Challenge

With America's largest paid subscriber base and year-over-year subscriber growth, Consumer Reports' Web properties were among the most successful in the world. Nevertheless, the organization knew its marketplace was changing, with free competition and a generation of consumers raised on peer-to-peer recommendations. Given this challenge, how was it possible for CR to retain its lead? How could it differentiate its offerings well enough to increase traffic, entice visitors, drive up paid subscriptions and build an online platform for continued growth?

Solution

Our team began a series of projects, starting with the main subscriber site, to make the CR Web presence more engaging and compelling. To convert visitors to customers, we created robust trials of subscriber content, giving a real sense of CR's superior product-testing methodologies. At the same time, we redesigned the site from the ground up, visually branding premium content and optimizing the site for search engines. We also developed structures that would enable popular forms of social media — from expert blogs to consumer-generated reviews — all while supporting CR's reputation for rigorous analysis and authoritative guidance.

Results

The site design vastly improved CR's subscriber sales pitch and accelerated the conversion of casual visitors to paid CR users. Not only did CR experience a marked growth in subscribers, but customer satisfaction surveys also showed double-digit gains. The site's new architecture, meanwhile, enabled CR to build and easily roll out new features and functions in a series of phased releases. Sequel then turned its attention to the site's most important subscriber offshoots: Consumer Reports Health and Consumer Reports Cars.