How the Economist’s app is driving its growth

Chris Sutcliffe of The Media Briefing interviewed Michael Brunt, chief marketing officer and managing director of circulation for The Economist, about how its application is spurring readership.

Sutcliffe writes, “For many of those who eventually take up a subscription, The Economist’s Espresso app will have been a motivating factor.

“Since its launch in November of last year the app has been downloaded around 860,000 times. Its function – delivering daily content to users – is part of a larger strategy of expansion at The Economist, one with a modern audience’s habits at its core. Brunt explains:

‘When we were developing Espresso we were keen not to give away the crown jewels of the weekly curated edition of the Economist because that is a premium price and we have a lot of people who are willing to pay for high-quality independent journalism.

‘[Espresso is] brilliant for keeping the brand front of mind, as well.’

“That careful consideration of the purpose of an app has translated to The Economist’s new bilingual app, the Global Business Review.”

Read more here.