Guidebook Strategy & Innovation

I lead product strategy for Lonely Planet’s guidebook line — a new brand identity, a structured content model, and direct reader feedback all in motion, with the goal of making the format work for how people actually travel today.

Reading the signal

When I took over guidebook oversight, I started with the data. Reader feedback was clear: people wanted practical tools to plan and navigate their trips — hours, prices, transport, maps. The guides had been shifting toward an experiential format, but readers were asking for a different balance. I began reintroducing practical content: eating listings, transport information, navigation details. The response validated the direction and built internal confidence that a larger strategic shift was warranted.

Building the case for a broader relaunch

A brand redesign gave us the opening to do more than update covers. I saw a chance to rethink the product from the ground up — aligning print with the structured content model powering our digital platforms so content created once could publish across formats.

I designed and hired a new role to lead format development, built the product strategy, and presented it to senior leadership, where it was elevated to a board-level presentation. That signal — from the business treating this as a flagship initiative — confirmed the scale of the opportunity.

Cross-functional execution

The relaunch required coordinating across editorial, design, production, sales, marketing, and digital teams. I led multi-day working sessions where we rebuilt the content format section by section, and established ongoing collaboration structures to keep alignment as development progressed. The work connects directly to our CMS implementation and mobile app content strategy — the same structured content now flows across print, app, and web.

What’s next

This project is in active development. Detailed case study available after marketing materials are distributed in Q2 2026.