Based on the presentation by Lisa Irenius regarding Svenska Dagbladet’s success in reaching 130,000 digital subscribers, the narrative can be distilled into three core arguments.
Argument 1: The Power of Radical Focus through Unified Goals and Organizational Restructuring
The first core argument presented is that reversing a negative subscription trend requires the elimination of metric confusion and the restructuring of the organization to break down silos between journalism, data, and business.
The Trap of Metric Confusion and the “North Star” Goal
A central theme of the presentation is the danger of dispersed focus. In the modern digital media landscape, organizations are often drowning in data points. Publishers measure reach, page views, unique visitors, time spent, churn rates, and social engagement. Irenius argues that while these metrics have value, they often create organizational confusion. When a company tries to optimize for everything simultaneously, it often optimizes for nothing. Employees in different departments end up pulling in different directions—editorial might chase page views with clickbait, while business chases high-subscription prices that limit reach.
Svenska Dagbladet’s solution was to strip away this complexity and establish one clear, overarching goal for the entire company: gaining new subscribers. They set a tangible target—growing from just under 100,000 to 125,000 subscribers (a 25% increase). This was not just a business target; it was a rallying cry. By making this the singular focus, every decision—whether editorial, technical, or commercial—could be weighed against a simple question: “Does this help us reach 125,000 subscribers?” This clarity was essential because they were facing a specific crisis: while digital income was up due to price increases, the total volume of subscribers was shrinking. They recognized that a strategy based solely on raising prices (yield management) is finite; eventually, you price yourself out of the market. To survive, they had to pivot back to volume growth.
Restructuring for Cross-Functional Agility
Ideally, a goal is only as good as the machinery built to achieve it. The argument extends to the necessity of physical and structural reorganization. The traditional newspaper hierarchy—with a strict separation between the “church” (editorial) and the “state” (business)—is insufficient for modern digital growth. Svenska Dagbladet dismantled their old structure, specifically eliminating the concept of a separate “digital desk.”
The logic here is profound: if you have a “digital desk,” you are implying that the rest of the organization is something else (analog). In 2024, the entire organization must be digital. By removing the digital desk, they forced the entire newsroom to take ownership of the digital presentation and performance.
Furthermore, they introduced the concept of a “Growth Hub.” This is a specialized unit that physically and operationally integrates different competencies. Instead of having data analysts in one room, developers in another, and journalists in a third, the Growth Hub brings them together. This includes:
- Journalists: To ensure the product remains true to the editorial voice.
- Product Developers: To build the features users need.
- Data Analysts: To interpret user behavior in real-time.
- UX Designers: To ensure the journey from reader to subscriber is seamless.
This cross-functional approach allows for rapid iteration. The presentation highlights how this team worked on dynamic paywalls and A/B testing. They didn’t just guess what might work; they formed a task force to test different paywall appearances and offers. The results were staggering—simple iterations on how the paywall looked resulted in 20-40% improvements in conversion. This level of optimization is impossible if the designers are siloed away from the business analysts. The argument here is that growth is not a marketing function or an editorial function; it is a holistic product function that requires a merged culture.
The Role of Culture and “Generalists”
Finally, this organizational shift required a cultural shift regarding the “generalist” reporter. Historically, beat reporters (politics, crime) are viewed as the core of a newspaper. However, the data revealed that “generalists in life and culture”—reporters writing about relationships, science, sports, and learning—were the most effective at converting new subscribers. By reorganizing to value and develop this type of content, the organization leaned into what the data demanded rather than what tradition dictated. This required a leadership style (merging the CEO and Editor-in-Chief roles) that could see the whole picture, balancing the commercial need for growth with the editorial mandate for quality.
Argument 2: Differentiation via the “Aha” Experience and Qualitative AI Assessment
The second core argument revolves around the necessity of a unique selling point (USP) in a commodified news market, specifically defining that USP as the “Aha” moment and utilizing AI to measure quality rather than just quantity.
Defining the Unique Selling Point: The “Aha” vs. The “Oh Shit”
In a digital landscape where breaking news is a commodity available for free on social media or state broadcasters, a subscription product must offer something distinct. The presentation argues that a news brand must define exactly what feeling it sells. Svenska Dagbladet conducted extensive research to understand their position relative to competitors. They identified that tabloids (like their sister paper Aftonbladet) excel at the “Oh shit” feeling—shock, speed, and dramatic engagement. Lifestyle magazines might excel at the “Mmm” feeling—aesthetic pleasure and relaxation.
Svenska Dagbladet identified their distinct lane as the “Aha” feeling. This is a sophisticated psychological definition of their value proposition. An “Aha” moment is defined by:
- Deeper Understanding: Explaining why something happened, not just that it happened.
- Connection: Showing how disparate events or trends are linked.
- New Thoughts: Challenging the reader’s worldview or introducing a novel perspective.
- Curiosity: Making the reader want to know more.
This argument posits that journalism is an experience and a feeling, not just a transmission of facts. If the user does not feel that “Aha” sensation—the spark of intellectual satisfaction—they will not retain their subscription. This focus forces the newsroom to prioritize storytelling and analysis over commodity news. It moves the metric of success from “did we cover this?” to “did we provide an insight?”
Operationalizing Quality with AI
Perhaps the most innovative part of this argument is how they measure this intangible “Aha” quality. Typically, newsrooms use AI for low-level tasks like generating summaries or tagging archives. Svenska Dagbladet argues for using AI as a high-level qualitative editor.
They developed an AI bot specifically designed to evaluate articles based on the “Aha” criteria. This bot reads articles and assigns them a score from 1 to 10 based on how well they deliver that specific experience. It provides feedback on why an article scored low and what could be done to improve it. This transforms AI from a generative tool into a critical tool.
The implications of this are massive.
- Scalability of Feedback: Human editors cannot provide deep, structured feedback on every single article published every day. An AI can. This democratizes coaching and ensures every piece of content is measured against the core strategic goal.
- Objectivity: While the AI is trained on subjective criteria, its application is consistent. It removes the personal bias of a grumpy editor and focuses on the structural elements of the story.
- Fine-Tuning: The presentation notes that they fine-tuned the AI against human editors’ evaluations and reader feedback, creating a feedback loop where the machine helps the humans become better at the specific type of journalism the company sells.
The Visual and Emotional Experience
The argument for the “Aha” experience extends to the visual identity of the product. It is not enough for the text to be smart; the site must feel smart. This involves the “generalist” topics mentioned earlier (science, relationships). These topics are often entry points for younger, newer audiences who may feel “news anxiety” regarding heavy political or war coverage. By wrapping these life topics in the “Aha” framework—using science to explain relationships, for example—they maintain their premium brand while softening the entry point. This creates a positive emotional association with the brand, which is critical for retention. If reading the news makes you feel smart and enlightened (“Aha”) rather than terrified or bored, you are more likely to pay for it.
Argument 3: Modernizing Distribution through Automation, Partnerships, and the “Funnel” Strategy
The third core argument contends that while the industry has spent decades perfecting print distribution, it has severely under-invested in digital distribution, which now requires a mix of algorithmic automation, strategic partnerships, and tiered subscription models (freemium) to manage the user lifecycle.
The Hybrid Front Page and Algorithmic Curation
The presentation argues that manual curation of a website is inefficient and often less effective than machine curation. Svenska Dagbladet moved to a model where only three spots on the front page are manually curated by editors; the rest is handled by personalization algorithms (part of the Schibsted platform).
The argument here is counter-intuitive to traditional editors who believe they know what the audience “needs” to see. However, the results support the automation:
- Increased Exposure: The algorithm surfaces a wider variety of content than humans do. Debate articles increased by 130%, and economy/culture sections saw double-digit growth.
- Personalization: Frequent users see a constantly refreshing feed, preventing the “stale” feeling of a static front page. Infrequent users still see the biggest, most important stories (the “three manual spots”).
- Efficiency: By offloading the layout work to machines, the newsroom does not need to hire more digital editors. Instead, those resources can be directed toward content creation. The machine handles the logistics of digital distribution, just as trucks handled the logistics of print.
Partnerships as Distribution Channels
Just as newspapers historically relied on newsstands and carriers, digital newspapers need external distribution partners to find new audiences. The presentation highlights a willingness to experiment with bundles that might seem contradictory.
- Local Bundles: Partnering with local newspapers (like Corren) allows Svenska Dagbladet to serve as the “national/world” supplement to a subscriber’s local news diet.
- Non-News Bundles: The partnership with Klarna (a fintech/payments company) places the newspaper inside a shopping/lifestyle membership. This acknowledges that news is just one part of a consumer’s subscription life (alongside Netflix, Spotify, etc.).
The argument is that you cannot rely solely on people typing your URL into a browser. You must insert your product into the ecosystems where people already exist, even if those ecosystems (like a payment app) seem unrelated to journalism.
The “SVD Vas” and the Freemium Pivot
Finally, the presentation argues for a sophisticated approach to the “subscription funnel.” They identified a critical flaw in their previous model: churn. When a subscriber cancels, the relationship usually ends completely. To combat this, they are developing “SVD Vas” (modeled after Spotify Free).
The logic is that a free, registered tier is essential for two reasons:
- Acquisition (The Try-Before-You-Buy): It lowers the barrier to entry. Users can experience the “Aha” journalism without an immediate credit card commitment, fostering a habit.
- Retention (The Soft Landing): This is the crucial innovation. When a paying subscriber wants to cancel, they don’t drop to nothing; they drop to “SVD Vas.” They lose access to the premium content, but they keep receiving a weekly newsletter and select articles. The relationship remains alive.
This counters the binary nature of subscriptions (subscribed vs. not subscribed). By creating a middle ground, the publisher maintains data access and communication channels with the user, making it infinitely easier to “resubscribe” them later than if they had become a stranger. This also replaces previous failed experiments like “SVD Compact,” which created a confusing separate destination. The argument is that all efforts must lead to the main destination, and the tiered model keeps users within the primary ecosystem, regardless of their current payment status.