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Wall Street Journal drives subscriptions via mobile

The Wall Street Journal is turning to mobile advertising to increase subscriptions for its print, online, smartphone and tablet editions.

The company is running the campaign within Pandora?s iPhone application. The interactive initiative targets students and offers them an exclusive rate.

?Users have no tolerance for slow performance on mobile,? said Mandy Lewis, director of Acquity Group, Chicago. 

?Content must be prioritized and streamlined for quick scanning,? she said.

Ms. Lewis is not affiliated with Wall Street Journal. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

The Wall Street Journal did not respond by press time.

Driving readership
WSJ is running expandable mobile ads that feature several messages, including ?Jump In,? ?Class. Career. Success,? ?Tap Here For an Exclusive Student Rate. Save 75%.?

When users tap on the ad, they are redirected to a mobile-optimized page where they can fill out delivery, account and school information.

In addition, users can sign-up for email updates and receive selected articles from Wall Street Journal to help stay at the top of their class.

After entering their credit card information, users can complete their purchase.

The campaign is straight to the point and Wall Street Journal is looking to get subscriptions right then and there.

Mobile advertising is an ideal channel for the company to reach those on-the-go students.

Past efforts
In 2010, a Wall Street Journal executive said that the publication?s monetization strategy relies on a marriage of subscriptions for premium digital content and advertising (see story).

Most recently, the company launched a mobile Web site for the iPhone that continues its 360-degree embrace of digital media as the new business model for publishing (see story).

?Mobile sites that quickly communicate simple and compelling value to consumers have much higher success rates,? Ms. Lewis said. 

?Use clear navigation, ample white space, easy to find search, readable text and minimal scrolling,? she said.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York