How publishers can strengthen customer loyalty and increase subscriptions with bundles

Access to bundled product offers can increase readers' willingness to pay - especially among younger target groups. This is confirmed by recent research results from the Technical University of Dortmund for the German market. Bundles appeal to different subscriber groups with different preferences. According to the study, bundles can increase sales in the entire German digital market and boost sales of print and digital subscriptions.  

The way in which publishers combine news with other content in bundles varies. Nevertheless, bundle offers have one thing in common: they make publishing content more attractive and can increase the number of digital subscribers. Read this article to find out how publishers successfully use different bundle offers.  

Readers don't like to pay for news

The advantages of bundles are particularly significant in light of the fact that the proportion of people who pay for news has not increased in the last three years. In 20 markets monitored by the Reuters Institute, only 17 percent of people currently pay for online news. Although the figures differ from country to country, this year's Reuters Digital News Report shows stagnation.  

Publishers need to consider a wide range of strategies to attract potential readers as subscribers, according to Craig T. Robertson, a researcher at the Reuters Institute. Trials or discounts are not enough, he says. Publishers should take a variety of approaches, including offering their content in bundles.  

New York Times bundle: games, recipes and more  

The New York Times is particularly successful with its bundling offer: at 4.8 million, almost half of the total of 10.2 million digital subscribers currently pay for a Times bundle. This bundle consists of the New York Times news product and at least one offer from The Athletic, Cooking, Games or the recommendation platform Wirecutter. The publisher thus offers its readership sports, recipes and games in addition to news.  

In the second quarter of 2024, the New York Times gained 300,000 digital subscribers, according to the publisher's report. The New York Times' bundle subscribers are responsible for the growth in this area, alongside multi-product subscribers and other individual products. This resulted in a profit increase of 13.6 percent compared to the previous year. This illustrates the extent to which combining content into bundles can help to attract and retain subscribers and increase revenue at the same time.  

Bonnier News Bundle: local and national news - personalized  

The news publisher Bonnier News from Sweden is also using a bundle strategy to increase the number of subscribers. Since last year, the publisher has combined all of Sweden's digital consumer content in one bundle with its +Allt offer. The bundle offer includes the two national newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Expressen as well as more than 50 local publications. Subscribers also have access to more than 100 digital magazines. In the future, the publisher wants to personalize the offer with the use of generative AI and provide readers with further added value by directly suggesting suitable content.  

Anders Eriksson, CEO of Bonnier News, is focusing on the advantages of combining news titles in a bundle. More than 20 percent of Swedes are reported to own a summer home where they spend recurring periods of time, which is why news from the region is of interest to them, even though they are not there permanently. There is interest in accessing news content, but not enough to subscribe to the local newspaper. This is why the publisher's local and national bundle offer creates strong added value for the readership.

Grupo RBS bundle: loyalty program with promotions

Another example of a successful bundle offer is Grupo RBS, one of the largest media companies in Brazil. Subscribers can choose between the Basic and Plus bundles, with the key element of the Plus bundle being the Clube do Assinante loyalty program.  

The loyalty program included in the bundle plays an important role in achieving the company's goals, according to Alan Streck, Digital Growth Executive Manager at Grupo RBS. 65 percent of subscribers have access to the loyalty program in the Plus subscription and receive promotions and offers as a result. These include free tickets, exclusive discounts and access to events. The media company's more than 300 partners include cinemas, theaters, restaurants, shows, pharmacies, petrol stations and online stores.  

The positive effect of the loyalty program becomes clear when looking at the cancellation rate of readers with the Plus bundle, which has fallen by almost 40 percent since the bundle was introduced. This bundle offer shows that loyalty programs that include partnerships with other companies can make taking out a subscription much more attractive for readers. Bundles can thus be diversified by publishers and appeal to a broader audience with different selection options. This also increases the value of the offer.  

Thuringian local newspapers: Cooperations and promotions  

Medium-sized publishers and local newspapers should also use cooperation with local companies to make bundle offers more attractive. Discounts for cinema or theater visits, supermarkets and other companies offer opportunities. On the German market, the regional newspapers Thüringer Allgemeine, Ostthüringer Zeitung and Thüringer Landeszeitung all offer their readers club memberships. As members of the club, readers of the newspapers receive discounts on purchases, travel, concerts and are invited to exclusive reader events. The offer also gives readers the opportunity to interact directly with the editors - measures that strengthen the newspapers' community building.  

Wide range of options for designing offers with bundles

Bundles offer publishers numerous opportunities to make their products more attractive, increase revenue and at the same time appeal to new or younger target groups. The choice of bundle type often depends on the target group and strategic goals, but also on the size of a publisher. Many regional newspapers offer bundles consisting of a newspaper subscription and a bonus - usually a tablet for reading the digital offering. Here too, there are different variants depending on the publisher. In the course of digitization, bundling the print and digital offerings is useful for some publishers with a predominantly print subscriber base in order to minimize churn during delivery changes.  

Bundles on offer can contain a compilation of the news or a curated summary. This also includes content that provides entertainment, enriches the daily lives of readers or helps them, such as recipes, games or product reviews. Bundle types that contain products or promotions also strengthen customer loyalty.  

Despite the advantages mentioned, publishers should ensure that bundles remain financially viable for them. Potential risks, such as the cannibalization of print subscriptions, must be taken into account. A certain degree of market cannibalization can also be expected from bundle offers, for example when print subscribers become digital subscribers. Market expansion through bundle offers can compensate for the loss of individual subscriptions. For local newspapers, cooperation with local companies is also a particularly good way to offer readers added value and strengthen customer loyalty.  

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