Friday 21st August: Vogue Business puts newsletters at heart of membership plan

Happy Friday! This morning's roundup is brought to you by Peter Houston.

We love it when publishers pull back the curtain to let us see how, and why, they're doing what they're doing. Yesterday we shared how Time grew its digital revenues and today we can share the thinking behind the new Vogue Business membership plan.

In a 'memo' to readers, the Vogue Business Team explains the rationale for introducing a membership option after 18 months of 'testing' its industry coverage. The offer rests primarily on two newsletters - Technology Edit and Sustainability Edit - which will switch to being member exclusives. Additional member-exclusives focus on data-driven deep dives and market insights and snapshots, access to all reporting and a series of executive events. Non-members will get limited access to selected content.

Of course this is a sales pitch to prospective members, but it's interesting to read what elements of the brand's content package Vogue Business believe will convince at least some of their 340,000 registered users to pay. Newsletters FTW!

The spat between Google and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission may be a foretaste of what will happen globally if governments try to make platforms pay for publisher content. Read Lara O'Reilly's excellent explainer on Digiday.

The Telegraph's new formats team has published 'Coronavision' a feature on how lockdown has changed the future of TV. The interactive article that can be read 100 different ways, letting readers focus on what interests them most. Go on, have a play.

Originally wary of social media boycotts, brands have been avoiding appearing next to bad news by using shady brand-safety ad tech that blocks their ads from legitimate news sites. Seeing the damage this has done during the COVID crisis, Activist Nandini Jammi wants marketers to think for themselves again.

Today's throwback:

Travel industry information firm Skift has been working hard to keep ahead of the COVID curve in a hard-hit industry. Listen back to Rafat on his approach to building and managing the business.

Yeah, you probably don't remember the late great Bob Hoskins' British Telecom adverts. But Bob was right, it's good to talk. That's why we've created our 'Conversations' series of panel discussions to give vendors a chance to talk to our listeners.

If you're interested in working with us on a sponsored panel discussion, give us a call (probably easier to email TBH, sorry Bob.)