MailLife plans to ramp up “community” feel
MailLife, the business launched by A&N Media last year, is planning to develop more of a sense of community among its users.
The venture, which leverages the data base of Daily Mail readers to retail products and services, has also appointed Waitrose marketer Kate Scally to take the position of head of strategic insight at MailLife.
Scally is currently manager, marketing communications at Waitrose. At the retailer she worked on initiatives including delivering the company’s first data-driven media campaign and created an internal cross-channel content team.
MailLife is designed to tap into the credibility of the Daily Mail’s consumer recommendations and research.
A&N Media’s director of commercial development Linda Grant told Marketing Week that MailLife was an essential part of the parent company’s plans to find extra revenue beyond newspaper cover price and advertising.
“If you are customer-centric and marketing-led about how you do this then you can generate new income streams.”
However, the venture has other benefits. Grant says: “If you do it the right way it can enhance readers’ relationship with the Mail brand overall.”
The strategy is now to establish MailLife as a brand “in its own right” and to encourage customers can return and repeat purchase.
She admits that “right now” MailLife does not have a strong community experience and that the company was reviewing its activity to see how it could help seed a community “to create a more engaging environment.”
Grant is a former group services marketing director for Associated Newspapers, and says that newspapers now need to start capitalising on the trust that readers feel about their publications.
Other media owners, such as Times Newspapers and Guardian News & Media, are also cultivating stronger relationships with readers via members’ clubs.
