The way people choose how and when to get their news continues to change both rapidly and unexpectedly with the introduction and adoption of new technology. Audiences are consuming information more than ever before and are getting their news in unexpected ways and places. Gone are the days where people only get their news by sitting down for the nightly news or reading the morning paper. They are seeking diverse news, opinion, information and storytelling that’s in-step with their interests, passions and daily habits.
There is near universal acceptance in the industry that in an era rife with news avoidance, misinformation and competition for attention, news organizations must work even harder to earn and keep audiences’ trust and loyalty. Adhering to essential journalistic principles, producing a high quality of output and delivering distinctive, impactful journalism are all key facets to building and keeping an audience. However, an increasing factor in fostering audience loyalty, trust and engagement is the adoption of direct-to-consumer strategies.
Too often, going direct-to-consumer is framed purely in monetary terms with streaming and paywalls seen as the answer to offset declines in traditional sources of revenue, but the changing economics of news is only part of the equation. Going direct-to-consumer offers much more beyond building a complementary business model. It can also help news organizations win in a highly fragmented news environment, by incentivizing them to foster deeper connections with an engaged audience that is *opting in* to their product through creating a news experience that meets its audiences’ needs.
In my experience, implementing a direct-to-consumer strategy means recognizing a symbiotic relationship between the consumer and the publisher. Media organizations need engaged audiences in order to fuel a direct-to-consumer business, and a direct-to-consumer business model also creates the incentive to generate better experiences for consumers that command more engagement and loyalty. I saw this at my previous career stops, most recently at the New York Times. Now, at CNN, we are focused on creating direct, paying relationships with our audience by giving them products and content that our audience loves to drive regular engagement, tap into people’s daily interests and are worth paying for.
We already have newsletters and podcasts that people subscribe to, and last October we debuted an audience-focused subscription offering on CNN.com where subscribers in the US have unlimited access to all our journalism plus exclusive features. Building on this work, we recently announced that a new CNN streaming product will launch this Fall including live channels, catch-up features and video on demand. It will be available, first in the US, later internationally, across the mobile app, CTV apps and at CNN.com. We also announced plans to launch CNN Weather as our first standalone digital lifestyle product.
This strategy is built on deeply understanding and meeting the needs and expectations of the audience. With a focus on testing and learning, we use first-party data and real-time insight to directly respond to their behavior and build experiences that meet their needs. Key to rolling out more standalone products will be an ability and mindset to take from previous learnings to bring improvements across a full suite of products and services. For instance, we learnt from the launch of our CNN.com subscription offering that users expect more premium content that is unique and differentiated and serves a specific need. This is now being factored into our plans to launch future digital experiences.
As well as understanding the symbiotic relationship between publisher and audience, news organizations also need to consider another key group when implementing a direct-to-consumer strategy. The increased consumer engagement and loyalty from publishers having a direct relationship with the audience can benefit commercial partners such as advertisers who have greater opportunity to reach more engaged audiences with advanced targeting capabilities and relevancy. Going direct-to-consumer doesn’t happen at the detriment to the advertising offering if products are built in a way that integrates advertising in a smart way that is additive to the overall user experience.
The biggest challenge, in my experience, is culture. Moving from a primarily ad-driven business to a direct-to-consumer business, requires new skillsets across the organization. Whilst news organizations have innovated in many areas such as use of technology and developing new formats, we are also inherently risk-adverse in other aspects because journalists must be so diligent and careful when it comes to output. Therefore “test and learn” and “safe to fail” are not common terms in the news lexicon. This is completely correct when it comes to producing news reporting, but they are essential for the development of new products and services, and ultimately, building and engaging your audience for years to come.
