Focusing on the newspapers’ core commitment to ensure readers are well-informed, this campaign demonstrates how the titles “cut through the noise to the stories that matter”, say the publishers.
Running from mid-September on TV, online and on traditional and digital outdoor, the creative for the campaign will include iconic imagery from Times photographers, capturing key news events. New creative treatments will be created over the course of the campaign, adapting to the news of the moment as defined by The Times and The Sunday Times’ editorial agenda. The digital and traditional outdoor campaign went live on 12 September and TV will go live on 1 October.
According to News UK, the ‘Know your times’ joint campaign reinforces The Times and The Sunday Times’ role as trusted, authoritative newspapers that prioritise substantive news and comment. This positioning reflects the new digital strategy of the titles, which have shifted away from publishing rolling news and moved to an edition-based model online, whereby the main edition is now updated at set intervals rather than continually. This strategy was conceived after 18 months of customer research that highlighted the two papers’ strength in analysis and in-depth reporting, and has successfully increased engagement with subscribers who are returning to the digital products more often.
The ‘Know your times’ marketing campaign will also be accompanied by online sampling and CRM programmes to existing readers. The new drive is being launched to capitalise on the titles’ growth and profitability as their subscription offering continues to grow, says News UK. The papers have seen an increase in subscribers to more than 417,000 and the latest NRS figures (June 2016) show The Times’ readership has increased by 14.2 per cent year on year.
Catherine Newman, Marketing and Sales Director of The Times and The Sunday Times, said: “The Times and The Sunday Times are bucking the trend in the newspaper market. Subscriptions to both papers continue to grow, the latest NRS figures show The Times’ readership is increasing and the title’s ongoing profitability points to a strong future for both readership and advertising.
The ‘Know your times’ campaign aims to demonstrate how our titles ensure readers are not just informed, but well-informed, about the fast changing world we live in today.
This new positioning is also important for our advertisers – quality content matters to our audience and the quality of our audience matters to us. We are trusted by our readers and have a deep relationship with them, which creates a valuable, premium environment where brands can connect with consumers.”
