The Economist is trying to eschew its elitist perception

The Economist is trying to become more appealing to a mass audience, writes Ian Burrell of The Drum.

Burrell writes, “The Economist newspaper remains its ‘most visible product’ and it was this wish to be more open and inclusive that informed its redesign in October, the first in 17 years. ‘We have opened it up and although it is still long-form content there are a lot more pictures in there and different colourways; different design cues, different signposting,’ says Cripps. ‘That has researched very well, people are finding that a lot more accessible and open which is great.’

“With ‘elites’ increasingly under fire around the world, there’s no value in elitist marketing for a news outlet that seeks global scale. ‘There is so much choice out there that we have to move away from being positioned as inaccessible because we don’t want to give people any excuses not to consume our content.’

“Alongside a more human look to the messaging there is also a different voice. ‘We are changing the tonality. The white out of red ads were something quite didactic; we were imposing our views on people. Talking at people is not the future, so we are starting to talk with people and become more dialogical.’ The Economist’s recent direct response TV campaigns have been characterised by questions posed to the audience, and offers of a free magazine to go in search of answers.”

Read more here.