Aschendorff Group

About Aschendorff Group

Aschendorff Group, a media company in Münster and the Münsterland area, Germany, keeps residents up to date with all significant happenings, both at the local, regional, and global levels.

The company's core activities are the newspaper titles Westfälische Nachrichten and Münstersche Zeitung with a daily circulation of almost 206.000 copies. Part of their product range is also digital offerings such as the ePaper for smartphones and tablets developed by Vitec Visiolink.

A digital archive of local content from 1946 onwards

To set up the digital archive, Aschendorff Group imported their data to us. All pages have then been prepared so the newspaper's readers will be able to explore history on computers, smartphones and tablets. The digital archive includes almost all existing Westfälische Nachrichten issues for Münster since 1946 including all available local content of the past decades. 
 
The digital archive is available as a tab inside the ePaper. With just a few clicks, Aschendorff Group’s subscribers can explore history by choosing a specific date and year. The publications from that date and earlier dates will then appear on the front page, ready to be downloaded and read. 
 
Furthermore, readers can use the search function to explore their private history or events that moved the city, the country, or the world at that time. The search term itself is highlighted on the page, making it easy to find what the reader is looking for. It's also possible to limit the search to a specific period, giving readers the most relevant hits.

“With the help of Visiolink, we imported all the data available to us and had it digitally prepared to make viewing and the search function within the archive possible. Within a short time the data import worked, the new functions could be tested and in the end the product went live. Thank you for the good cooperation!" says Nora Perlewitz, Product Manager for Digital News Products.

Positive readers enjoying an app full of added value

Almost all historical newspaper editions since the first edition from 3rd August 1946 are now available in the ePaper.

The new digital archive serves as a source of added value to ePaper: It lets readers travel through time and browse through Aschendorff Group’s goldmine of historical content. This also means that the search function is being used a lot more. In fact, 77% of all searches in ePaper app are made from an edition in the digital archive, showing that the archive is a straightforward way to engage readers for longer.

Customer reactions to the new digital archive have been positive. Today, the archive is being used extensively by users on a daily basis. 

“The feedback from our customers has been consistently positive. Since going live in August 2022, the historical newspaper issues have been browsed and downloaded daily by our subscribers. A great add-on for our ePaper product,” says Nora Perlewitz, Product Manager for Digital News Products.