Latest / The Marketing Funnel Podcast with Fexingo: Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action Stages / How The Economist Built a Marketing Funnel on Intelligence
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, I want to talk about a publication that has one of the most distinctive marketing funnels in media. The Economist. Luna: The one with the red logo and the white font? I see their ads on the Tube all the time — 'Great minds like a think'. Lucas: Exactly. That campaign, launched in 1988, is legendary. But what's interesting is how The Economist has evolved its funnel from a print subscription model to a digital-first intelligence brand. Lucas: Their core insight is simple: they don't sell news. They sell the feeling of being informed, of being part of a smart, global elite. Luna: Right. The slogan 'Great minds like a think' is pure ego-bait. It makes you want to be one of those great minds. Lucas: Exactly. And they've weaponised that in their digital ads. They run headlines like 'Who would you rather be in a crisis: a banker or an economist?' — that's the curiosity gap at work. Lucas: The click-through rates on those ads are reportedly two to three times the industry average for media subscriptions. Luna: So the top of the funnel is all about triggering intellectual insecurity or aspiration. But then what? How do they convert that into a fifty-pound subscription? Lucas: They use a two-step funnel. First, they get you into a free newsletter — something like 'The Economist Today' or 'Espresso'. These are daily, short, snappy. Open rates are above 40 percent. Luna: Forty percent is huge. Most newsletters are lucky to hit 25. Lucas: Yeah. And within those newsletters, they have 'read more' links that lead to articles behind a soft paywall. You get one or two free articles a week, then you hit the wall. Lucas: The wall itself is interesting. Instead of a hard 'subscribe now' block, they show a teaser — the first few paragraphs, then a line like 'Continue reading for full analysis, subscribe for unlimited access.' Luna: So it's a gradual gate, not a sudden stop. That probably reduces friction. Lucas: Exactly. They've also experimented with dynamic pricing. A student subscription is a fraction of the full price. And they run frequent promotions — like 'get 12 weeks for twelve pounds' — that create a sense of urgency. Luna: That's a classic decoy effect. The full price is 50 pounds a month, so 12 weeks for 12 pounds feels like a steal. Lucas: Right. And once you're in, the retention funnel kicks in. The Economist has some of the lowest churn rates in publishing — around 5 to 6 percent annually for long-term subscribers. Lucas: They achieve that by constantly reinforcing your identity as an Economist reader. The weekly magazine arrives, the daily briefings land in your inbox, and the tone is consistently authoritative. Luna: But here's the thing — doesn't that elitist branding also alienate a huge chunk of potential readers? I mean, not everyone wants to be told they're part of a 'great mind' club. Lucas: That's a fair criticism. The Economist is aware of it. In the last few years, they've tried to broaden their appeal with more accessible content — like 'The Economist Explains' series, which breaks down complex topics in simple language. Lucas: But they haven't changed the core brand promise. They know that for their target demographic — professionals, decision-makers, curious learners — the exclusivity is actually a feature, not a bug. Luna: If today was actually useful to you — understanding how The Economist built that funnel — the way these conversations stay ad-free is through listener support. You can keep that going at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a big difference. And it's how we keep digging into real marketing case studies like this one. Lucas: So let's talk about the newsletter-first funnel more. The Economist has over 1 million digital subscribers now, and a huge chunk of those come through the newsletter pipeline. Luna: How do they track attribution? Do they know which newsletter drove the conversion? Lucas: They use UTM parameters and first-touch attribution in their CRM. If someone subscribes after clicking a link in the 'Espresso' newsletter, that newsletter gets the credit. They've publicly stated that 'Espresso' is the single highest-converting top of funnel channel. Luna: Interesting. So they're not just throwing spaghetti at the wall. They've actually measured which specific newsletter format drives subscriptions. Lucas: Yeah. And they've iterated on that. 'Espresso' started as a daily morning brief, but they now offer a version for the US market with more American-focused stories. That localization increased conversion rates by about 15 percent. Luna: Right. And I assume they're also using A/B testing on the paywall itself. Maybe testing different wordings or price offers. Lucas: Absolutely. They run constant experiments on the paywall copy. One test they shared publicly: changing the button text from 'Subscribe' to 'Start your free trial' lifted clicks by 22 percent. Lucas: But the smartest thing they do is in the middle of the funnel. They use what's called a 'gradual get' — they offer a low-risk entry product, like a 6-week trial for 99 cents, that auto-converts to full price. Luna: That's a classic subscription tactic. The inertia of cancelling keeps people in. Lucas: Exactly. And they've layered content personalization on top. Once you're a trial user, they track what you read and send you personalized emails recommending articles similar to your interests. Lucas: If you read three articles on trade policy, you'll get an email with 'Three more essential reads on global trade' — with a soft call to action to continue your subscription. Luna: So the entire funnel is designed to build a habit. First, the newsletter habit. Then, the reading habit. Then, the subscription habit. Lucas: That's exactly right. And the key is that they never break character. Every piece of communication — from the Instagram ad to the weekly magazine — sounds like it came from the same editorial voice. Luna: Which brings up one more thing: their Instagram. They have a pretty active presence there, but it's not the usual 'hot take' style. They post a single data point with a one-line caption. Very on-brand. Lucas: Yeah. And that consistency across channels is what makes the funnel work. The Economist isn't trying to be your friend. It's trying to be your trusted briefing. Lucas: I think the takeaway for marketers is: know your brand promise and don't dilute it to chase a wider audience. The Economist could have gone mass-market. They chose not to. And they're still growing. Luna: But I wonder — with AI summaries becoming so good, will people still pay for that curated intelligence? Or will the Economist need to rethink its value prop? Lucas: That's the billion-dollar question. For now, their numbers suggest that the human-curated, analytically rigorous perspective still commands a premium. But it's a space to watch.