Limited-Time Pass

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Overview

One of the challenges Gannett faces is our introductory-pricing strategy. Basically, Gannett gives you unlimited access for 6 months for only $1. However, after the introductory period has expired, users face the daunting task of going from $1 to $15/$20/$25. As a result of this large increase, Gannett churns a significant percentage of subscribers. This creates an enormous challenge when it comes to growing an audience.

We also saw that a fairly significant number of these $1 for 6 months customers were only using the site for the first week or two after subscribing. It occurred to me that perhaps people had no intention of purchasing a long-term subscription, and instead were just paying to access a small amount of content around a given topic.

Objective

So what I proposed was to create a low-cost limited-time pass to appeal to the one-and-done users, while also raising the introductory price slightly for 6-month offer.

My role

I ran seven separate rounds of unmoderated user tests, gradually honing the language and time periods. Overall, I tested 24-hour, 48-hour, 72-hour and 7-day variants to see which, if any, the test groups would prefer. While 7-day tested the highest, based on the fact that it was the longest time period, and still cheaper than the $4.99 monthly, the 24-hour variant was a compelling pricepoint for most users. In fact, it received nearly identical scores.

Outcome

Ultimately, Gannett decided to stick with the $1 for 6 months strategy, but may revisit this strategy at a later time.