How The Economist Built a Marketing Funnel on Intelligence

Lucas and Luna dive into how The Economist transformed its marketing funnel by selling intelligence, not news. Starting with the iconic 1988 poster slogan 'Great minds like a think', they trace the brand's shift from print to digital subscriptions. Lucas reveals that The Economist targets a 'curiosity gap' in its ad copy, using headlines like 'Who would you rather be in a crisis: a banker or an economist?' to drive clicks. They discuss the publication's use of a 'newsletter-first' funnel for younger audiences, with open rates above 40 percent, and its decision to keep a paywall despite the rise of free news. Luna points out the trade-off: how the brand's elitist framing can alienate some readers. The episode ends with a question about whether the intelligence angle still works in an era of AI-generated summaries. #TheEconomist #MarketingFunnel #SubscriptionModel #CuriosityGap #PaywallStrategy #NewsletterMarketing #IntelligenceBranding #PrintToDigital #ContentMarketing #AudienceBuilding #FunnelOptimization #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #Marketing #Podcast #LucasAndLuna #Episode44 #JournalismBusiness Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo