The Economist gives Sydney a taste of its editorial content with coffee in new campaign

The Economist has launched an experiential marketing campaign in Sydney designed to engage people with The Economist’s editorial content and encourage new subscriptions by handing out free cups of premium coffee.

For the next two-and-a-half weeks a branded coffee cart will move around the Sydney CBD distributing free cups of exclusive coffee supported by promoters ready to engage in stimulating conversation on content from the pages of The Economist.

People will be given stimulating content from The Economist to read as they sip their coffee, including a printed article on biodiesel fuel that includes coffee grounds as a potential source. They can also use their phone to access the article via an electronic chip embedded in their coffee cup. It is the first time The Economist has used near field communication (NFC) in a marketing campaign.

People can have a taste of what The Economist offers each week with an exclusive one-month  introductory offer for a digital subscription. On spot sign-ups will receive a free book published by The Economist called ‘Megachange – The World in 2050’, edited by Daniel Franklin.

Designed to bring the newspaper’s content to life among prospective subscribers, the campaign will run until Tuesday September 22, on week days, for three to four hours each day. Location updates will be available daily via The Economist Asia Facebook page.

The campaign is part of a recruitment drive by The Economist across the Asia Pacific. It follows on from a highly successful campaign in Singapore, which featured coffee, and Hong Kong, which featured ice-cream containing insects, again centered around content found in The Economist. There have also been successful campaigns elsewhere: in London, Amsterdam, Dublin and Sao Paulo.

The Economist hopes to extend the campaign to other Australian cities.

Says Grace Hahn, circulation and group marketing director, Asia Pacific, The Economist: “The Economist offers much more than business, financial and political news and analysis.

“We wanted to create an experience, centered around our content, to engage with potential readers, that would be meaningful and memorable. The Economist experiential campaign offers people the opportunity to interact with The Economist brand and get a taste of the type of thought-provoking content they can expect from The Economist.”