michael golden - winners shaping the future - how some newspaper companies are succeeding and...
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Winners shaping the future – How some
newspaper companies are succeeding and leading
the way
Michael GoldenVice ChairmanThe New York Times Company and Publisher of the IHTUSA
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS
WAN-IFRA KIEV
SEPTEMBER 2012
BEFORE LAUNCHHere’s what our critics were saying:
• “New York Times Paywall: Wishful Thinking or Just Crazy?”
• “5 Reasons Why The New York Times Paywall Will Fail (And Why It’s Really Dumb)”
• “The New York Times Paywall Business Model Is Doomed”
AFTER LAUNCHHere’s what they’re saying now:
“In my wildest dreams when they rolled this out a year ago, I didn’t think they’d be at over 450,000 subscribers a year later. The execution, the threading the needle between free and restricted access and harvesting of its huge unique visitor number has been pretty flawless.”
Douglas Arthur, Evercore PartnersOn the one-year anniversary of the NYT digital subscription business
• More than 500,000 digital-only paid subscribers.
• Retention rates for print subscribers have improved.
• The New York Times Media Group has had revenue growth for five quarters since starting the digital subscription plan.
• It’s been a huge, emotional lift for employees.
• Only modest reductions in unique visitors and pageviews on NYTimes.com.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY
BE CLEAR ON YOUR GOALS.
What are you trying to accomplish? Expanded subscriptions?
Protecting print subscriptions and economics? Giving consumers access on multiple devices?
Increasing revenue?
Our goal: To develop a significant paid-digital subscription plan
because our content warrants it and the business needs it.
#1
ALIGN THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION BEHIND THE EFFORT.
Touches every aspect of the business: Technology, marketing, analytics, finance, editorial, advertising, design, etc.
Your customers expect a wonderful experience and you have to unite to deliver it.
We put almost everything else on hold for 18 months to make sure we got it right.
#2
YOUR READERS KNOW BEST.Customers tell you what they want. Are you listening?
The Times did extensive research on reader needs, usability testing on the product, price and offer testing and
made A/B testing a core competency.
#3
Apple Newsstand release
Cyber Monday promotion
Global pay model launch
iTunes integration
Web access for Kindle users
Gateway to 10
MEU conversions
Groupon Deals
Flipboard collaboration
THINK (AND ACT) LIKE A DIGITAL RETAILER.
Constantly innovate in product enhancements and marketing initiatives
#4
Q2 2011 Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012
ADVERTISING STILL WORKS.#5
OUR GOAL NOW
Optimize for earnings, not singularly focused on subscription volume:
•Digital subscription revenue
•Print subscription revenue
•Digital advertising revenue
WHAT’S NEXT?
Continue driving rapid growth of the digital subscription business
Introduce next generation paid products
Develop an even deeper understanding of our consumers and prospects
Improve user experience to better serve existing subscribers
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