Fairfax Launches Digital Subscriptions for The Sydney Morning Heald and The Age

 

July 2, 2013: A new era in Australian publishing begins today as Fairfax Media launches digital subscriptions for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age websites and m-sites, and for its SMH and Age tablet apps.

 

Digital subscriptions for

 

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age websites and m-sites will operate as a meter model, allowing free access to 30 articles a month. The tablet apps will use a freemium model, which means certain sections will be free, while others will only be accessible to paying subscribers.

 

Fairfax will unveil a new marketing campaign to support today’s launch - using the existing brand positionings of

 

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age - aimed at SMH readers who are hungry for knowledge and The Age readers who have a deep curiosity to explore their world.

 

The campaign is specifically designed to inform all readers that everyone is still welcome and that they can access up to 30 articles a month for free and certain sections on tablet apps as a visitor. Those who subscribe however, will have unlimited access to more content and a range of exclusive features including eBooks and special offers.

 

Developed by Whybin/TBWA, the new campaign will run in print, online and on TV, and draws on the themes of the successful Sydney Morning Herald "Know No Boundaries" and The Age "Forever Curious" ad campaigns which were launched earlier this year.

 

"Digital subscriptions will enable Fairfax Media to continue to deliver the independent, quality journalism that Australians know, love and trust,"

The Sydney Morning Herald Editor-In-Chief, Sean Aylmer said.

 

"Our approach is simple: visitors will be able to continue to enjoy our content for free just as they do now, with minimal disruption, and subscribers will have access to more content, plus additional benefits.

 

"The meter and freemium models allow our audiences to choose what content they access and how they access it."

 

Editor-In-Chief of

 

The Age, Andrew Holden, added: "We have done a great deal of research into our readers and the subscription model that will suit them best.

 

"The great thing about our digital subscriptions is they will suit our regular readers as well as less frequent visitors.

"Asking people to pay for our journalism online is an important step in the future of our newsrooms. It will help us continue to provide the best independent coverage in Australia."

 

 

 

 

 

 

and The Age have a significant digital audience, with combined website visitors of more than 3.5 million per month*; more than 1.2 million tablet downloads^; and 374,852** average daily unique browsers on m-sites.