The Onion

Project Overview

The Onion, a satirical powerhouse in American media, sought to revamp its digital presence and engage its audience in new and creative ways. MG Strategy + Design worked to migrate The Onion’s website from the Kinja CMS to a custom WordPress platform, redesign the front-end experience, launch a new membership program, and revive the print newspaper.

The goal was to modernize the user experience while staying true to The Onion’s classic and unique brand of humor. Oh and we only had 58 days.

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Partners

Our Approach

To tackle the complexities of The Onion’s digital transformation, MG Strategy + Design, took a strategic and phased approach to meet needs within a tight 60-day timeline. In the initial phase, we focused on migrating the entire website to WordPress.

We leveraged our extensive experience with digital media platforms to ensure a smooth transition, maintaining the integrity of The Onion’s vast archive of content. At the same time, we crafted a front-end design that would not only be visually appealing but also reflect The Onion’s classic, irreverent tone.

Getting to work on a print product in 2024 is utterly thrilling, to be sure. But without access to the level of expertise MG Strategy + Design provided, it would have been equally terrifying. Seeing the first renderings of the newspaper early in development offered me a wealth of reassurance that we were in the right hands.”

– Jordan LaFlure, Executive Editor at The Onion

Our team took great care in the visual transformation of The Onion, embracing the essence of classic newspaper design. The new site is a nod to traditional print journalism, featuring dense, richly textured layouts and typography that evoke the iconic look and feel of the publication’s origins. This styling aligns seamlessly with The Onion‘s satirical tone, reinforcing its roots in print while bringing a timeless, authoritative quality to its digital presence.

The revival of The Onion’s print edition was a key phase of the project. We designed a 16-page special edition for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, capturing the attention of the public and media outlets. The launch was a featured story in The New York Times. Following this success, we are set to design their monthly membership newspaper, which will provide subscribers with exclusive content and a physical connection to The Onion’s unique brand of humor.

To amplify the launch, Unrelated helped to execute a guerrilla marketing campaign timed perfectly with the DNC. We designed and created large billboards, wheatpasted signs, and digital displays that blanketed the city, driving awareness of the new site and membership offerings. The entire project, from initial strategy to the live campaign, was executed within an ambitious 60-day timeline.

The outcome of this collaboration was nothing short of transformative for The Onion. The new WordPress CMS provided a stable and scalable platform, allowing for faster updates and improved site performance. The redesigned front-end not only refreshed the visual identity of The Onion but also significantly improved user engagement.

The guerrilla marketing campaign during the DNC was a standout success. The combination of eye-catching displays generated a buzz around The Onion’s new offerings, driving a spike in traffic and membership sign-ups. The campaign effectively re-established The Onion’s presence in the public eye, coinciding with one of the nation’s most high-profile political events.

The special 16-page print edition further cemented The Onion’s return to print, rekindling nostalgia while appealing to new audiences. As we move forward with the design and production of the monthly membership newspaper, The Onion is well-positioned to grow its subscriber base, offering a unique blend of digital and print content to its fans.