Media & publishing

The Times uses the COVID-19 ‘news surge’ to boost subscription revenues

Article • Alex Brownsell, Event Reports, Mediatel’s Future of Publishing online conference, June 2020

Why Times Newspapers opted against dropping its paywall for coronavirus-related content during the pandemic.

Pandemic drives UK news readership to record high

News • 17 June 2020

Daily consumption of national print and digital news brands in the UK soared to over 30 million in the first quarter of the year, its highest ever number, according to the latest data from the Publishers Audience Measurement Company (PAMCo).

‘Come together’: Why COVID-19 is having a huge impact on UK audiences

Opinion • Denise Turner, May 2020

New research from Newsworks, the marketing body for UK national newspapers, shows that the coronavirus pandemic poses a unique threat to consumers’ key priorities in life.

El Tiempo: #WomenRewriteWomen

Case Study • Carolina Mejia, Annabelle Butler, Jane Dorsett, WARC Awards, Silver, Effective Social Strategy, 2020

Newspaper El Tiempo persuaded influential female writers to rewrite sexist headlines through a social and owned media campaign to highlight the problem of sexism in Colombia.

The Telegraph: Changing the prayer and praying for change

Case Study • Basabdatta Lahiri, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Brand Purpose, 2020

Indian daily English-language newspaper The Telegraph used a multichannel approach, including TV, radio and outdoor based around the Durga Puja festival to draw attention to the issue of gender inequality in India.

The Times of India: Lost Votes

Case Study • WARC Awards, Silver, Effective Content Strategy, 2020

English-language daily the Times of India threw its might behind a voting rights campaign, raising its profile among younger readers in the country.

Times of India: Out & Proud – India Comes Out of the Closet

Case Study • Saad Khan, Trinolda Colaco, WARC Awards, Gold and Evaluation Award, Effective Use of Brand Purpose, 2020

The Times of India newspaper sparked a nationwide movement to normalise LGBTQ with a special Out and Proud classifieds section in India.

COVID-19: Publishers are stuck between a reader rock and an advertising hard place

Opinion • Alex Brownsell, April 2020

Publishers hope to emerge from the crisis by fortifying brand and user relationships – even if that means accepting short-term pain, writes Alex Brownsell.

Chicago Sun-Times: The Blank Page

Rankings • WARC Effective 100, 2020

The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper grew its number of subscribers by showing what Chicago would look like without the paper.

The Times of India: No Conditions Apply – Sindoor Khela

Rankings • WARC Effective 100, 2020

The Times of India, an English-language daily newspaper in India, launched a purpose-driven campaign that challenged a 400-year-old tradition in India.

The New York Times: The Truth Is Worth It

Rankings • WARC Creative 100, 2020

The New York Times, a US news publication, increased appreciation in paid journalism by showing its unwavering commitment to the truth.

An-Nahar: The Blank Edition

Rankings • WARC Creative 100, 2020

An-Nahar, an Arabic language daily newspaper, launched a blank edition of its newspaper to protest Lebanese politicians who had failed to form a government for over 6 months and rally support from the public.

A neuroscientific method for assessing effectiveness of digital vs. print ads: using biometric techniques to measure cross-media ad experience and recall

Research Paper • Andrea Ciceri, Vincenzo Russo, Giulia Songa, Giorgio Gabrielli, and Jesper Clement, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 60, No. 1, 2020, pp. 71-86

Marketers can choose among various media to convey advertising, ranging from printed advertising on paper to websites through the Internet and mobile through smartphones and tablets.

The Chicago Sun-Times: The Blank Page

Case Study • Case Studies on WARC, 2018

Newspaper The Chicago Sun-Times acquired new subscribers through an unconventional appeal to its younger audience.

Inside The Telegraph’s pivot from clicks to quality engagement

Article • Alex Brownsell, Event Reports, IAB Research Breakfast, February 2020

An overview of UK news brand The Telegraph’s strategy to increase reader attention quality.

Why The San Francisco Chronicle is doubling down on reader revenue

Article • Alex Brownsell, Event Reports, INMA’s European News Media Conference, September 2019

Looks at how The San Francisco Chronicle is tackling the issues of declining print revenues and local engagement.

How consumers respond to ads in news content

News • 06 December 2019

Consumer responses to advertising in news content varies significantly depending on the medium used, according to a study published by the Journal of Advertising Research (JAR).

The Times: James - Your digital butler

Case Study • Data and Marketing Association, Gold, 2019

The Times, a newspaper brand, increased engagement with its digital readers in the UK by launching an AI-driven butler called James to deliver tailored content.

The Guardian: Soulmates – Dating with a two track mind

Case Study • Data and Marketing Association, Bronze, 2019

The Guardian, a UK newspaper brand, launched innuendo-fuelled headlines on its dating section, Soulmates, to encourage sign-ups for like-minded people.

The Guardian: The Joy of Print

Case Study • Data and Marketing Association, Gold, 2019

The Guardian, a newspaper brand, increased its print subscriptions in the UK by creating a series of out-of-home posters and tube panels that made a nod to digital detoxing.

The Times & The Sunday Times: Politics Tamed

Case Study • Lesley Myers-Lamptey, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Channel Integration, 2019

The Times and The Sunday Times increased brand awareness and paid-for subscriptions by focusing on the 'madness' of UK politics in the face of an increasingly competitive category.

FT sees revenue boost post-GDPR

News • 15 October 2019

The Financial Times’ digital ads strategy following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation appears to have been a formula for success, bringing about a healthy spike in programmatic ad revenue.

El País: What do you think? - QR

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Gold, Spain, 2019

El País, a global newspaper, created an online campaign of powerful images covering important topics to strengthen brand love in Spain by encouraging readers to share what they think.

The Washington Post looks beyond ads and subscriptions

News • 01 October 2019

When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013, it was assumed that changes to the newspaper would soon be made, but few saw the licensing of its technology as an obvious step.

Congresso em Foco: Trending Botics

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Finalist, LATAM, 2019

Congresso em Foco, a political news website, launched a platform that used machine learning algorithms to identify social media bots and raise awareness of fake content ahead of Brazil's presidential elections.