Readers of TheMarioBlog are aware that I often turn my attention to La Presse+ as an example of a tablet edition that can connect with the readers.
When La Presse+ first appeared in a morning tablet edition, there was still a printed edition as well. That changed at the beginning of this year, when the La Presse team completed its digital transition, with La Presse+ digital tablet edition successfully replacing the Monday-to-Friday print edition. There is still a weekend print edition.
This has surprised many, especially in the Canadian market, where other good tablet editions, such as the one by Postmedia’s Montreal Gazette, did not manage to attract a solid audience. (Disclaimer: Garcia Media was involved with that project).
Guy Crevier, President and Publisher of La Presse, said:
“Three years after its launch, La Presse+ is now established as an indispensable medium of reference in Québec, both for readers who have made it a daily ritual and for the advertiser clients who choose it to deliver impactful marketing campaigns. Today, we are very proud of the progress we have made in the past few years, and more convinced than ever of the relevance of our digital transformation.”
Since the announcement of the end of the weekday print edition seven months ago, the weekly readership of La Presse+ has increased by almost 30%: nearly 140,000 new readers1 are using the app each week. Three years on from its launch, the popularity of La Presse+ continues to grow, with an average of 725 new app downloads per day.
La Presse+ is popular among all age groups, but most particularly among young adults. Readers in the 25-to-54 age group make up 63%6 of its audience, versus 46% for the print edition.
Here is how Éric Trottier, Vice-President, News, and Deputy Publisher, explains the success of La Presse+:
“Over the last three years, we have transformed the way we plan content and gather information in order to give the La Presse+ reader an optimal in-depth experience. La Presse+’s storytelling possibilities are numerous and immensely creative. We use the multimedia and interactive potential offered by the platform to propose the best storytelling possible for each story.”
The Advertising Component
From the beginning, La Presse+ offered innovative and creative advertising alternatives for its clients. In fact, the La Presse+ team created advertising templates with ideas to engage readers with the products advertised.
Check these fun interactive ads, including the one for the Flamingo ad shown here:
http://troussecreation.lapresse.ca/en/favourites
Who says tablet editions are dead? Montreal daily La Presse's betting its future on them
http://digiday.com/publishers/montreals-la-presse-bet-tablets-paid-off/