Situation
Público, a leading newspaper in Portugal, saw an increase in subscriptions during 2020 but, like many organisations, had to realign its digital strategy when growth slowed. Staff attended the FT Strategies and Google News Initiative programmes because they wanted to make changes in terms of focusing more on data in order to reach and keep digital subscribers.
Results
Público understands it is a trustworthy news source for subscribers, but needs to learn more about what will make those subscribers remain loyal. Its leaders designed a new governance model identifying three pillars – acquisition, lifetime value and culture – to focus their activities. They organised squads, who identified 50 experiments responding to metrics, including a new churn model, a redesign of the homepage, and different versions of subscriber campaigns to better understand why users engage and return.
FT Strategies and the Google News Initiative recommended continued investment in data and tracking habitual behaviours to gain a deeper understanding of why customers value Público. As part of the Data and Insights Launchpad, the team measured content, topics and specific digital engagement behaviour that proved consistent with likely subscriber retention.
The publication’s multidisciplinary approach following the Subscriptions Academy and Data & Insights Launchpad programmes has seen a fundamental culture shift. Público has shown how cross-functional teams from editorial, data and innovation departments can come together to experiment and learn in order to generate better audience engagement and increased revenue growth.
"In the first quarter of this year, for the first time ever we’ve become a leader in subscriptions. Because we attended the Subs-Academy with FT Strategies and Google, in terms of business, we are more structured and organised for a common purpose"
Guida Marques-Pinto Digital Innovation Director, Público
