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The New York Times is shifting the lens to its readers in its latest campaign, “Independent Journalism for an Independent Life,” which kicks off today. Running across TV, digital, print, audio, and OOH through April, it builds off its five-year-old “Truth” campaign, which has largely focused on the publication’s journalists and coverage.
According to details shared with Marketing Brew, the goal of its new push is to “tell the story of the individual reader—weaving together their interests, reading history, and personal story to illustrate their independence.”
- One ad, focused on a reader named Jordan, superimposes headlines from stories about being grateful, learning French, and Basquiat over videos of him doing things like playing the trumpet.
- “[Jordan] was born and raised in Atlanta but moved to Montréal after meeting a French-Canadian woman. The two are now married, he’s learned French and the two connect over their passion for music, playing gigs together in Montréal. His story is unique to him, and The Times has helped to play a part in that story,” Amy Weisenbach, The Times’ SVP and head of marketing, told Marketing Brew in an email.
“We hear often from our subscribers that they turn to The Times to challenge their thinking, to help them understand and engage with the world,” Weisenbach said. “This campaign is about celebrating the role independent journalism plays in our subscribers’ lives, helping them discover new interests, and become who they want to be.”
Zoom out: The campaign arrives days after the publication passed 10 million subscriptions thanks to its recent acquisition of The Athletic. In Q4 2021, the majority of its new digital subscriptions came from its non-news products, like Games, Cooking, and Wirecutter.—KH