A South Korean app for audio live streams and podcasts that launched in 2016, Spoon Radio wanted to boost its US presence and increase Gen Z downloads. Unfortunately, Spoon wasn’t a household name in the States, even though it had 30 million global users and revenue that surpassed $20 million by 2018. With little brand presence and quite a bit of competition from heavy hitters like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, it was a challenging ask.

I tested multiple customer narratives and information hierarchies to land on a winning formula, here on the left. The treatment that performed best relied on the product’s value propositions of community belonging and ease of use for new creators.

Some of the design components I found conversion success with include:

• Hero video explaining the product vs. a static image

• Emphasis on free, fast, and easy keywords for users creating their first audio experiences

• A 3-step Z-pattern describing how to create on Spoon

• Social proof with testimonials aligned to the value propositions

• Scannable icons and avatars to show top categories and streamers

• A clear info hierarchy with more granularity at the bottom, including FAQs

In the version on the right, I tried a narrative that focused on aspiring musicians, with the benefit of less social comparison than other social media like Instagram and TikTok. It performed well, but ultimately was too specific for a general audience.

My role in this project:

• researched user pain points

• conducted a competitor analysis

• performed a content audit and created a customer narrative

• streamlined mental models and confusing taxonomy

• collaborated with a product designer on wireframes

• wrote all copy for launch and optimizations

My team and I increased the clickthrough rate by 2,000% and drove 33% more app downloads than the client’s control page.