Relaunching The Guardian app: changing reader habits means we must also evolve

Craig Law is a Product Marketing Manager at The Guardian, responsible for marketing the Guardian Premium News app and the Guardian’s print subscription products. In this article he explains the context and decisions behind The Guardian’s app relaunch.

> Three quarters of the Guardian's digital readers arrive on mobile, and its premium app now has a million daily users and is the second biggest revenue driver in the business

> The finding that cuts against the industry: Guardian readers actively resist an algorithmic feed. My Guardian is built around personal curation, with readers choosing topics rather than a model choosing for them

> They also refused the obvious pitch. Research showed readers don't want echo chambers, so the marketing sold the diversity of topics you can follow rather than the ability to filter news out

> Audio came from noticing the app peaks in the morning, when hands are busy. Every article can now be listened to, and a dedicated Audio tab lifted podcast listens 34%

> The Puzzles hub gives readers a reason to open the app when they can't face the news. Page views went from thousands to millions almost overnight, and it opened a whole new marketing angle

As with other media organisations, the Guardian has been establishing ways to better understand reader behaviours and how they continue to evolve and change.  A number of factors have changed how readers now consume news today, from the rise of AI chatbots and ‘click-less’ news, to the growing dominance of video-driven content on social media platforms like TikTok, as well as increasing levels of news fatigue and avoidance.

Changes in reader habits mean that we must also evolve

Three quarters of the Guardian’s digital readers now access our journalism daily via mobile devices. Our premium news app, which prompts users to subscribe after reading a set number of articles, attracts one million daily users and has become the second biggest revenue driver for the Guardian. And while this model is working, growth relies on two things:

1. Generating new installs and converting casual mobile web users into app users
2. Increasing frequency and loyalty for existing users