mediareporter:
Under its “Dare 2 Go Deep” campaign, The Economist creates a readership-minded marketing schtick intended to attract college students, staff and faculty members to its publication. The article ( “The Economist looks to Colleges for New Readers,”) about the nearly $1 million campaign comes from the NY Times’ Media Decoder blog. In the piece, managing director for the Economist Group tells Stuart Elliot that research indicates that many people begin to read the publication “after it’s recommended by a mentor professor, a parent.”
But even with these recommendations, the news magazine has made its intentions clear about its own desire to be the one that attracts a younger (and hopefully loyal) reader. The emphasis on new media comes as no surprise to those who follow the media industry. For example, the Tumblr-driven design of The Economist’s Dare2GoDeep website possesses a certain youthful quality that translates into a stronger focus on video content when compared to its more print-centric online homepage of The Economist.
As part of the campaign, the Dare2GoDeep website will offer a free two-week subscription to the publication. And, when you look at the subscription numbers, it’s no surprise that the news magazine would want to up the ante in the digital department. The article by Stuart Elliott reports:
The free, two-week subscription being offered is digital is no accident. The Economist is keen on increasing its circulation in nonprint venues. According to data provided by Mr. Rossi, the magazine’s total worldwide circulation of 1,558,119 is composed of 1,455,261 print copies and 102,858 digital copies. North America accounts for 897,849 of the total worldwide circulation.
Now, the lingering question is, “Will it work?”
What do you think? How can The Economist attract a younger audience without sacrificing its content?
