Selection of Weather Network mobile screenshots.

The Weather Network Tells a Complete Weather Story on Mobile

As a trusted source for weather information, The Weather Network impacts the daily lives of millions of users in Canada and internationally by continuing to refine the way they deliver weather forecasts and weather-related news content online, when and where people need it.

Opportunity

As a market leader, The Weather Network (TWN) uses the latest technologies to deliver accurate, hyperlocal weather information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, across television, web and mobile platforms. However shallow engagement on their mobile websites, despite it being a growing market, were making aggressive ad sales budgets difficult to meet and TWN needed to better capitalize this platform.

Solution

Building on existing brand, user, and competitive research, MitreBox UXD undertook a series of internal stakeholder interviews and interactive content and functionality workshops to help TWM define and prioritize the content, functionality and user experience design requirements for modernized mobile instances of www.theweathernetwork.com and www.meteomedia.com.

With the understanding that a great weather experience is why users come to TWN, MitreBox UXD took a user centric approach that acknowledged the importance of telling a complete weather “story” and providing an accurate, easy to understand forecast to increase user engagement. An intuitive global navigation and immersive homepage experience were designed to encourage exploration; and the display of weather information was enhanced to make complex forecast data more consumable.

Results

With the upcoming migration to a new content management system looming, a thoughtfully designed mobile experience was created that can be extended to desktop and tablet experiences when TWN is ready to undertake a fully responsive, single-channel deployment. The user focused navigation and smart geo-location functionality allow users to quickly find accurate and consumable weather information from locations both near and far. Consistent, logical and intuitive interfaces support native ad placements and unique sponsorship opportunities that fit naturally into content; allowing TWN to meet sales and monetization goals while continuing to dominate as a trusted source of weather information.

Anticipated Launch Date: Fall 2019

Services Provided

MitreBox UXD worked closely with The Weather Network's product, meteorology, editorial, creative, and technology teams to provide the following services: