Digital Publishing
2 mins read

Channel 4 TV ads accelerate Readly’s growth

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Readly, the digital magazine newsstand, has more than tripled its subscriber base over the last year (+210% year-on-year), boosted by a TV campaign on Channel 4.  As a result, last year Readly delivered a total of 7m digital issues of UK magazines which were read by its paying customers.  

Readly went live with TV advertising at the end of June 2016.  The move was the product of an airtime-for-equity arrangement with the Channel 4 Commercial Growth Fund.  In return for a minority equity stake in the all-you-can-read digital edition supplier, the broadcaster delivered a complete television advertising campaign which showcased the Readly service: 800 UK magazine brands delivered as digital editions to multiple devices with unlimited usage for a £7.99 per month subscription.

Ranj Begley, Readly UK’s Managing Director, said: “Like many publishers, we had not seriously considered TV advertising due to its perceived expense.  Yet the partnership with Channel 4 has delivered a really impressive return and it has taken the Readly business on to a completely new level very cost-effectively”.

Between July and December 2016, the 30 second ads were shown in 6,500 spots which had a rate-card value of over £1m (click here to view the core ad).  Using an attribution model created by TV Squared, Readly’s agency, Squadron Venture Media, has been able to assess the precise return-on-investment of each spot at every step in the acquisition process: from initial contact, through to free trial and on to paid subscription.

Apart from the obvious promotional benefits, the Channel 4 campaign has also provided some interesting insights as to which days are the best on which to promote Readly (weekends produced the best results) and which times of day (breakfast and mid-mornings are strong).

In addition, the campaign analysis has shown that the subscribers delivered through Channel 4 are more highly engaged than average, using the Ready service more quickly and more intensely than is usually seen from other sources.