How one API call cut Prezly's onboarding to 40 seconds and boosted activation by 2.2x

The "aha moment" for Prezly happens when a new trial writes their first story and opens the newsroom preview.

But session recordings showed a problem: users were reaching the preview, then leaving. Nothing was broken. The preview just didn't feel like theirs. Placeholder logo. Default colors. Mock content.

So Prezly used Brandfetch to make that first preview look like the customer's actual newsroom, instantly.

The result: trials that open the brand importer create a story 77% of the time, versus 34% of trials overall.

Prezly Newsroom Settings > Styling

Turning a URL into a fully branded product

All Prezly needs is a URL.

One Brand API call turns that URL into a complete brand identity: logo, colors, fonts, company name, boilerplate, and social links. Prezly uses that data to prefill the newsroom and render a full-screen preview, with desktop and mobile views.

The experience goes from "here's a blank newsroom" to "here's your newsroom" in 40 seconds.

People see manual work nowadays, and they just run from it.

Hugo Felix, Project Lead, Product Design at Prezly

The impact: faster setup and higher activation

• 2.2x activation — Trials that open the brand importer create a story 77% of the time. Trials overall: 34%.

• 7.5x faster setup — Around five minutes of copy-pasting became roughly 40 seconds.

• More engaged users — Story publishing increased too: users preview a newsroom that already carries their branding, and they just hit publish.

Why does it work? Hugo points to a simple truth about adoption.

One of the biggest factors is customization. The more custom the app feels to your needs, the closer you are to purchasing it.

Hugo Felix, Project Lead, Product Design at Prezly

What makes it work: data quality

Good automation starts with good data. If the logo, colors, or name are wrong, the first preview can feel wrong too.

Prezly's analysis found ~97% accuracy on logos and brand names, ~85% on accent colors, and ~79% on favicons.

After reviewing the full funnel, Hugo's conclusion was simple: "Quality isn't the problem." That reliability gave Prezly the confidence to put Brandfetch at the heart of their onboarding.