No surprise then that so many newspaper groups are dusting off lengthy-gestating plans for diverse revenues.

Le Figaro isn’t any assorted. In fact, its maintain lengthy-haul plans bolt as a ways support as 2017. Advantage then it made the dedication to receive its industry on four commercial pillars: selling, subscriptions, commerce and licensing. 

It took a minute, however the thought is starting to return appropriate. And it couldn’t maintain took location at a extra pivotal length. Groupe Figaro’s industry used to be battered at some stage within the pandemic — so remarkable so that owner Le Figaro newspaper owner, which has 1,850 workers across 47 other France-based titles be pleased Le Figaro Journal and Le Figro Voyage, had a €7 million ($7.6 million) deficit in 2020. Speedily ahead a year to 2021 and the identical industry made document money float of nearly €50 million ($54.3 million) EBITDA. 

Now not that this must be a surprise. Media conglomerates maintain been talking about diversification for as lengthy because the tech corporations maintain insisted they’re no longer media conglomerates. The remarkable-vaunted pivot to subscriptions circa 2017 is a testomony to this. The venture for publishers, alternatively, is transferring past charging of us to read affirm material to have money. Few of them maintain been ready to receive it. That doesn’t imply it’s no longer that you must presumably well presumably accept as true with. It apt takes barely diverse trial and error, acknowledged Bertrand Gié, head of digital at Groupe Figaro. As with any wager, though, it’s peaceable a predominant gamble. Gié mentioned the payoffs to this level. 

Pragmatic about selling

Gié is loath to receive too eager on selling even supposing the outlook is having a behold optimistic for a trade. The €500 million ($460 million) Groupe Figaro raked in final year used to be pushed by an infinite upturn in advert revenue, up 15% on the old year. Dig deeper and there’s remarkable extra reason to like: many of the 2021 rebound came from digital selling, which rose 14% within the length — encouraging signs for any media exec, vivid? Successfully, no longer barely: Extra than half (55%) of these digital sales arrive from programmatic — the future of which is shrouded in uncertainty. 

“We’ve tried to provide our working out of how programmatic auctions work over the final few years because it’s no longer one thing we’ve been historically appropriate at,” acknowledged Gie.

Unsurprisingly, he’s cautious. He obtained’t even order whether he thinks the loss of third-occasion cookies will succor or hinder publishers. He is, alternatively, certain on one thing: the industry is headed in direction of a world where identity obtained’t be tied to a single tool be pleased a cookie, however unfold across several components.

In turn, Groupe Figaro is attempting out assorted ways to portion its files without problems and securely with advertisers attempting to safe decisions to third-occasion cookies. This could be by map of a non-public marketplace, a appropriate away files-sharing relationship or a fusion of the two. If they don’t pique advertisers’ pursuits then the media community is additionally having a behold at contextual alternate choices. 

None of this ensures remarkable. Within the slay, it’s advertisers that resolve whether their money is better off with media home owners be pleased Groupe Figaro or Google et al. The very fact is most advertisers are okay with the supreme platforms. Yes, they grade their maintain homework however they’re doing so accurately, goes the pondering — rightly or wrongly. 

“Advertisers constantly order that newspaper brands are if truth be told necessary, however there’s a disconnect between what they are saying about supporting our industry and what they actually receive with their money,” acknowledged Gie. “Presumably we’re no longer appropriate enough at explaining our price. And even it’s the diagram the industry is determined as much as expend money a definite diagram. I don’t know if any of this changes when third-occasion cookies bolt away.”

Subscriptions. Grinding on

To sing Gie is overjoyed with newspaper Le Figaro’s subscriber depend may per chance presumably well be an actual understatement. It now has 400,000 subscribers, 250,000 of which could presumably well effectively be digital handiest. It’s no longer a huge haul — The Contemporary York Cases added 375,000 digital subscribers within the final three months of 2021 alone — however it absolutely’s an huge enchancment on where the industry used to be in 2016 when it had around 60,000. Now not least because building any huge subscriptions is a slog — a consistent, cultural fight to preserve professionals fascinated by the goal, acknowledged Gie. 

“Ideally, we’d be pleased to maintain between 250,000 and 400,000 digital subscribers, however the number now now we maintain is a open,” he persisted. “It’s a host that’s 100% margin — it’s a mounted price job. This can succor us have huge steps when it involves turnover and profit.”

It’s no longer ceaselessly a surprise that rising subscriptions is so attritional; Le Figaro’s maintain tale of this in 2019 made that abundantly certain. Tranquil, it’ll be natural to retract that the publishing industry has devised tried and examined shortcuts. This assumption belies the cruel fact about subscriptions: publishers can’t hack their diagram to lasting recount. Eradicate Le Figaro, as an illustration. Its subscription success is less about reductions and promotions, extra about the map in which it curbed churn. 

“Defending a subscriber is apt as necessary as getting them within the first location,” acknowledged Gie. Getting the balance vivid is hard on the handiest times — however notably so when the manufacture of affirm material that convinces somebody to open a subscription isn’t necessarily the identical as what convinces them to preserve it. Blueprint of life articles are a predominant reason why of us preserve out a subscription, as an illustration, however they’re additionally a reason they cite for canceling them. All these exiguous particulars depend, acknowledged Gie. 

“Even the platform somebody started a subscription on can worth lots,” he continues. “So on our app of us have a tendency to subscribe for a month after which they unsubscribe. That’s one thing we’re gazing carefully because 50% of our subscribers arrive by map of the app. Eight in 10 of these of us receive so by map of an iPhone.”

Chasing the e-commerce dream

Each and every media company says they’re a commerce industry on the 2d. Asserting it and doing it, alternatively, are two very assorted things as Groupe Figaro professionals can attest.

The pandemic made certain of that. Sooner than 2020, the media community used to be effectively on its diagram to building a wholesome e-commerce industry around online hump and each day life. Turnover from selling things be pleased theater tickets and wine used to be €120 million ($130.4 million). Then the pandemic took location and the entirety went sideways. Even now, the industry hasn’t fully recovered. March 2022 used to be the handiest month for be conscious sales for two years, acknowledged Gie. That’s peaceable 20% no longer as much as what the community supplied in March 2019. 

No surprise Gie appears to be like extra enthused by its nascent — albeit daunting — makes an attempt to sell wine. In a nutshell, it wants to have a aspect industry in wine ideas. Folks would arrive to the dedicated Le Figaro Vin space to read up and potentially pick bottles of wine. Encouraging because the positioning’s doubtless is, it’s nowhere shut to ready to be a lifeline for the media conglomerate. Ongoing investments hope to trade that. It has already hired a wine journalist to manufacture extra affirm material for the positioning and has examined selling wine tasting events. Sooner or later, it wants to have a wine club that folks would pay to be piece of. 

“I’m no longer certain our wager on e-commerce will work, however we can attempt given that now we maintain the viewers,” acknowledged Gie. 

In some cases this means innovating and transferring spaces, similar to licensing which many publishers maintain previously been downhearted with. 

Licensing. Yes, there are platforms that if truth be told pay publishers

Correct be pleased broadcasters, Le Figaro leases the vivid to submit articles and photos to extra than one publishers.

It’s a diminutive however actual industry for the author — around €4 million ($4.4 million) to be precise. Runt as these numbers are, they signify one thing a ways better: the foundation that the massive online platforms pays publishers for the vivid to show cloak their affirm material. In February, Google struck a contend with French publishers along side Le Figaro. A same deal used to be struck with Fb in October final year. It’s if truth be told a brand novel revenue stream for Le Figaro, acknowledged Gie. Call it a pyrrhic victory. 

“We’ve been combating for this affiliation for a decade,” persisted Gie. “We’ve had to warfare by map of the European Parliament besides to within the French courts in expose to receive the platforms to fair catch this danger.”