Downtown | Hyperlocal New Media

We launched our own new hyperlocal media Downtown.ru in

Since that time we have published more than 3,856 publications as well as brought together a great number of townspeople, young entrepreneurs, public men, creative professionals and media people around this project. Moreover, we have had a chance to work with one of the best editors in the country. People talk about us in Voronezh, Moscow, England, USA. We are visited as the city explorers and regularly invited to create the city guides and review publications. We create the advertising design together with МТС, Fujifilm, Red Bull, Samsung.

For about 80,000 unique followers all over the world (half of them from Voronezh) follow Downtown.ru every month.

Form the city image in the eyes of its citizens and visitors.

Mission of Downtown.ru project

In order to start up Downtown.ru, Manufactura has:

developed the site and editor toolkit for content management;
developed the main criteria of editorial policy;
put together the team of professionals and trained them to create content.

WHY THE NEW HYPERLOCAL MEDIA SHOULD APPEAR?

We used to live in the context described below:

the existing media formed the public image of Voronezh as the city where ‘drunk policemen kill the pensioners throwing the flaming kittens into the windows of head-falsies that move off the road’ (exaggerated);
we observed the runoff of creative class from the city to Moscow or abroad, and otherwise, the bright stories of city businessmen that inspired to stay;
federal advertising campaigns looked for the new qualitative media in the regions to realize the advertizing projects.

We realized that if we do not do this, then somebody else will create Downtown.ru.

NEW MEDIA DESIGN

As the company that grew out of the design studio, we understood the importance of how the media would come before the reader. Thus, we understood that design should not be an obstacle for audience acquisition (and advertisers as well). It must contribute to such acquisition.

Final layout of the home page.

It could be turquoise-green.

They are probably the first regional edition, which is highly competitive with the capital ones in its picture.

The Vilage, Look At Media, popular online magazine about Moscow urban life.

We organized the city mass media using trends: Dina font and rectangles compactly placed as the plates at the grid bottom. At the same time, we provided an opportunity to create the dynamic architecture of home page, which may be customized due to the edition tone and event importance. Such capability is desired by the top-rated media at the present time. At once, we laid the foundation for the caste floor editor. Its first version was realized for Downtown.ru.

Publication page.

Before we launched Downtown.ru, the editorial team practiced their skills on Sofa, a small project built with Wordpress.

Here are several interesting publications for review:

What do cloakroom attendants speak about
Guide on Voronezh left bank
Voronezh by Ronald MacDonald attractiveness index
Special project Voronezh pulse on city culture research

WHAT MAKES DOWNTOWN.RU MEDIA COOL

1. MISSION

Our mission that consists in the forming of city image in the opinion of its residents and visitors is reflected in the slogan ‘Love Voronezh, Moscow will wait’. According to urban specialist Sviatoslav Murunov, this slogan has expressed the hurt of the most non-capital cities of the country.

The mission helped us develop the tough editorial policy. Moreover, that is what singles us out among other city media.

The website, a cross between Time Out and Dazed and Confused magazines, publishes articles about the best places to eat and the lifestyles of the local beau monde as well as meatier think-pieces. What sets Downtown apart is its arguably loftier goal: to stem the migration of the city’s creatives by inspiring them to stay local.

The Сalvert Journal, London-based online guide to the contemporary culture of the New East.

2. HYPERLOCALITY

Downtown.ru is a hyperlocal project. Here are three features of this project:

about city: we write only about things that happen within the city but not beyond its borders even if such information attracts more followers;
for city residents: we are focused on the interests of city residents and write just for them. Moreover, we are sure that 50% of followers, who are not from Voronezh, follow us for this reason;
through the eyes of city residents: our team completely consists of the local residents.

3. PROVOCATIONS

"Argue, rebel and think for yourself"

Kseniya Kamynina,
Downtown.ru Editor

We are not afraid to try something new, change, draw the attention of followers in the unexpected ways and remove them from the context of the settle course of time. Have something done beyond the stereotypes is a perfect method to make a name and draw attention. We actively used such method at early stages.

There are some examples of such publications and special projects from the right.

<a href="http://downtown.ru/voronezh/food/2005">Killer cocktails. Our fresh test!</a>

<a href="http://downtown.ru/voronezh/city/2671">A night with Madonna. Art project on the streets of Voronezh.</a>

<a href="http://downtown.ru/voronezh/tastes/2501">Secrets behind glossy magazines.</a>

Killer cocktails. Our fresh test!

4. QUALITY

We are constantly striving to improve the quality of our publications looking for the new formats. For this purpose we invite the editors of other editions to cooperate with us.

Daniil Trabun, Look At Me;
Sasha Boyarskaya, New Runners;
Elena Vanina, Afisha;
Inna German, Theory and Practice;
Natalia Spirina-Tseboyeva, Menu Magazine.

5. COMMUNITY

We bring together the city community organizing the events for our followers and clients:

Run For Fun running club ;
Trends For Friends garage sale;
Sinichka design market;
and a lot more.

Downtown.ru lately plays an ever increasing role of the city trend setter.

Eduard Boiakov, cultural specialist, ‘Praktika’ stage director, originator of Gold Mask, principal of Voronezh Academy of Arts.

LET’S DEAL WITH MEDIA

According to Downtown.ru we have experienced the working specifics of new media edition first-hand. This helped us in the further work with the new media:

we created the media site about family Polavkam;
new media Inde in Kazan we not only created the site for this mass media, but also shared our experience in working with the content, journalists and project edition advertising;
we were invited to take part in the launch of new city glossy magazine Slova in Voronezh.

If you want to start your media, we may offer the package proposal that is used by the working projects mentioned above. Such proposal includes all necessary for the start of editorial work and features the expansionary opportunity. We have already told about the capabilities of content management system on the page of Inde case.

Working upon Downtown.ru showed that it is possible to create the new hyperlocal media, which is strongly needed by the major brands.

Contact us in any way that is convenient for you and we will define the reasons why the startup of your media with our help is the optimal in terms of value for money: