Discomfort Futures.
Challenging misconceptions to attract new readers.
The Economist can be a challenging read. For many, this can become a barrier, but for those that take the time to digest the broad range of content on offer, it can be a truly rewarding brand experience.
So when The Economist challenged us to acquire new, loyal subscribers, we looked to turn what is unique about the brand – an empowering yet challenging read – into a powerful acquisition platform. Our global strategy – ‘Discomfort Futures’, positioned The Economist as an advocate for change.
Embracing the open, often uncomfortable, future trends it covered we created impactful, but purposely polarising promotions that quickly filtered out those that fitted with The Economist and those who didn’t.
Whether free insect ice creams, ‘bleeding’ plant burgers or smoothies made from waste fruit, each experience led to an immediate subscription opportunity, helping to build an ‘always on’ global programme of activity. It went on to become the second most profitable acquisition ‘channel’ for The Economist, attracting industry-wide recognition and inspiring many copy-cat campaigns since.
Economist produces dry and
boring content”
14 countries
