The targeted marketing of Folketidende's digital version has led to growth. The Danish media company is seeing an increased willingness among users to pay for digital content, and 441 readers have signed up for a subscription that does not include the printed newspaper.
In autumn of last year, passengers at Lolland and Falster's train stations in Denmark were met by street teams from Folketidende that distributed one-day digital subscriptions to the newspaper that could be used on smartphones and tablets. The goal was to raise the awareness of the digital version of the daily paper among commuters, who received a free afternoon newspaper to read on their way home.
"We've been able to follow the results via the number of times our app has been downloaded, as well as from in-app purchases. We saw a significant increase in the number of downloads on the days of the promotion. We track our QR codes via a landing page, which shows us how often they're scanned. This way we can track our marketing material to see if it's working," explains Michael M. Benzon, Folketidende's online and digital manager.
Along with the commuter campaign, the media house has focused on other areas to market the digital newspaper: ongoing advertising in both printed and online media, business networking events and introductory offers for new subscribers. And to target its marketing activities even further, the media house is using new tools.
"We're currently integrating Google Analytics into our e-newspaper solution, which lets us obtain and analyse a lot of statistical data. With this knowledge, we can better target our product and our campaigns to our readers on the digital platforms," says Benzon, who also foresees the creation of new digital products:
"We're currently working on a web strategy in which elements from the e-newspaper will be included. We're seeing an increased willingness among readers to pay for our e-newspaper and app content, and this is a development we hope to build on."
According to the Danish Audit Bureau of Circulation, Folketidende had a circulation of 15,068 in the first half of 2013.
Folketidende's subscribers can select from three packages:
- The printed newspaper, which costs DKK 715 quarterly.
- The digital newspaper, which costs DKK 535 quarterly.
- Full subscription (paper and digital access), which costs DKK 790 quarterly.
