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The Straits Times participated in the Google News Initiative (GNI) Data and Insights Launchpad (DIL) program, delivered through a partnership between Google and FT Strategies. DIL is a three-month long program aimed at addressing and accelerating publishers’ data and insights capabilities, from reader discovery to subscription strategy.

During this program, the audience survey received a high volume of responses from unexpected channels and sources. In particular, one group of users that stood out to The Straits Times team was their Telegram subscribers. This was a channel that was previously not a focus area for the business. The survey results highlighted a clear opportunity for growth by specifically engaging with their audience on Telegram.

In addition to the survey findings, the program recommended that the value proposition could be refined in order to be clearer for potential subscribers. There was also an opportunity for content sampling, to allow users to build reader habits before being prompted to pay for a subscription. Furthermore, the initial onboarding journey for new registered users and new subscribers could be refreshed to enable richer first-party data collection while also engaging with their audience earlier on in the customer lifecycle journey. The Straits Times team planned to deep-dive into these key ‘subscriber moments’ to increase reach, conversion and engagement.

The Straits Times team prioritized the initiative to reach a younger, more diverse audience who are not already reading or engaging with The Straits Times through various projects. Based on the responses from the user survey, The Straits Times started an experiment to introduce their newsletters through Telegram - the experiment is still ongoing but is showing really positive results so far.

The next project on Telegram would be to refresh the look and feel, and content mix with the aim of making it a go-to newsfeed. The Straits Times are also in the midst of pulling together resources and expertise to grow their followers on TikTok, as part of a longer term initiative to reach a younger, more diverse audience.