Seattle Times + GroundSource = 6 Million Views
Driving Subscriptions through Texting
How The Seattle Times used GroundSource to power new levels of engagement.
When The Seattle Times wanted to launch new coverage to track the health of Puget Sound’s critically endangered orcas, they looked at a bold way to capture audience’s attention. Instead of just publishing articles, they wanted to reach readers directly, quickly with breaking updates, and offer the chance for folks to ask questions.
We’re not saying that text messages saved the whales. But…
GroundSource helped them roll out an incredible set of text messages to engage their audience around this spectacular event. They texted 1,500 people with live orca updates that went alongside daily reporting and social media posts. All three channels worked together to drive huge levels of engagement. People could reply to the texts with questions about the whales and Times’ staff would respond directly.
This multi-platform coverage approach lead to hundreds of new digital subscriptions. The increased engagement even had an impact on policy with the Washington governor proposing $1.1 billion in funding to help the orca.
Talk about a little texting going a long way. The Times’ staff only regret? That they didn’t start engaging their audience this way sooner.
Read more about The Seattle Times’ innovative news approach here, with fascinating details about the multi-channel digital strategy:
The Seattle Times
Here’s a sample of one of their orca texts.