Like many publishers, Nine needed ways to engage readers beyond breaking news. In a crowded attention economy, the team aimed to develop daily rituals that would strengthen subscriber relationships, reduce cancellations and encourage upgrades to premium.

Nine introduced new puzzles, including Target Time and Mini Crossword, in its flagship Android apps, available to premium subscribers. Mobile-friendly and easy to use, the puzzles were intended to appeal to a broad range of users. Implementation included features such as progress tracking, timers, answer reveals and achievement animations to enhance engagement. To measure performance, Nine developed a dashboard capturing unique players, time spent per game, games per user, and feature usage, providing clear insights.

Adding these puzzles to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Android apps gave readers a reason to return daily, building stronger habits and retention. Premium subscribers who regularly engage with puzzles are significantly less likely to churn than those who don’t. They also spend over 12 times longer per session compared to users who don’t play puzzles.

Each launch produced an immediate spike and a higher baseline of engagement.