Hearst, a major media company, sought innovative ways to improve subscriber retention and acquisition in the digital subscription era. Using BlueConic’s customer data platform, Hearst Newspapers introduced an article gifting feature that allowed subscribers to share content with non-subscribers, who were required to register an email to access the article. A test on HoustonChronicle.com showed a 9% reduction in subscriber churn and a 15% email capture rate from gift recipients. The strategy was expanded across Hearst’s premium sites, yielding 80,000 new email addresses and a 2.1% conversion rate to paid subscriptions, creating a sustainable growth engine.

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