Situation
Our client is was an Italian media group that owns a collection of regional and national newspaper titles. The national titles had been performing well with healthy subscription numbers, however, the regional titles had been underperforming in recent years. The client enlisted FT Strategies help to assess the monetisation opportunity of their regional papers through a robust understanding of their readers.
Engagement
FT Strategies engaged in a 10-week project which included:
- Conducted an online reader survey for all regional titles and executing >200 telephone reader interviews
- Benchmarked the client against their industry peers
- Developed reader personas to drive conversions
- Synthesised research outputs to provide long-term and actionable recommendations
Results
- Built a clear digital growth path for the client and showed them what to prioritise in order to drive their subscriber conversions
- Deeper understanding of the publication’s reader base, brought to life by a persona study to amplify strengths and underline unmet needs and untapped segments
- Alignment of the organisation through a series of workshops with the client’s editorial team from the 10 (previously siloed) newspapers
- Strategic recommendations, quick wins and long-term tactics, ranging from Digital Transformation based on The FTs own experience to a refresh of their content strategy and user experience
“We now have got plenty of ideas, suggestions and they [FT Strategies] have shown us a way to move on from the current not so comfort zone. Now it’s up to us plan the change and make it work.”
Senior Executive
