*please note, I'm actually OOO this week & scheduled the newsletter before leaving. Hopefully the media world hasn't changed too much since!
In today's edition:
A year on from Meta's news ban in Canada: Radio-Canada share how they reacted to the change & the aftermath (a seriously great read)
5 lessons from Clarin's digital transformation
Taking retention to the next level - Maddyness offers a lifetime subscription
🇨🇠Join me at WAN-IFRA newsroom summit in Zurich
A year on from Meta's news ban in Canada
In 2023, Canada's media landscape changed dramatically with the Online News Act (C-18). This law aimed to:
Ensure fair pay for Canadian media from major online platforms
Redistribute millions to the Canadian news industry annually
However, Meta (including Facebook and Instagram) reacted with unexpected firmness, refusing any negotiations and deciding instead to block access to news content on its platforms in Canada.
Overnight, for Radio-Canada, Canada's public broadcaster, a social ecosystem on Meta, including more than 106 Facebook accounts and 63 Instagram accounts, were paralyzed, making content inaccessible.
Reactivity, an offensive campaign and realization that this is perhaps a good thing...
In response, Radio-Canada launched several offensive advertising campaigns. Clear, direct messages were broadcast to encourage users to find their information directly on our digital platforms. Among the slogans used: “Don't wait for someone to block access to your local news” and “Download the Radio-Canada Ohdio app”.
Result: the RC Info app recorded a 166% increase in downloads between July 3rd and September 3rd
Anonymous-to-known: prioritizing reader authentification across platforms
With the urgent need to maintain a direct link with our audiences, the organization has realized the importance of leveraging content consumption on owned web and apps spaces.
As a result, a vast strategy of mandatory authentication. Registration, i.e. account creation and login, across all Radio-Canada Group applications, was developed and rolled out in July 2024 to accompany the Paris Olympics.
At the time of writing, Radio-Canada has just passed the milestone of 2.6 million citizen accounts, representing an unrivalled digital asset and enabling the organization to maintain a privileged and direct link with its audiences, without intermediaries.
Ismael Nafria Mitjans, Journalist, Writer, Consultant and Professor specialized in Digital Media, spoke at The Audiencers' Festival London this June, sharing 5 secrets behind the success of Argentina's ClarĂn, the most successful Spanish-language media subscription.
Some of my favorite points:
> Collaborating with the competition
The move to registration & subscription was a significant change in the Argentinian market, so ClarĂn decided to make this decision hand-in-hand with their main rival, La NaciĂłn, considering it as a strategic move for the future of the industry as a whole.
> Registration before subscription
The signwall or registration wall was based on a metered model, which allowed a certain number of articles to be read each month (20 at the beginning) before users were asked to register. Thanks to this model, it was confirmed how essential its most loyal users were for ClarĂn's business, built up reader engagement and created a new culture of audience development across the whole company.
> Newsroom re-organization around goals
Since the 2008 paper and web merger, successive reorganizations have been made around ClarĂn's objectives. The most recent (2022) defines two main objectives, divided into 4 editorial teams:
1. Attracting new subscribers and retaining existing subscribers
Politics, Economy, World and Paper
Society, Sport, Entertainment and Zonals
Loyalty
2. Reaching large audiences (advertising, new users, relevance)
Massive audience: Breaking news, SEO, social networks, front page, video and photography...
Taking retention to the next level - Maddyness offers a lifetime subscription
Founded in France and now with a UK edition, Maddyness is the go-to magazine for entrepreneurs and innovators.
Having first developed a loyal, engaged community of readers, Maddyness recently launched their premium offer, Maddy+, including a one-time-payment lifetime offer, aimed at their most dedicated readers.
> Inspired by others, inside and outside of the media industry
"Media such as The New York Times, Wired and the Financial Times via Sifted inspired us with their ability to offer in-depth analysis and exclusive investigations. We've also been influenced by SaaS solutions that offer lifetime subscriptions"
> A limit to the number of lifetime subscriptions available
"...to avoid dealing with a mass of lifetime subscribers, which could have resulted in a big influx of immediate cash but more uncertainty over the long term. Plus it creates a sense of exclusivity and scarcity, and is also essential to maintaining a privileged relationship with our community."
> Ensuring it's a profitable offer for loyal readers
"We found that our most loyal readers have been reading Maddyness for ten years! For them, the calculation is simple: I'm going to keep reading for at least ten years, so if it becomes profitable after three years, it’s worth paying for a lifetime membership."
> Some learnings to share: targeted communication (the lifetime offer isn't an option for everyone), provide support & reassurance (it's a large payment to make in one go!) and market the offer across channels and the site (premium offer visibility is a valuable metric)
Are you curious about audience-driven journalism, the potential of AI or the most successful transformation processes in newsrooms? Perhaps you’re eager to discover digital revenue strategies, or maybe you’re seeking inspiring case studies from Europe’s top news publishers. Whatever your interests, don’t miss WAN-IFRA’s Newsroom Summit, this year taking place in Zurich on 21-23 October.
I've booked my train and am very excited to learn from speakers and attendees alike!
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