Ouest-France boosts its local information
Content Issue
Ouest-France has been France’s leading regional newspaper since 1975, with an average circulation of 646,853 copies daily. Published in Rennes, Brittany, it is sold in Western France and Paris.
Ouest-France’s main objective is to provide a flow of automated content to complement its hyperlocal information, while freeing journalists of repetitive tasks.
Its second objective is to extend the newspaper’s influence by including more towns in its coverage.
The group also intends to widen the scope and visibility of its local pages by offering content on areas not covered by correspondents.
Answer given by Syllabs
Syllabs language engineers and writers have been working closely with the Ouest-France editorial team to design texts consistent with the newspaper’s editorial style.
To date, two columns have been developed to enhance the newspaper’s local pages: weather and upcoming cultural events.
In October 2019, Syllabs generated Ouest-France’s first daily weather reports for 29 towns that had not been covered by the newspaper’s correspondents and the editorial team were able to see the effectiveness of the Syllabs solution in these areas outside its usual coverage.
Following this successful first test, Ouest-France decided to expand the geographical area covered by Syllabs to 231 towns one month later!
At the same time, Syllabs started producing reports on upcoming cultural events in 28 towns, enabling Ouest-France to suggest regular activities to its readers.
These achievements have reinforced Ouest-France’s strategy and encouraged it to pursue its collaboration with Syllabs on other content. Watch this space!
