In 2014, Slacker’s streaming music content was very well-regarded by users, but poorly designed apps and website were preventing users from engaging.  

(Rob was VP Product at Slacker from 2014 through 2016 - see Rob Canning Bio for more info.)

 

first, NEW Branding for slacker

In 2014, Slacker’s logo and branding was very generic and undifferentiated, and did not evoke music. First, Rob led the effort to gain an understanding of Slacker’s target customers and Slacker’s brand values.  Based on those findings and due to a lack of sufficient internal resources, Rob hired an agency and led the effort to explore logos, imagery, colors, iconography, and typography that evoked and aligned with those customers and values. The results are a beautiful, high impact, and speak for themselves (click on image below to expand): 

Slacker Style Guide (click to view full image)

 

next, a brand new Site and mobile Apps

Slacker’s unique content was getting lost in a confusing and cluttered interface.  A large percentage of new users never listened to anything before quitting the apps, let alone registering or subscribing.  To address these large, difficult problems, Rob led efforts to establish KPI’s and then redesign the Information Architecture and User Experience around them. These efforts resulted in intuitive, beautiful, modern looking apps and website.  Customers responded with very positive app store ratings and review, and Slacker was named Time Magazine’s "Best Radio App" shortly after launch.

 

5 star app rating

Slacker’s ratings were good but not great, and competitors were consistently rated higher. Rob led the effort to synthesize customer pain points across all feedback channels.  Rob also implement targeted ratings prompts designed to encourage 5 star reviews and divert unsatisfied users to customer service.  Furthermore, Rob prioritized app stability over feature enhancements for a few sprints.  All of these efforts reduced poor ratings and dramatically increased 5 star ratings, resulting in Slacker becoming a 5 star app in iTunes as of Q1-2016!