Many acknowledge The Economist magazine as a beacon of successful digital strategy. Audra Martin, Vice-President at The Economist Group with responsibility for direction and delivery of The Economist’s global digital advertising offering in London, outlines the aspects of The Economist’s digital strategy that make it so worthwhile in her article for the 2014/15 EMMA magazine. Successful expansion across digital platforms feeds into the concept of next generation journalism and provides a measured response to media consumption trends in the magazine media sphere. Martin outlines the two central tenets of the strategy: the mission and the readers. Any attempt to grow revenues or create digital experiences must have these as its first priorities. The unwavering goal is to retain high quality across all content and services.
How to earn trust
Martin highlights the importance of gaining trust and making sure that content is helpful for existing and new customers. This doesn’t just mean readers of the publication, but also event attendees, and those paying from insights from the Economist Intelligence Unit. High levels of trust in the brand are essential for reader retention and for building new audiences. This, as Martin points out, is no different for the digital space. There was an understanding that readers of the print edition often consumed news on the go, and this informed a decision to produce a strong iPad app for the Apple store so that people on the move could still get their fix of long-read, immersive pieces. They knew that the iPad generation would want this content, but the question was how to adapt the digital strategy accurately? Martin wondered,
“How do we create a reading experience best for that medium that our audience would consider as valuable as print?”
They needed something that was more than just a replica of the print magazine, something that was of a high standard, and that would provide a distinct experience to the print edition.
Evolving Advertising
The new digital experience offered fresh opportunities for advertising too. Where The Economist has for many years helped its clients to use content to get their message across, now the introduction of metrics which measure the performance of communications in the digital sphere have allowed for more thoughtful and precise distribution. Martin outlines The Economist’s digital strategy as the expansion of all media services in terms of digital, social and content strategy; creative technology expertise; and analytics and insights.
There are three elements of this strategy that have required a rethink:
1. Agility – success is based on how quickly they can interpret and react to technological change. Martin notes that this may mean accepting more unknowns from the outset.
2. Talent Management – means getting the right people onboard, and developing the capabilities of existing employees to think digitally and collaborate across disciplines. Given the current competitiveness of the recruitment environment, talent management is essential for success.
3. Market-making – comes from listening to customers and sharing insights with those clients who are buying and selling services, according to Martin this ultimately helps the brand to sell more.
The Core Goal
The guiding principles that led to the formation of The Economist in 1843 were to support free trade by producing intelligent analysis and sparking debate. Despite various expansions over the years into a business-to-business research arm (the Economist Intelligence Unit) alongside a media business portfolio of advertising solutions, a marketing agency, events and client branded content, this core mission remains unchanged. Rounding off Martin states that,
“Digital strategy does not stand alone, it is really just an extension of how we accomplish that using the digital media our customers and clients rely on in their personal and professional lives.”
