Let’s talk about Canada’s social media ban.

During last week’s study tour as part of the INMA Media Subscriptions Summit in Toronto, we visited The Walrus, a registered charity, paywall-free, known for long-form journalism. And even though they say they are much more than their print magazine, you can feel their deep commitment to magazine-quality journalism. 

Or, as Executive Director Jennifer Hollett put it: “People often compare us to The Atlantic or The New Yorker — which we see as a huge compliment.” 

The Walrus has become one of these brands that stands for a certain kind of lifestyle. Their brand is fresh, beautiful, and witty. Walking around with a nicely designed Walrus tote bag means: Hi there, I am smart and hip and also, btw, reading is sexy.

So, of course, it’s important for this brand to be out there — which means on social media. But in 2023, Meta’s response to Canada’s Online News Act was to block all Canadian news content on Facebook and Instagram overnight.

The Walrus, The Green Line, and all the other news outlets lost their entire social media audience in an instant.

But here’s what makes their story compelling: They didn’t panic. 

“We decided this is how we were expanding our. We call it the ecosystem universe, getting more people into our world,” explained Anita Mohan, marketing director. 

They invested in newsletters, events, their Web site, publishing more stories daily. They got creative and they stuck with their brand identity: quality journalism.

They launched a campaign called “Canada, are you freaking out?” in response to Trump being reelected. They turned freelancers into recognisable contributors. They acquired a podcasting company. They introduced daily word games that now draw users daily to the product, even though they are not a news platform.

The ban just accelerated what they’d already planned. The results: Growth, doubled traffic across all online channels, revenue holding steady.

“We’ve learned it the hard way that you should not rely on these platforms,” said Hollett. Which doesn’t mean they would welcome the ban continuing: “The average Canadian has really lost out with it.”

But it brings us back to why they stopped referring to themselves as a magazine. 

“Our data shows our largest audience is thewalrus.ca, our newsletters, Apple News,” Jennifer explained. “If we just focus on a magazine, that’s like a musician just focusing on an album. Look to Beyoncé or Taylor Swift. Tthe larger play is touring, merchandising, film, and television.”

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