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The Economist

A new premium product for the smartest audience on Earth

We designed, validated and prototyped a new premium subscription service for one of the most storied media brands in the world

The Economist felt there was an opportunity to create a premium service that sat somewhere in the middle ground between its consumer subscription, The Economist newspaper, and its B2B Economist Intelligence reports and data.

Its existing research showed appetite, but they were unsure how to design the right proposition. We were brought in to design and validate the proposition and build confidence internally. We found that there was a wealth of ideas for propositions and features, so we helped prioritise and create a plan to test the most promising ones.

However, there were conflicting signals from customers as to what they wanted from the service. We built prototypes to test the desirability of propositions through targeted testing across different groups of subscribers.

We then scaled these to prototypes of a new service, which sharpened the focus on the types of content readers really wanted in their professional day-to-day lives.

Magnetic Executive Director Toby de Belder says: “This was a fascinating project to work on. We were constantly surprised by where Economist readers saw the value in the ideas we tested. It’s a great illustration of the value of iterative development and early testing with real customers.”

The Economist
The Economist logo

The impact

A new premium subscription service for UK’s leading business publisher

100+
Team members involved
10
New ideas developed
2
Ideas taken to market

Toby de Belder, Executive Director

Contact Toby at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss how we can help you answer big questions and design a better future for your business, your people and the planet.

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