Tech Acquisition & Pivot

In 2014, MQ rebuilt the Patch.com platform in just six-months. Patch was acquired by Hale Global from AOL in 2014, and MQ played an integral role in migrating and revamping the existing Patch architecture and assets.

Project Development Included

• Rebuilding entire network of 903 sites migrated & maintained across the US (global expansion in progress)
• Creating a new user generated content (UGC) moderation flow that expedited the review and approval of community submissions
• Migrating from 96 AOL servers to 15 AWS (Amazon Web Services) servers, enabling Patch cloud at a huge cost savings
• Transferring over 6MM users, 18MM images, 17.7MM articles, and 0.5 Petabytes of video to new AWS servers

Additional Project Tasks Included

• Complete web and mobile redesign (anonymous front-end and secured back-end)
• Extensive social media integration (Facebook, Disqus, Twitter, Instagram)
• Ad server customization (DFP, AdTech, LiveIntent, Taboola, SailThru)
• Increasing ad revenue by introducing new ad unit space, refining existing UX to provide a better ad experience and adding on the ad platform integration for DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP)
• Introducing a new email service provider (ESP) for newsletters, and rebuilding all email templates, themes, and user preference managers. Included migration of existing subscribers and transforming the way Patch users received news. Open rates soared to 29% and click-thru rates remained steady at 8-11% (2.5% above the industry standard)