Media Goal
The goal of the «File No.» media project is to make historical knowledge accessible, comprehensible, and engaging for a broad audience. The project will recount past events not just through dates, names, and official facts, but also through documents, personal letters, diaries, newspaper clippings, photographs, and biographies.
An additional objective of the project is to draw attention to historical documents and demonstrate their practical value. Archival materials can be interesting not only to specialists but also to general readers, provided that the creators, the circumstances of their creation, and what specific insights they offer into the past are explained.
Thematic Focus of Future Media
Сегмент: историческое и культурно-просветительское медиа
The main content will focus on events that have a documented foundation but are rarely discussed in mass culture. These could include forgotten court cases, vanished settlements, the fates of the repressed, the daily lives of Soviet citizens, the history of specific enterprises, cultural institutions, theaters, newspapers, and urban districts. A significant feature of the media will be the combination of microhistory and broader historical context. For example, a publication might begin with the story of a single individual but gradually use that story to illustrate the workings of a state institution, the specifics of legislation, public sentiment, or the everyday life of an entire period.
Competitive Landscape
Direct Competitors
Российские культурно-образовательные проекты, которые подают информацию в формате лекций и статей
Website: Arzamas
Arzamas is an educational project focused on history, culture, art, and the humanities.
Why the competition: The battle for the audience seeking to receive historical knowledge in an engaging format.
Website: VATNIKSTAN
VATNIKSTAN — a media outlet dedicated to the history, culture, and daily life of Russia and the USSR.Why it is a competitor:
Focus on Soviet everyday life, historical figures, cultural phenomena, and lesser-known stories. The themes and audience are closely aligned with those interested in 20th-century history.
Indirect Competitors
Проекты, которые могут не строиться на исторических исследованиях, но конкурировать за счет подачи.
Media: Editorial
Editorial staff — a media outlet that produces documentary films and investigative journalism about people, events, and social phenomena.Why the competitor:
An investigative structure focused on facts, interviews, and testimonies. An audience interested in real-life stories and the sequential unfolding of events.
Video Channel: TopLes
TopLes — a popular science and entertainment video project that utilizes unusual facts, intrigue, and visual storytelling.Why it’s a competitor:
The presentation relies on interesting facts and intriguing questions. It competes for the attention of a curious audience.
Competitor Analysis
Conclusion:
«Folder No.» competes not only with historical media but also with all projects that satisfy the audience’s need for unusual, authentic, and captivating stories.
However, the closest competitors are Arzamas and VATNIKSTAN, as they overlap with the brand in theme, handling of historical material, and educational function.
Distribution Channel
Telegram will be the primary distribution channel for the project. It will allow for publishing short historical notes, document excerpts, archival photographs, announcements of larger materials, and discussions with the audience. Telegram is also suitable for regular features, such as «Document of the Day,» «The Story Behind a Photo,» or «Fact That Changed Everything.»
You can also use the following channels:
VK — for publishing cards, short videos, and attracting a broad audience.
Zen — for distributing adapted historical articles.
Podcast platforms — for audio versions of investigations and conversations with experts.
Partner platforms — museums, libraries, archives, universities, and cultural festivals.
Email newsletter — for regular readers interested in selections of new materials and thematic digests.
Target Audience
Persona 1. «The Curious Reader»
This person is interested in history but does not want to read lengthy academic research. They require short, clear, and reliable materials that allow them to learn an unusual fact or understand a specific event in just a few minutes.
Jobs To Be Done (JTBD): quickly obtain insightful content that can be understood without specialized training and easily shared with others.
Persona 2. «Researcher and Student» This person is someone who is studying or working in the fields of history, culture, journalism, literature, theater, or archival science. They don’t just need facts; they need citations to documents, collection names, publications, and supplementary materials. Job to be Done (JTBD): To find a starting point for their own research, article, lecture, or academic project.
Persona 3. «The Family History Researcher» This reader is interested in documents, biographies, daily life, and methods for researching the past. They may not be a professional historian, but they want to better understand how to work with archives and verify family lore. Jobs To Be Done (JTBD): to learn how to find information about their family’s past and distinguish verified facts from memories and family legends.
Unique Selling Proposition
«File No.» is a medium that transforms archival documents and personal testimonies into captivating investigations about the people, events, and daily lives of the past.
The main distinction from typical historical social media pages is its systematic approach to documents and sources. Every publication must have a clear evidentiary basis, and any disputed points must be separated from established facts. This allows the audience to build trust and form the perception of the medium as a high-quality intermediary between the archive and the general reader.
Final positioning:
«Papak No.» is a Russian-language historical media outlet for those who want not just to know facts, but to understand how the past is reconstructed and what specific human stories lie behind every major event.
