News Corp’s We’re For You: Securing the editors’ support for the campaign

‘The initial editors’ letters are a solid commitment to our customer base’

As we continue our look at News Corp’s We’re For You campaign, chief marketing officer Tony Phillips tells Mediaweek’s James Manning about securing support from editors around Australia.

• Part 1: News Corp launches biggest-ever consumer campaign: We’re For You
• Part 2: News Corp’s We’re For You: Campaign plan + Christopher Dore letter extract

“The initial editors’ letters are a solid commitment to our customer base,” said Phillips.

“Through those messages we want to speak to lapsed readers and light users. I am also very keen to make sure we are speaking to future readers as well from any demographic.

“We are a product for Australia and we have an extraordinary network that touches most of Australia and we would love more people to be reading what we do.”

Phillips laughed when we asked if some of the editors were better at keeping deadlines than others.

As we spoke on the Friday before launch, many of the letters had yet to be received.

Phillips: “If we had given them another month, they still might have been doing it two hours before deadline as they are all so busy.”

News Corp reaches out to readers. Customers buying the Townsville Bulletin got a message this week from editor Jenna Cairney, which read in part:

Our newsroom has transformed into a 24/7 multiplatform operation that breaks news as it happens. More readers turn to us than ever before with 256,000 of you connecting with the Bulletin every month. Yet it’s not just about bringing you the breaking news.

Townsville is proud of being the unofficial capital of North Queensland, defined in the early years by gold, cattle and sugar, now bolstered by industry, our military hub, James Cook University’s expertise in education, and our port.

The Bulletin is for reminding the latte-sippers who shuffle down George Street that it’s the fluoro-clad workers who spend long days underground and weeks away from their families or the dusty cattle cockies or the cane farmers cutting out a crust in the tropical heat who make their world go round.

Like those who banded together after the Night of Noah or after Cyclone Debbie hit the southern end of our region, we’re for the carers, nurses, doctors, paramedics, police and emergency service workers. Those who save lives every day.

We tell their stories with pride. We fight for the underdog, share the remarkable stories and we’ll strive every day to make our community a better place.

Later this week

Thursday: How did Tony Phillips and News Corp secure the rights for “A Day In The Life” + TVC preview as Phillips joins Mediaweek editor James Manning on Sky News Business

Friday: Tony Phillips reveals how News Corp will measure the success of the campaign and previews of the creative being used for the TVC and outdoor.

Top photo: Tony Phillips

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