magazines & SIM
Bert Looij and his colleague Marnix van der Bijl
READING, LISTENING
AND Solving PUZZLES:
There’s more in one subscription than ever before
How can we give subscribers more value for money? Bert Looij, director of consumer growth & engagement, and his colleagues work on answering that question every day. The good news: in 2024, giant steps were taken towards ‘richer’ online subscriptions. And the best is yet to come.
Bert Looij
(48), DIRECTOR OF CONSUMER GROWTH & ENGAGEMENT
Subscribers to Libelle, Margriet and Flair were given the scoop: in October 2024, they got exclusive access to a number of additional magazines in tijdschrift.nl. This allows people who have a subscription to a paper magazine to read multiple magazines online. This milestone is part of the transition from paper to digital that DPG Media is undergoing. A transition that’s necessary to compensate for the decline in print subscribers, says Bert Looij.
Digital consumption of journalism is gaining popularity. This is the driving force behind the launch of From Other Media in DPG Media’s Dutch news media. The idea is the same as with our magazines: those who have a paper subscription to AD, for example, also have digital access to articles from de Volkskrant, Trouw or regional news publications. Looij: “From Other Media gives subscribers digital access to our 11 Dutch news titles and this is highly appreciated. The initiative already has more than 350,000 loyal users.”
Qualitative research shows that subscribers look for very targeted coverage in other titles, mostly on their favourite topics. “Many subscribers to de Volkskrant, for example, regularly visit AD’s website to read about football, or Angela de Jong’s column. Conversely, AD subscribers look for more about politics, health or worldview in de Volkskrant or Trouw. People like to dive deep and read other media to get the news from different perspectives. From a journalistic point of view, we think that’s a positive development as well.”
“Subscribers get more value for money”
DPG Media doesn’t want to stop at articles from news media or magazines. “We are looking at expanding our range for subscribers in other areas and with other forms of content. These may include audio, for instance listening to articles, as well as games, puzzles and brain training exercises. This would mean a further enrichment of magazine and newspaper subscriptions.”
FLUISTER.NL AND PUZZELFIT.NL
Last year, giant steps were taken in this regard. Looij: “On tijdschrift.nl, subscribers can read extra digital editions of other magazines in one digital folder. On fluister.nl, you get access to lots of audiobooks and podcasts. And in 2025, we will launch puzzelfit.nl, a platform where subscribers can do unlimited puzzles and brain training exercises.”
Some of these plans have already been implemented. Looij: “Subscribers to Libelle, Margriet and Flair have had access to tijdschrift.nl since October and to fluister.nl since December. In the course of this year, they’ll also be able to do unlimited puzzles in the Puzzelfit app.”
According to Looij, enriched subscriptions are entirely in keeping with the times. “Reading additional articles directly adds value to the subscription. It goes without saying that we also want to attract new customers, but with these initiatives we’re giving loyal subscribers more value for money and making it worthwhile for them to stay with us.”
