Published by Harvard Business School and one of the most recognized brands in the world, HBR has always relied on avid and loyal readers among corporate executives and entrepreneurs in the US, Asia, Europe and beyond.
The marketing team at HBR realized that traditional direct mail subscription campaigns were no longer generating the results they once did. While the brand still enjoyed a sterling reputation, growth in new subscribers had stagnated.
It was time to turn the page and start a new chapter.
The decision was made to cut back on mail in favor of a purely digital marketing approach, including paid social, display ads, email and content marketing, as well as print “house ads” appearing in the magazine itself. Read more about HBR’s digital-first marketing strategy in this Forbes article.
8BP was hired after a lengthy review process to develop all the creative assets for the new marketing push.
We introduced a more youthful, confident tone - with bold graphics and smart headlines to compliment the magazine’s recently updated look.
Results
With 15% less in total spending, HBR generated high growth rates in customer acquisition at more reasonable costs, and grew paid circulation to over 300,000, the highest in the publication’s history. Paid circulation grew by 11.8%, and subscriptions increased 9.5%, in one year.
Moreover, the average cost per acquisition (CPA) for direct mail was $227, while the CPA for paid social was $111. Conversion rates in paid social were up by 117% over direct mail.
“House” ad appearing in HBR Magazine
Direct Mail Piece
