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Running before walking may result in a fall: The FT’s new venture with Foursquare

  • April 27, 2010
  • Blog

New kid on the social networking block Foursquare has managed to connect coolly and not to mention quickly with the dusty pink web pages of The FT.  A new shiny partnership between the newspaper giant and the location-based social networking site has arisen, shifting The FT’s strategy and broadening their demographic target to attract a younger readership.

The facts: The idea is that if you are signed up to Foursquare you will also get a free subscription to The FT, who have partnered with cafes in financial districts within cities that provide the subscribers with a ”check in” point where they can see where they’re friends are, start chatting with them and read their recommendations.

Only users who have “checked-in” the most times at one location will receive a free subscription to The FT, which will only run for a limited amount of time.

Ok, fine. But doesn’t it all seem a little too hasty and somewhat out of character for the economical news churner partnering up with a (so-far) non-commercial, brand new social media tool? Sure, it has the potential to encourage a younger demographic but one that is used to receiving free news, so will therefore expect to keep on receiving free news.

Will The FT roll out this service after the first few months? How else will they engage with Generation Y once they’ve successfully landed on their site? What kind of strategy is actually in place? Are they trying to scoop up the next new, exciting social media toy just because that’s what it is? And finally, are they bypassing the strategy part and just leaping headlong into the youthful pools of Foursquare?

In theory it’s a smart move to encourage more of a younger participant in their growing Web 2.0 presence. If it works The FT will have to be consistent and integrate and share with their younger readers, just like any good social media tool does.

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