• by Larissa Faw , December 18, 2017

The Vatican has named Accenture Interactive as its strategic partner to create a new online identity where "one spiritual word is more simply and fluidly reaching believers of diverse cultures, all over the world." 

There was no formal pitch, but a single source, multiple-year engagement, per the agency.

The Ministry of Communications of the Vatican selected the agency based on its "solid global experience" and "unique ability to combine creative/marketing agency services with consulting skills and deep technology chops," says Max Cremonini, content and creative lead, Accenture Interactive, Italy.

Under the multi-phase project, Accenture Interactive will consolidate various digital news properties into one unified portal as well as design new logos and other brand elements of the various Vatican communication channels: Vatican News, Vatican Media and Radio Vaticana Italiana.

The first steps to transform the digital newsroom reorganization are already underway.

Previously, the Vatican Newsroom was divided into 60 rooms divided by 75 different languages. Now, Accenture Interactive is arranging one multi-language editorial team to work with a multimedia, multi-device and multi-cultural approach. The agency is also upgrading back-end analysis.

For instance, it looked at the most widely searched terms relating to the Church to ensure that information was readily available online – helping increase SEO, improve web analytics and drive through more relevant traffic.

In addition, this week, the Vatican is launching a beta version of the new News Portal, which you can find here. 

The overarching goal is to help people find and interact with desired information more easily. It is part of an agenda set by Pope Francis to create a new familiarity with the Holy See and give the Pope a voice closer to the people.

“Each reform does not originate from a mistaken past but from a present that calls for a change: in this case, today’s cultural and digital convergence require the adoption of production processes that are different from traditional ones," stated Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications.