Adweek Editorial Director James Cooper proudly presented Adweek Pro as “a New Model to Help Us Better Connect With Our Audience”—and he promised, “Membership will have its privileges.” Gee, if Cooper were a copywriter, he’d be a direct mail hack. His announcement is essentially letting readers know they’ll now have to pay for access to the digital content. It will be interesting to see the drop in readership, although Adweek probably does not have the capabilities to accurately measure the decline. Sorry, but Adweek content is not worth $6 for 12 weeks (a sneaky way of softening the blow of $24 annually).
Adweek actually reflects the advertising industry—as well as the business world—from an organizational standpoint. That is, the publication has downsized staff and dumped columnists over the years, leading to a commoditization of talent and content. No offense, but having “reporters” simultaneously serving Adweek and AgencySpy underscores the overall quality of the offerings. This blog believes that Adfreak is probably drawing more traffic than Adweek. Plus, Adweek has scrambled to adapt to the existing reality ignited by digital. So here they are, resorting to forcing their audience to register and pay for participating in the “omnichannel community” that Cooper oversees. Membership will have its privileges. However, the privileges will profit Adweek, not their audience.
Announcing Adweek Pro, a New Model to Help Us Better Connect With Our Audience
Membership will have its privileges
By James Cooper
As a nearly 40-year-old brand, Adweek has a rich history of following the key trends shaping the businesses and careers of the people we write about. We pride ourselves on being nimble and scrappy enough to change along with them to stay relevant and valuable to our audience.
We have adapted along the way and thrived. Now it’s time to change again for the betterment of our business and the community we are dedicated to and passionate about.
I say community rather than audience because our content is consumed in a much more omnichannel way than ever before and—from our Twitter chats to expanding events franchises—it is far more interactive as well. Community is also one of the three Cs—the other two being context and connotation—that we strive to infuse not only in our content but our culture as well.
But in order to truly deliver on that community proposition we need to know more about our members and their wants and needs from their relationship with the Adweek brand.
So with that said, Adweek is announcing today the launch of our new membership offering, Adweek Pro, a new community-driven platform and all-access offering. The vision for our new platform will allow us to not only engage on a deeper level with our content, but in a modern, digital-first way, connect with our member community directly. This will in turn help us create new products and benefits for our readers who look to us as the premier resource for information and insight into how to do their jobs better in this complex and transforming world.
So how will it work? Visitors to Adweek.com will be invited to register to view up to five pieces of content per month for free, excluding select content that is reserved for Adweek Pro members only. Once they have viewed their five free articles, readers will be prompted to become Adweek Pro members.
Adweek Pro Digital offers unlimited access to Adweek.com (including a searchable archive of content dating back to 1993), the digital edition of Adweek magazine, invitations to “Ask the Editors” live sessions, early access to Adweek podcasts, discounted admission to Adweek events, exclusive reports and more. The Adweek Pro Digital + Print membership includes all the benefits of Adweek Pro Digital, plus delivery of Adweek’s print magazine. Membership plans start at just $6 for 12 weeks of Adweek Pro Digital.
The past two years have seen change, at scale and at pace, that the media and marketing worlds have never seen before. Careers and businesses hang in the balance as our world transforms. And we are really at the beginning of this generational story arc.
The new Adweek Pro membership offerings and site upgrades announced today are to help follow that story through a tighter, highly symbiotic bond with our community, which will help inform and guide our best-in-class content, products and franchises.
It will be our honor to host this community, and we know membership will have its privileges.
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