Fairfax in push to persuade readers to share data in exchange for better user experience
Fairfax will next month begin a major drive to persuade its online readers to share more information about themselves in exchange for a better online experience.
In a move that signals that data acquisition rather than paid content will be the main plank of Fairfax’s digital strategy, readers will be able to control such features as autoplay video and autorefreshed pages – so long as they are logged in.
Fairfax is pursuing the strategy because it will enable advertising to be more tightly targeted, which in turn generates a far higher advertising yield.
Jane Huxley, CEO and publisher of digital for Fairfax Media’s metro division told Mumbrella in an exclusive briefing that she aims for more than half of Farfax’s online readers to be logged in.
At present only around 2-3% of online readers log in to Fairfax’s websites, usually to access its email newsletters. Huxley said: “We want to get that up to about 50 to 60% over the next two years.
“That’s the number I’m aiming for. Is it aspirational? I don’t know.”
She added: “People will log in to turn off autoplay. If you log in, your user experience will be enhanced. In a year’s time, if you do not log in, your reception will be less warm.”
Fairfax first promised to let its readers turn off autoplay video just over six months ago.
Also driving the log-in push will be increasing the number of articles that can be commented upon, with only readers who are logged in allowed to comment. Additional features such as saving articles to read later will also be offered to logged-in readers. A further potential service is access to real time ASX information. At present, most sites offer ASX information on a 20 minute delay.
The strategy recognises that a loyal reader is generally of more use to an advertiser than a casual one sent to the site via Google or social media.
However, Huxley insisted that the strategy is not a prelude to switching on a pay wall because the publisher relies on continuing to deliver high levels of traffic for other parts of its commercial strategy. She said: “It’s hard to give up the crack because this is the traffic that powers the transactional and classified engines.”
“That’s powered by breaking news. We will not put up barriers to entry for breaking news.”
She predicted: ‘I am not calling any decline in traffic as we implement this, in fact there might be an increase.”
Huxley was appointed to her current role in March after previously being GM of media. Prior to Fairfax, Huxley worked for Vodafone and Fairfax.
Although the company will not follow News Limited in making paywalls a central push, the company will look at delivering some user payments, including an ad-free version of the site. Huxley said: ‘There are people who will pay to have the content without ads on it. I don’t expect a big number.”
The company will also explore micropayments – of perhaps $1.49 to $2.49 – for special reports. Fairfax Media’s CEO Jack Matthews is currently leading a working group examining pricing packages and bundling.
The iPad apps for Fairfax media’s metro mastheads of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, which are currently in a free trial period will still eventually become paid although it may take two or three months longer than originally announced, Huxley said. “We will charge because the behaviour is already there. There will be some announcements about that in the coming weeks.”
Asked about News Limited’s strategy, which saw the Australian’s paywall activated this week as the beginning of a three month free trial period, Huxley said: “I rarely see advantage in going first because it’s very disempopwering for the audience.”
Huxley said that the new technical platforms to drive the move should be ready next month, but certainly before the end of 2011. She said: “This is a massive technical build.”
However, she said that the moves to driving the business through data acquisition are not brand new. She said: “The gun fired a long time ago. This is about bringing the troops to the front line.”
I certainly find the current autoplay videos very disempopwering.
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But in serious, non-typo-pedantry, if Fairfax wants people to log in, a good first step would be to put an obvious login box in a consistent place across all its sites — I would suggest the right sidebar, close to the top of the page.
Currently, when I go to SMH.com.au and give it a quick glance over, I can’t see a login link anywhere.
The other thing I’d like as a user is the ability to customise the order of content. I’m really interested in SMH’s technology news. I’d like to move it up to be underneath the top headlines. Given the technology news are often the highest traffic items on SMH I can’t understand why they put it right down the bottom of the page (though perhaps it’s like how supermarkets put the milk and bread at opposite ends of the store… to get you to look over all the other stuff before you get there.)
And I’d like to disable sport altogether because I couldn’t give a toss about it.
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Before all the nay sayers, say nay – lets all remember that this has been done quite effectively in the App-Store. Don’t want ads on Apps? Pay a small fee, or perform a specific action to make your experience better.
Users have been customising their logged in experiences for years. The main challenges for the business will be balancing the customer experience while battling feature-creep and ad-creep. i.e. ‘Well, we only invented this advertising spot yesterday so you couldn’t have opted-out’ – or not being able to opt-out to some advertising types in general.
Good way to go – (and perhaps they’ve also realised that people aren’t going to pay for restaurant reviews, the Travel, Drive and Domain sections)
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What geniuses!
In other words, “we’ll constantly give you the shits unless you let us pry into your reading habits and sell your private information to others without your informed consent.”
Do they really think we are that stupid? Fairfax – come back to planet earth.
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NEWSFLASH: Offline Publisher Gets Digital Strategy Right!
Rather than turning away the 95% who wouldn’t pay behind a paywall, get their data. Get them signed up to newsletters. Does logging in via Facebook achieve the same thing?
Next step? Payment in points to read certain premium articles. You earn points by doing on-site actions, filling out a survey, a single question when you login (itself basically a micropayment), clicking on certain ads etc, every time you share a link to a Fairfax site and your friends click on your links. Build up reward points every day you login, every time you open your emails from them.
Use reward points around all Fairfax properties (Including Drive, Stayz, RSVP etc) and save them up to buy (or get a discount) from their daily deals partner.
The free SMH iPad app is very good. I like it a lot, thanks Telstra and Amex. Just a shame that the landing page from the Telstra ads is not iPad optimised nor takes you to a particularly informative page, but the creative is nice. Amex ones are a bit useless with their usual compartmentalisation of products “Hey! Get a Gold card! Don’t worry that we’ve got 10 similar cards that might be best for you! The only option you have now you’re on the site is gold!”
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Last year I received spam to the _unique_ email address I used exclusively for Fairfax websites (notably SMH). The incident appeared to be a breach of their subscriber database.
I emailed them asking for an explanation as to how this occurred and what steps they taking to secure my personal information. No response was received.
I decided there and then that I would no longer sign in to their sites. Today’s announcement doesn’t change my decision.
As for switching off the annoying autoplay, that is automatically off by default in the latest Internet Explorer (version 9). All add-ins such as Flash are disabled by default. I enable on a per page basis (if the story seems interesting enough).
Short story: no, I won’t be sharing any further data with you.
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” Huxley said: “I rarely see advantage in going first because it’s very disempopwering for the audience.”” What on earth does that mean! It is nothing more than classic sophistry…People will always get away with spouting nonsense because very rarely do people turn round and say ‘ Ugh? What are you talking about?’ BS baffles brains…
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So have we decided to admit that users hate videos autoplaying?
It’s been less than a year since users ‘overwhelmingly’ preferred it:
https://mumbrella.com.au/fairfax-video-pippa-leary-autorefresh-35878
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this is seriously flawed – the issue with auto play primarily in this context is that it sells advertisers a bullshit product – an uninitiated stream which irritates the user.
FXJ response – keep auto playing unless they sign in. Hard to fathom – the logic there is ‘we can get higher extraction with user data so we will make more money. But for everyone else, we will serve untargeted uninitiated autoplay videos to people who don’t watch them nor want them.”
Market must be tough if they are afraid to make a stance on this. Lucky the agencies are so busy trying to be publishers themselves and make money from their clients on the side with their DSPs and other acronyms that they don’t really seem to care where the ad money is spent nowadays, as long as they have a forced cheap in with the key inventory suppliers via their backdoor DSP.
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Old school publishers are licking their wounds. It is going to get worse for them. Anyone can publish these days. Anyone can broadcast and the start up costs are pennies.
I don’t want to log in to read the news. Before the internet popped up I never logged in for news. I might have bought a paper. I did watch the tv news and listen to the radio. I still listen to the ABC.
I agree with the autoplay bit. What on earth is that all about? If I want a video then give me the choice to see videos. If I click on a story under news, on a news website, I want an article.
Before a publisher drives hard to get people to login, give them a nice clear experience first. Tsk, tsk…
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p.s. Fairfax are not focussing on the right area. Due to their size, might and interests, profit is their no 1 goal. This is going to trip them up.
There audience should be no 1. Treat them well and the traffic shall cometh and then the dollars…
Ole the times, they are a changin…
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@wow factor
Missed out on a volume deal for next year have we? Cry me a river… The world ‘s changing
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I can’t be a4sed with so many passwords. I’ll just read The Guardian. I will get my local stuff from abs and the abc… Fairfax and news online are not really getting it are they…
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http://www.abc.net.au/news
Actual news when you want it
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Here we go
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/
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I was just clicking into an article on SMH to read about the transport issues this afternoon in Sydney. (Friday arvo.)
A movie trailer pops up and takes over the entire screen. I get some options “enter site” “watch trailer” I am lost (enter what site SMH, which I am already on..? Or do they mean the film companies site..?) I want to read the article..??!!!
Anyhow I went to ABC and had a play on Twitter too and got a nice rounded update on what is occurring.
Fairfax: Goodbye!
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