Newspapers are dead. People won’t pay for news any more. Millennials don’t read the news. Media companies – especially newspapers – struggle with digital transformation.
These maxims may be true for some firms, but not for the Financial Times. Best known for its premium finance-centric content and pink newsprint, this 126-year-old institution has broken free from its stuffy British gentlemen’s club reputation and established itself as a global digital media leader. As much newer rivals continue to struggle with the ongoing disruption in the media industry, the Financial Times stands out as an example of digital transformation done right.
Digital in their DNA
First, the numbers: the FT’s total circulation grew 10% year-on-year to almost 690,000 across print and online, the highest paying readership in their 126-year history (Deloitte assured figures from Q3 2014). Furthermore, digital readership grew strongly, with online subscribers increasing 23% year-on-year to 476,000, representing more than two-thirds of the FT’s total audience.
Additionally, mobile readership continues to increase, driving almost 50% of total traffic and 20% of digital subscriptions. In fact, content revenue for the FT exceeds advertising revenue and is at an all-time high (numbers from the FT).
The secret to this dramatic success? They don’t identify themselves as a newspaper. Instead, they think of themselves as “a premium brand with high quality content,” according to Mi Li, Manager of marketing and audience development for the FT.
Other media firms have struggled with their DNA. CNN is a cable company. Newsweek is a print weekly. And daily newspapers around the world predictably identify themselves as daily newspapers. As a result, when revenues drop and the audience deserts them for greener digital pastures, established media properties struggle with internal organizational discord between their traditional and digital businesses.
Read the entire article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2014/11/05/digital-transformation-in-action-at-the-financial-times/.
Mi Li will be speaking on “Leveraging Data from Upper Funnel Audience to Delighted Customers” at the Big Data & Marketing Innovation Summit in Miami November 6 – 7.
Intellyx advises companies on their digital transformation initiatives and helps vendors communicate their agility stories. As of the time of writing, none of the organizations mentioned in this article are Intellyx customers. Image credit: Kai Chan Vong.
