In an era of fake news, AI misuse, and millions of unverified news sources on the Internet, the value of local journalism is higher than ever before. 

As a publisher of four local newspapers in Germany, the biggest challenge for us at Zeitungsverlag Waiblingen is to adapt to this fast-paced environment. This includes re-evaluating our products accordingly and finding new solutions to secure not only our own economic viability, but also the supply of all of our readers with sustainable, reliable, and up-to-date news.

With more than 400,000 residents in our distribution area, we are one of the most important sources of local, national, and international news. Our purpose is: “From here. For here. For you.”

With the increasing costs of printing and delivery, a lack of visibility, and major changes in digitalisation and customer support — which have occurred especially since the COVID pandemic — elderly customers often feel left out and overlooked.

We wanted to change that, so we found a way to reinvent local journalism by combining two of the things that set us apart from the rest: tradition and innovation.

The birth of pop-up newsrooms

This led to the birth of our pop-up editorials. The idea is to set up pop-up newsrooms in different cities and towns across our distribution area. The duration of each pop-up is four weeks, Monday to Friday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Every day, two local journalists are present at the local newsroom. Readers can come in and share with us local happenings, problems, news, or personal stories that might be interesting to others. That way, we can connect with our readers on a personal level. Readers tell us being present in their direct neighbourhood makes it easier to approach us directly.

Along with the local journalists, a member of our marketing team is also present at the pop-up. In the run-up to every pop-up editorial, we contact readers and individuals without an active subscription (via e-mail or postal mail) to inform them about the pop-up and our special offer, which is available for the duration of the pop-up. With every two-year ePaper subscription, customers receive a complimentary tablet.

By being present at the pop-up, we can help elderly customers immediately with the online registration process, app handling, and other questions or concerns they may have that might otherwise prevent them from using our ePaper.

During every pop-up, we also organise a “digital day,” where several members of our marketing team are present to show interested visitors our ePaper.

People power

Having “real people” present to help with questions, complaints, subscriptions, and all other issues customers might have has strengthened our relationship with our readers immensely.

What is important about the pop-ups is that they are located in central locations with big windows and good accessibility (i.e. ground level, little to no steps, accessible by public transport, etc.) so people not only feel welcome and invited, but are spontaneously enticed to come in and talk to us. By finding empty properties in central locations, we are also able to help revitalise our cities.

The equipment at the pop-up is always kept to a minimum: tables and chairs for our employees and visitors, a computer for every employee, and a few tablets for our customers to try out our app and get to know the device they receive with their ePaper subscription.

The goal isn’t to work in a perfect environment but to be present where the people are. With the pop-up editorials, we want to make digital transformation easier and more accessible for everyone.

Our 10 completed pop-ups, which brought us more than 300 new two-year ePaper subscriptions and around 1,600 trial subscriptions — 15%-20% of which we successfully converted into paid subscriptions, depending on our follow-up offers.

Our most important learning from our experience was that to manage the balancing act between digitalisation and tradition, we need to meet our customers where they are: in their own city or town, with a real contact person they can trust, and with the willingness to help them — especially with their questions about digital topics.

Matching our purpose, “From here. For here. For you,” we are committed to finding even more solutions that ensure all our readers can join us on our digital journey.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .