Situation

Der Standard is a leading newspaper in Austria, founded 34 years ago in 1988. It was the first major newspaper in the German-speaking region to establish a robust digital presence, even before the rise of social media. As such, promoting public discourse has always been at the heart of its mission. The team at Der Standard had a lot of data and research available but hadn’t delved too deeply into segmenting their audience. They wanted to know more about what drives their online community of commenters and, crucially, to understand what these super-users could mean for their business. A key element of joining the Data Insight Programme was learning how to use the outcomes of research and connect those outcomes to business strategy. The online comments section of the newspaper is increasingly important to Der Standard and sets it apart from other media organisations.

Results

FT Strategies and the Google News Initiative helped Der Standard establish a clear funnel of users within its online commenting community. Super-users have become the main priority for the organisation, and central to business strategy in terms of increasing subscriptions. The team learned to conduct experiments with defined outcomes and have replicated this method of research in both data and product teams. By implementing sign-up mechanisms for rating comments, the team created a way to direct users to valuable content and cater better to their needs. Utilising AI and machine learning for automated tasks has also enabled the moderation team to focus on enhancing the quality of discourse. Getting to know Der Standard’s super-users better has been key to forging a deeper relationship with the audience.