An established financial publication struggles with antiquated and inconsistent digital marketing lifecycle communications. They turn to Olive & Company to make sense of the chaos.
For nearly a century, Barron’s has been delivering accurate, insightful statistics, and market developments to seasoned investors throughout the United States. A Dow Jones media brand, the publication boasts a print circulation of more than a quarter million and a readership base comprised of influential institutional and individual investors. Both Barron’s and Barrons.com are recognized as the premier sources for U.S. financial news.
Challenge: Disparate Messaging
Despite healthy readership, Barron’s recognized they had a slight problem with the inconsistency of their digital brand communications. Years of content developed across multiple teams had left the company with a varied selection of digital materials that lacked a unified look and feel. This became a concern given that each piece was used to communicate with the same audience throughout different stages of the digital marketing lifecycle.
Every communication sent to potential, past, and present readers served a unique purpose without deviating from the polished, unified look Olive & Company established at the outset of the project.
A single subscriber would be met with vastly different communications and visual elements as they received promotions, order forms, welcome messages, engagement emails, renewal notices, and reactivation reminders. This inconsistent messaging didn’t reflect the premium product and brand experience Barron’s is known for. In addition to being inconsistent, much of the collateral had become dated, further undermining the publication’s otherwise sophisticated image.
Solution: Bringing It All Together
When the publication approached Olive & Company with their concerns, we quickly set to work bringing together the various Barron’s teams responsible for the different stages of the digital marketing lifecycle communications.
We began with a comparative analysis of other leading subscription-based publications in the financial market. The findings from this analysis were brought to the table for discussion before delving into the designs.
After the initial discussions, we developed a number of concepts. Each was designed to both elevate the brand and be carried consistently throughout a variety of digital tactics. The concepts were presented to Barron’s across a small sampling of the deliverables outlined as part of the full project scope. Once the final concept was selected, our team created the remaining pieces, tying together each one with the overarching concept.
Results: Tying Up Loose Ends
The end result was a cohesive concept that elevated the brand and unified the digital communications in a way they’d never been able to before. The new digital brand experience was not only consistent, but on par with the high-caliber Barron’s product. Every communication sent to potential, past, and present readers served a unique purpose without deviating from the polished, unified look Olive & Company established at the outset of the project. The Barron’s and Barrons.com marketing teams could now confidently take customers through the digital marketing lifecycle, building their brand equity at every stage.
The final pieces included:
- Promotional emails
- Landing page
- Onsite ads
- Scrim placement
Additionally, because we worked so closely with Barron’s, each of the pieces met their existing technical specifications, perfectly. The publication was able to send the final files directly to the ad service group or internal IT department with minimal disruption to their operations.
After the initial project wrapped up, Barron’s continually approached Olive & Company each time they discovered more outmoded and dissonant materials. Our team seamlessly integrated the refined design elements into each of these new pieces within hours of receiving the project. This ability to quickly update and elevate these communications meant the Barron’s team would never again have to send out digital communications that didn’t reflect the excellence their brand had come to represent.
