Four-page wrap around promotion for the "digitally remastered" Chicago Tribune (as it appeared in the Aug. 13 editions)
Almost a week ago, The Chicago Tribune launched a new website that was a year in the making. It also has a sponsor, The University of Chicago Graham School, and, according to the official release from the Tribune, it is "offering readers a richer digital experience geared to any screen."
Indeed, the new digital experience is responsive and aimed at mobile users who are consuming information in their smart phones and tablets.
An important part of the message sent by Tony Hunter, CEO of Chicago Tribune Media Group, refers to the monetizing effort behind it:
"The platform also offers important new revenue opportunities for the Tribune as it looks to shift dollars from print to digital sources."
The Tribune's strategy is that after the new websites are in place, they will all be converted to a metered paywall system, allowing visitors to view a certain number of stories each month before requiring a paid digital subscription. The number of free stories will vary by market.
Take a look at the images of the four-page wrapper above, an interesting effort to use the print platform to call attention to the newspaper's new digital strategies and new products.
Print promoting digital: does it work?
It is always a question that pops up every time I conduct a workshop or address a large group: is it useful to promote digital products in the printed edition of a newspaper or magazine?
The answer to that is two fold:
1. We know from hearing it on various focus groups that readers of print publications aren't too happy when constantly sent to digital platforms to see "more of this story," or, worse, when, as I have experienced with USA Today and other titles, print promotes interesting items NOT found in print at all.
2. It is a different story to use the print publication and its often vast number of subscribers to alert them to how the brand they are loyal to can bring news and information to them via the media quartet: information when you want it, where you want it.
I feel that this four-page wrapper from The Chicago Tribune accomplishes that well. It will be interesting to see how many new digital subscribers the strategy brings.
