Overview

This essential leadership role within Tribune Publishing’s digital team is responsible for acquiring, engaging and retaining digital subscribers to our award-winning news products including Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Baltimore Sun and Orlando Sentinel. This innovator and his/her team will maximize response rates on all channels through careful testing and bold experimentation, and will minimize churn by creating engaging subscriber experiences. The ideal candidate will have a thirst for ever-sophisticated methods, a proven balance of both analytical and creative skills, and a relentless drive to beat goals and continually improve.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of marketing managers and specialists who each own individual acquisition and retention channels. Ensure coordinated efforts, especially for cross-functional campaigns, and make sure spending is allocated across channels in maximally efficient ways with high ROI.
• Along with direct reports, oversee markets’ strategy and execution among these categories:

• • Ensure all onsite assets are maximally converting website visitors into subscribers. Experiment with dynamic ways to show unique customer segments different experiences.
  • Fully leverage internal lists of email registrants, optimizing email deployment cadence, messaging, design, offer, etc.
  • Manage agencies who buy media in targeted external environments like Facebook and Google, optimizing costs-per-acquisition and ROI.
  • Explore all avenues by which mobile platforms are conducive to subscriber acquisition. Includes partnership with Product, Tech and partners like Apple.
  • Foster digital activation among existing print subscribers through a multitude of marketing channels like email and social, thereby increasing online page views, subscription value and print tenure
  • Welcome new digital subscribers through engaging on-boarding communications that encourage deep and valuable experiences at the start of one’s subscription
  • Reduce churn among auto-billed digital subscribers by partnering with Customer Service on the ways they save cancellation calls, and with Technology on the ways they re-process failed credit cards

• Keenly focus on subscriber engagement, both at the start of their tenure and throughout their subscribership. Work here includes regularly communicating about valued content and features, tailored messaging based on usage frequency and content preferences, and development of added-value features that cement the subscriber relationship.
• In concert with Product Development colleagues, focus on building dynamic experiences that create audience segments, predict acquisition likelihood and customize the user journey as a result.
• Lead price increases among our ever-growing set of digital subscribers. 2019 and future success depends on generating ever-increasing revenues from these customers, so handling this delicate procedure with care is vital. Work here includes predicting customer likelihood of attrition, defining appropriate prices by cohort, managing outbound communications to affected subscribers, preparing Customer Service to save cancellers, and carefully measuring results.
• In partnership with Insights colleagues, monitor existing subscribers’ retention rates and lifetime values, identifying at-risk cohorts who need additional retention communications, and valuable cohorts who should be acquired more earnestly.
• Liaise with all Tribune local markets to strategize, communicate plans and results, gain approvals, etc.
• Oversee a multi-million dollar budget to be spent across markets and channels, maximizing return and investing profitably, while placing prudent bets on new channels for experimentation.
• Seek new vendors that can improve our acquisition and retention process and results.

Qualifications

• BS/BA in Marketing, Communications, or related field, MBA a plus
• 15+ years experience in a digital direct marketing role, with a preference for work in the newspaper/publishing/media industry.
• Proven track record of acquiring and retaining paying customers for subscription products
• Successful track record of managing a high-performing team and a portfolio of marketing agencies and vendors.
• Familiarity with A/B testing and related methodologies
• Significant problem-solving, communication and organizing skills
• Product and project management experience with the determination and ability to drive a project from concept to launch through multiple departments