At the start of 2017, the UK was in a shaky state. Scrap that – the world was in a shaky state. Amidst the complex and turbulent sociopolitical fall-out of Brexit, our bespoke insight study identified a new wave of young people who were suddenly a lot more interested in (and anxious about) world affairs – an audience of great interest to The Economist.

Sick of the daily headlines that the tabloids were churning out, they were crying out for a reliable and trustworthy commentator. So when Theresa May called a snap election in June 2017, The Economist saw a perfect opportunity to step in and remind people that there was an intelligent news alternative that could help them make an informed decision.

Our insight study showed how our new prospects’ interest in current affairs increased significantly during key political moments.

We targeted prospects wherever the political conversation was, using witty messaging to offer a free copy or prompt subscription. Opportunities appeared as the election developed and we reacted in real time to join in. Press, outdoor, TV, radio and digital media – copy was optimised for every environment and mirrored latest political developments. C4’s Election Special – The Economist was there. When Tories and Labour jumped on Snapchat – we did too, reaching young, politically-engaged voters. Print ads mimicked ballot box papers.

Post-campaign, digital OOH targeted constituencies on results morning; as surprised electors travelled to work our Advans asked “What made Richmond Park go Right?” Rail commuters smiled at our puns, while experiential placements collected prospects nearby. And TV spots followed in post-election analysis.

REAL news and REAL information was the heart of our campaign, with The Economist’s election content hub helping a confused audience make up their own minds.

Our REAL time, REAL news approach delivered unprecedented success. Subscription rates increased by 9x amongst 16-34 year olds, converting an audience that had almost given up on the state of news in our country.

We generated impressive engagement across the board, earning ourselves 170,000 new retargetable prospects from our limited media budget. From a campaign setting out to offer everyone a sample of The Economist, 2,878 chose to subscribe before they’d even received their free copy. Overall we delivered a ROMI of £6.65:1.

Effectiveness was such that budgets were increased and the campaign extended post-election.

We demonstrated how traditional awareness channels could drive response - coaxing direct subscriptions from press and outdoor whilst managing lower CPAs than ever in TV. Our first foray into Snapchat achieved 81,000 clicks, introducing a new audience to the brand in a remarkably cost-effective manner with CPAs running at 33% less than our digital benchmark.