Newspapers have been trying all sorts of gimmicks, from paywall promos to “open houses,” to get readers to discover their websites. The latest by the Wall Street Journal is clever: thousands of free WiFi hotspots throughout New York and San Francisco.
Through the month of September, readers will be able to use the Journal’s WiFi in 70% of Manhattan, including high traffic neighborhoods like Times Square and West Village. The service is also available in parts of three other boroughs. In San Francisco, the WiFi will be available in places like Nob Hill and Fisherman’s Wharf.
So why is the conservative Journal giving out free internet service to call comers? According to a spokesperson, “We’re always looking for ways to give people the opportunity to sample The Wall Street Journal. This is the latest in a long history of those efforts.”
This is one of the paper’s more novel initiatives but it may prove effective. While it’s unlikely that an iPad-touting tourist in Central Park is going to whip out a credit card and subscribe, the free WiFi could be a terrific way for the Journal to let new users encounter its homepage (provided the service doesn’t have the janky qualities of some other free WiFi initiatives).
The paper will also garner valuable customer data since non-subscribers must register to access the WiFi. Existing subscribers can simply log-in using their accounts; this too promises to deliver a trove of marketing data about the places that Journal readers frequent.
Here’s a screenshot from the Journal page promoting the service (sorry uptown, no WiFi for you!)
- For more on promotional WiFi see: Google, Boingo bring their free WiFi experiment to mall rats
(Image by phloxii via Shutterstock)
