September 4, 2009 at 14:29The Economist tests phone delivery
- Transfer
Something from the field of mobile content. You can add this to your list of paid content access scripts that publishers are trying to launch today. According to AdAge , The Economist has launched a content delivery service based on a mobile phone in New York.
Every Thursday, the publication sends an SMS with a description of the topics of the next week and a link to a special page. Those who click on it and confirm the order before 21:00 of the day of the previous publication will receive a fresh number at 6 in the morning, that is, even before the newspaper arrives at the stalls. No additional shipping charges apply.
The Economist first tested such a scheme in Britain two months ago. North American publisher Paul Rossi told AdAge that the market has reacted to the offer with restraint - “hundreds, but not thousands” of orders per week. Nevertheless, there is evidence that people are not averse to using new payment methods, especially if they are convenient.
Well, the Economist does not expect that this method will ruin its sales at the kiosks. On the contrary, it is assumed that the novelty will attract the attention of those readers who had not previously bought a newspaper at a kiosk. In addition, the publication retains approximately the same percentage of profit from sales on direct delivery, because it does not have to share the percentage of income with retail chains and private distributors.
Every Thursday, the publication sends an SMS with a description of the topics of the next week and a link to a special page. Those who click on it and confirm the order before 21:00 of the day of the previous publication will receive a fresh number at 6 in the morning, that is, even before the newspaper arrives at the stalls. No additional shipping charges apply.
The Economist first tested such a scheme in Britain two months ago. North American publisher Paul Rossi told AdAge that the market has reacted to the offer with restraint - “hundreds, but not thousands” of orders per week. Nevertheless, there is evidence that people are not averse to using new payment methods, especially if they are convenient.
Well, the Economist does not expect that this method will ruin its sales at the kiosks. On the contrary, it is assumed that the novelty will attract the attention of those readers who had not previously bought a newspaper at a kiosk. In addition, the publication retains approximately the same percentage of profit from sales on direct delivery, because it does not have to share the percentage of income with retail chains and private distributors.