2012 Bronze Best User Experience

Client Guardian News and Media

How did the campaign make a difference? A playful and interactive survey for the Guardian iPad edition collected data on readers' habits and persuaded them to part with personal information in return for an incentive. It profiled over 9,500 Guardian readers who were previously anonymous.

What details of the strategy make this a winning entry? The personal data belonging to users of the Guardian iPad edition is owned by iTunes and not shared with publishers. This campaign needed to identify these customers and collect their names and email addresses to market new digital products and subscriber bundles. It used an interactive survey, launched from an advert from within the Guardian iPad edition. The survey also canvassed Guardian print and digital reading habits, device usage and subscriber status. Users were offered between four and six Observer vouchers to complete the survey as an incentive. The survey also had to be playful and interactive. Using the iPad’s touch gestures, it integrated with and emulated the fluid experience of reading the Guardian iPad edition.

How did creativity bring the strategy to life? It was important not to interrupt readers’ enjoyment of the Guardian iPad edition, so an on-brand, seamlessly integrated experience was required. The survey was miles away from a traditional web form and had a strong element of play; users could tap and slide their way through the process. This playful element eased readers into the survey as the questions and interactions became more detailed. It was able to engage the user for a longer period by making the experience tactile and fun, gleaning extra data about user digital habits. A large percentage also took advantage of two extra Observer vouchers that were available for those who took part in deeper additional profiling. On completion users had the option of sharing the promotion via Twitter and Facebook. This social messaging drove new users to download the application and redeem the offer, thus identifying new trial subscribers who could be up-sold a full subscription.

Results Campaign targets were met and exceeded, identifying 56% of active users. It over-delivered by extending reach via social media channels and by collecting additional rich data, including subscriber status, devices, other Guardian product usage, print edition reading habits, competitor app usage, frequency of where/when/how they read the edition and for how long.

Team David Rendle, Mark Doyle