New Yorker For You
2025
THE CHALLENGE
Through extensive conversations across The New Yorker organization, meeting with editors, art directors, audience development, and social leads, a consistent brand stereotype emerged- The New Yorker was perceived as attracting only a high-brow, older demographic. Yet, the brand's true ethos is far more than just that. The New Yorker has an incredibly expansive roster of programming, from podcasts and short-form documentaries to captivating articles and cartoons, each appealing to a diverse, contemporary audience. It's not just for old people; it’s rich in pop culture, humor, and extensively-vetted recommendations. Our mission was to dismantle this perception to bring in a larger, younger audience, specifically targeting the 35-45 demographic.
THE APPROACH
Our strategy centered on a core belief: to captivate new audiences, you must offer discovery and personalization. With social algorithms now playing such a prominent role in tailoring content based on individual choices, we built upon this idea by creating a custom content generator living within a dedicated microsite. This hub was engineered to introduce a fresh demographic to the brand's immense breadth and depth, offering personalized recommendations from its vast library of diverse content, from top-performing stories to hidden gems.
Working closely with our external partners at CEROS and the talented illustrator, Rose Wang, I oversaw the overall design and build of the microsite. To breathe life into the overall experience, I worked closely with Rose to develop a series of playful illustrations that were paired alongside the generator copy.
To maximize the usage of the illustrations (and budget, duh!), they were strategically integrated into all social ad creatives that drove traffic to the site, creating a cohesive user journey that was reflective of the brand’s playful sensibilities.
THE RESULT
Pulling in over 150K impressions in just 10 days, the social ad creative drove substantial traffic to the microsite and sparked significant interest. This initial excitement showed us the ads truly resonated, proving that The New Yorker's witty, curious, and humorous tone hit home. More importantly, this personalized approach of the generator boosted newsletter sign-ups by 700% compared to our standard lead-gen campaign.