video Editor on “Stay Tuned” throughout the duration of their stay. This highly collaborative process, echoing the colocation model the two teams created during their work launching NBC News' new verticals, allowed for quick turnaround. Daily meetings with Snapchat’s in house design team enabled a consistent stream of feedback to ensure that the team continued its push in the right direction.

According to a NewsCred survey, Snapchat users are very loyal, with 54% of them using the app daily, with a median age of 18. Capitalizing on this market dovetails with NBC’s overarching goal to create a loyal user base who will ideally grow with the brand. On August 18th, Stay Tuned's new design went live and reached 29 million unique viewers in the first month. We have left the NBC News Stay Tuned team with a fully detailed style guide for future use, and to continue to iterate on as they see fit.