Economist plans to double circulation profits

Lucinda Southern of Digiday writes about how The Economist plans to double its circulation profits in the next five years.

Southern writes, “To keep growing, The Economist needs to increase its digital subscribers, reduce the cost of print by migrating subscribers to digital, and reduce cost per customer acquisition.

“It’s on track to reach its targets, said Douglas McCabe, CEO of media analyst Enders, who points out that this growth is pretty achievable and that The Economist ‘has successfully transitioned from print to digital as few publications have done.’

“Brunt explains The Economist is at 3 percent penetration in the U.K., having identified 132 million people who are potential readers of The Economist. There is overseas growth potential too. It’s looking east to Asia, where it’s only at 0.2 percent penetration, and is exploring distribution tactics through popular Japanese messaging app Line and a bilingual app for Chinese users. Its biggest market is the U.S., where it still has only 1.5 percent penetration.”

Read more here.