Rising above the noise has become increasingly challenging for media companies, especially as the digital space has become overrun with social media and endless forms of distraction. The Wall Street Journal faced this challenge head-on when it launched its Read Yourself Better campaign in November 2019.

Marketing agency network The&Partnership developed the campaign, which was reportedly the largest campaign the WSJ has undertaken. It was timed to launch during one of the busiest months of the year and began with the WSJ dropping its paywall entirely for the first three days of the month.

To further entice readers, later that month it offered a Cyber Monday special that gave readers two months unlimited digital access for US$1 — compared to the normal monthly digital access price of US $35.

Challenging readers to go beyond the enticements of click-bait media and search for meaningful content, the Read Yourself Better campaign was led by a television spot that established the WSJ as “the” destination for quality, trustworthy journalism.

The spot, available in 15- and 30-second versions, was directed by Juan Cabral, whose work for such brands as Ikea, Bose, Apple, and Cadbury has won awards from around the world. Cabral brought to life the vision of the message, which was to illustrate how difficult it can be to navigate a landscape bloated by misinformation and figure out who to trust.

But the campaign went beyond compelling visuals that showed consumers being overwhelmed by misinformation; it was supported by print, digital, and display as well. Aimed at the 25- to 44-year-old demographic, it aired on networks including CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and on the BBC in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific region. Digital ads ran on such channels as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

“Better” results

In all the assets surrounding the campaign, WSJ appealed to the differentiators of its audience: a desire to understand the news on a deeper level. WSJ readers are looking for high-quality information that will help them make decisions that matter — at work, at home, with their finances, and with their politics.

The campaign encouraged readers to choose a higher standard for information and to think for themselves — not make decisions based on snippets of information pulled from a cluttered digital world.

The innovative, far-reaching campaign immediately gained attention, generating stories in publications including AdWeek, Digiday, Ad Age, and The Drum. Read Yourself Better showed strong results on both brand-building metrics — particularly in the areas of consideration and trust — as well as with more immediate metrics such as traffic and conversions. It also marked one of the largest sale periods for WSJ.

In the wake of the campaign, WSJ saw a 170% increase in brand consideration across prospects who viewed the ad and also saw a 13% increase in trust across all audiences. WSJ branded search terms increased by an average of 107%, and unique visitor referral traffic jumped 91% on Facebook and 41% on Twitter.

It also achieved the goal of attracting new paying readers: On Cyber Monday, WSJ recorded the biggest single day of subscription sales in its history.

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