Wiland Blog

There are more options for readers, listeners, viewers, and subscribers to choose from today than ever before. The competiton for eyes and ears is fierce, and media brands are feeling this pressure not just in acquiring new subscribers, but in keeping them engaged as well. Deloitte’s 2022 Digital Media Trends report₁ cites the high rate of churn experienced by media brands, especially among Gen Z and Millennial customers. This competition is mirrored as media brands vie for adverting dollars too. Media brands need to prove to advertisers that they have the best media property for reaching the advertiser’s ideal customers.

Do you represent a media brand looking to make data your ally? By working with a data partner, you can address these challenges head-on and turn them into opportunities for growth. A qualified data partner will help you unlock proprietary consumer insights that you can use to position your media brand for greater success in four ways:

1. Gain Actionable Insights Into Consumer Interests and Behavior
   While every media brand is different in terms of the amount and level of detail of data they have on their audience, there is much to be gained by learning more about them—their spending priorities, media consumption habits, lifestyle interests, and social media activity. This 360-degree view into consumer behavior is something that a qualified data partner can provide. These insights can then be used to inform your audience engagement and personalization strategy throughout the customer journey— from targeting your marketing to the right prospects for acquisition to improving retention and reactivation efforts and moving more of your audience from free to paid content and longer term commitments.

2. Attract and Retain More Advertisers
   The more that you understand about your audience, the more equipped you are to forge mutually beneficial advertiser relationships. You can leverage the insights that a data partner is able to provide to identify the specific advertising categories in which your audience is most interested. You can then make a compelling, data-informed pitch to prospective advertisers by proving the close alignment between your audience and the advertiser’s brand and category—and thus your strength as an advertising platform for them. You can also maximize the effectiveness of your advertisers’ campaigns by extending advertiser-specific messages to your audience on other platforms and in programmatic campaigns.

3. Optimize Content Creation
   Content is the lifeblood of every media brand. The more relevant and engaging your content is to your audience, the more likely they are to continue reading, listening, and watching. By leveraging the insights that a data partner provides about your audience, you can create more relevant content for them based on a deep and comprehensive view of their interests, making your media platform more “sticky” and interesting. This improved engagement leads to reduced churn, a larger paid content audience, and more exposure for your advertisers’ messaging.

4. Acquire New Subscribers
   Acquiring new media customers who are likely to both engage immediately and provide high long-term value is increasingly important as the industry’s competitive landscape continues to become more intense. Working with a data partner can help you target high-value prospects with greater accuracy for better marketing ROI. You can reach the right prospects for acquisition campaigns and see your “freemium” subscribers convert to paid renewing subscribers. For example, here at Wiland, we apply sophisticated AI-enabled predictive modeling to our vast spending and interest-intensity signals—data that’s available nowhere else—to help you reach the people most likely to become loyal readers, viewers, or listeners. These highly targeted acquisition campaigns will help your marketing budget go farther and produce better results, all while building a customer base that will help you grow recurring revenue.

Every media brand is different and there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to utilizing data to improve results. But a qualified data partner like Wiland will help you utilize your own first-party data and other privacy-compliant data assets to connect numerous data streams for a unified view of consumers. This deeper understanding can inform better business decisions, help you optimize content more effectively, and drive advertising sales. I would encourage media executives to explore collaborative data partnerships. Don’t be left behind when it comes to making data your ally!

₁“2022 Digital media trends, 16th edition: Toward the metaverse.” 2022, Deloitte.