Great journalism alone is seldom enough alone when it comes to publishers finding the right strategy to attract a high-value audience. Commercial staff and product teams are also an essential part of the mix. And crucially, despite differing motives and philosophies, these three cohorts all have to be working well together to create a brand which attracts and retains a valuable audience.

Q5 has worked with everyone from Sky and the BBC to News Corp and The Guardian finding ways to get sometimes disparate teams all rowing in the same direction.

And two of their expert consultants have shared some key insights on this topic in a new report headlined: Where does accountability sit for attracting and retaining high-value audiences?

Here are five key takeaways for publishers from Graham Page and Katie Burridge of Q5:

1. Get organised

It’s not enough for everyone to recognise the challenge and work independently to solve it as this risks confusing user experiences and messy commercial propositions. Successful organisations design structures and ways of working that promote collaboration.

2. The leadership team needs to share the same goal

It is essential that the most senior people in the organisation – such as the CEO, editor-in-chief, publisher and chief product officer – share a unified strategic vision. Their job is to create an environment where empowered teams can innovate.

3. Trade-offs must be made, be open about discussing them

The teams that Q5 observes operating in high-delivery, high-performance environments consistently describe having explicit discussions about the trade-offs they face. By discussing trade-offs openly and agreeing priorities collectively, teams reduce friction and accelerate decision-making.

4. Be clear about your shared goals

Editorial, product and commercial teams need access to the same metrics, measured in the same way. Successful teams talk about the importance of developing business-wide “North Star” metrics that all teams are responsible for delivering against.

5. Take time to create the building blocks of success

Publishers need to create a culture of rapid innovation through testing and learning, with cross-functional teams focused on driving performance. But they also need to invest time setting up teams for success and holding them accountable for attracting and retaining high-value audiences.

To find out more download the full white paper here.

And explore more insights from Q5: Can you design an ‘audience-first’ newsroom without increasing cost and complexity?

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