News Corp is asking readers to exchange their personal data in return for free access to its online websites, in a bid to improve its ad targeting capabilities.
Users who have registered their email address with the News+ service to access content on sites including the Herald Sun and Daily Telegraph, but are not paying subscribers, are being offered a chance to get beyond the paywalls by completing surveys in exchange for free access.
The beta trial, called Connect, offers participants redemption offers in exchange for participating in surveys designed to extract valuable information from them which will be used to serve “more relevant advertising” using a points system.
A News Corp Australia spokesperson told Mumbrella: “We are undertaking a small, beta trial to find out more about our registered readers, to better understand our users’ media preferences and to serve more relevant advertising.”
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When registering News Corp asks participants to give their gender, date of birth, postcode, household structure and favourite publication out of the News Corp titles. In exchange for the information News Corp provides participants with 10 points to kickstart them on their way to free digital access.
Readers will need 30 points to get two weeks full digital access to News Corp sites, while 50 points gets four weeks of access. Different surveys have a different number of points attached to them, with a sponsored survey from Toyota about which car best suits you carrying 18 points.
Other surveys on the site cover topics such as your home, including information on your gas and electricity provider, your car including the brand and when you renew registration, yourself which covers off your relationship and family status and employment, newspaper reading habits, telecommunications and car insurance, with the promise of new surveys on an ongoing basis.
They can then redeem the points for full digital access to News Corp titles The Herald Sun, The Advertiser, The Courier Mail and The Daily Telegraph for either two or four weeks.
Once a subscription has been made using the points, readers can access content on the site and manage their Connect membership, with details of points and days left of the subscription available in the right hand corner of the webpage. 
Miranda Ward