Sherry Weiss is a customer-focused marketing and experience leader with a passion for creating marketing programs that drive growth, engagement and retention. Sherry oversees all marketing activities at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, responsible for driving customer acquisition, retention and subscriptions; enhancing and promoting the brand; and optimizing marketing efforts across the Dow Jones ecosystem. Beginning as a niche news agency in an obscure Wall Street basement, Dow Jones has grown to be a worldwide news and information powerhouse, with prestigious brands including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Barron's, MarketWatch and Financial News.
As we venture into 2025, what have been the growth/encouragement areas for you in your media company in the last year?
Dow Jones possesses a distinct business model, providing customers access to premium news, data and information across several core competencies, which creates a unique ecosystem unmatched by our competitors that solely focus on media. Dow Jones combines powerful consumer brands, like The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, with robust B2B products and services, including Factiva, Risk & Compliance and OPIS. This comprehensive operating model benefits both our revenue goals and our continued subscription growth, as we have identified ways to tie these areas together for cross-title and cross-product engagement.
We're also leveraging the strength of our portfolio through brand-building moments, such as events and the newly created Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute, which brings together senior executives and business professionals to tackle the issues that matter most to them and their respective business areas.
Can you give us a breakdown of your business model?
We hit some significant milestones in our Q3 earnings, which were reported recently. We surpassed 6 million average subscriptions across Dow Jones, with digital circulation revenue growing at its fastest rate in three years. We've also seen tremendous progress in our dynamic pricing and bundle strategies. Our brand marketing and subscription teams' innovative campaigns and dedicated efforts, along with strong company-wide collaboration, have been driving forces in our success.
Is AI having a major impact on your business? In what ways?
There is no doubt that AI has had a sizeable impact on several aspects of our business and the media industry writ large. At Dow Jones, we're embracing the new technology and exploring ways to harness it for sustainable future growth.
Our approach is threefold. First, as a publisher: our journalists go to extreme lengths to report the news accurately and fairly -- their work deserves to be recognized, valued and compensated accordingly. Second, as an arbiter for publishers: our business intelligence platform, Factiva, has been a trusted partner to news and media organizations worldwide for over 25 years, creating new revenue streams for our fellow publishers through content licensing. We're actively leveraging our scale to help forge the path forward for other publishers to collect their deserved royalties on their content, particularly during this time of change for the industry. And finally, as an innovator, we're adopting and implementing AI across the company in a variety of ways.
On the marketing front, we've actively developed new tools that help us better forecast audience behavior so we can respond to major breaking news moments and drive subscriptions. This multi-faceted strategy underscores our commitment to both safeguarding our intellectual property and leveraging AI's potential to enhance our offerings. AI has the ability to fundamentally change our industry and we have to find ways to leverage it and use it to our benefit.
How is your relationship with the big tech platforms?
It is no secret that the digital referral ecosystem is changing drastically, and publishers can no longer rely on traffic from third parties and tech platforms like they once did. At the same time, these platforms are critical gateways to our O&O sites, and we consistently analyze performance across platforms to identify what's performing well and adapt our strategy accordingly. However, the core focus of our efforts remains on building direct relationships with our customers by consistently demonstrating the value we offer. This dual approach allows us to strategically leverage these platforms while prioritizing and cultivating direct audience engagement within the channels we control.
Innovation and strategy. Can you share any innovative strategies your organization is implementing?
With a renewed focus on harnessing the power of data, we have revolutionized the Marketing team's approach to acquisition, retention, engagement and bundling-fostering a team that is primed to identify opportunities and drive digital recurring revenue with every campaign. When you're supporting a global newsroom, you need to be able to market at the speed of news. You can't just be solely reactionary, and we've implemented strategies to proactively predict how trends in the news cycle may impact traffic, audience engagement and other KPIs we closely monitor.
Are subscriptions the panacea for future reader involvement/monetization? In what way does advertising support your subscription drive?
Subscriptions are a primary revenue driver for Dow Jones, and we are so proud of the growth we have seen. A key factor to our success has been focusing not only on acquiring new subscribers but also on retaining existing customers by consistently showcasing the value we provide. We work diligently to foster deep engagement across our comprehensive suite of products. Our WSJ+ bundle, which offers subscribers access to The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch and Investor's Business Daily, is a great example of that. We know that those who interact with multiple products have stronger retention rates, and so a central focus is enhancing engagement through the bundle.
Advertising and subscriptions go hand in hand, and they really work in support of one another. As one of the first media companies to implement a paywall, we possess rich first-party data that directly benefits our partners and informs both audience segments and our ad targeting capabilities, ensuring that the right message reaches the right user at the right time.
Brand building. What are the key elements of building a strong brand in today's market?
Building and maintaining a strong brand in today's market requires a deep understanding of your customers' needs and the ability to consistently demonstrate the value you bring on a daily basis. I worked in financial services for many years, and I understand the crucial role data should play in every business decision you make, including when to engage a specific audience market and what they may be interested in.
We really put that thinking to the test with our recent brand platform for The Wall Street Journal, It's Your Business. We conducted thorough research to understand our brand perception and found that some people didn't think The Wall Street Journal was for them, and that it was only for CEOs and high-profile traders. With this knowledge, we made it a goal of ours to leverage WSJ's distinctive journalism to showcase the unexpected role that business and business decisions play in our everyday lives, regardless of the industry you work in or the level of career you're at.
Another key element of brand relevance is ensuring that you provide timely information and services when it matters most. For example, our B2B offerings are essential resources that professionals use in times of uncertainty or rapid change. Take the global trade environment, for example. Dow Jones Risk & Compliance has become a go-to resource for risk professionals who need to stay apprised of new sanctions and other restrictions that may impact supply chains. Our recent acquisitions of Dragonfly Intelligence and Oxford Analytica, which together provide geopolitical and security intelligence services, further strengthen our position in this area.
How do you tailor your strategies to your different markets? Are there any peculiarities about your country/market in the advertising arena?
For It's Your Business, we strategically targeted 10 US cities that we identified as growth markets: Boston, Dallas, Miami, Seattle, Washington D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and Chicago. These locations were chosen based on extensive research that identified areas with communities of ambitious young professionals who are interested in business and finance as much as they are in lifestyle and the arts and have core ambitions that align with WSJ subscribers: they seek to take agency in their lives and want to be well-informed about the world around them.
To reach these audiences in unique ways, we launched contextually relevant out-of-home (OOH) in unexpected places, such as "Make Hot Dog Economics Your Business" on the side of a hot dog cart in New York City or "Make EV Politics Your Business" at an electric vehicle charging station. By connecting these placements with articles corresponding to each topic, we demonstrated how WSJ's reporting impacts our individual lives in unexpected ways.
We successfully increased site traffic in nine of these 10 markets, and saw a 19% increase in consumers who would recommend The Wall Street Journal, with a notable rise in likelihood to subscribe, particularly among women aged 35-44. Overall, It's Your Business effectively and positively shifted the perception of the Journal while showcasing its world-class reporting.
While we've seen great results from our US campaign, we also have ambitions to expand our reach internationally. There is a shared vision and alignment on the tremendous growth opportunities in internal markets, especially APAC and MENA regions, as evidenced by the expansion of our WSJ Tech Live franchise to Qatar and the launch of Dow Jones Yomiuri Shimbun Pro in Japan. These emerging markets represent significant potential for expanding our reach and deepening engagement with new audiences. Given our international scope, focusing strategically on these areas is paramount.
How do you reach younger audiences in 2025?
It's crucial to have an effective off-platform strategy to ensure you appear where younger audiences are consuming their news and information. The newsrooms have done a great job of showcasing their award-winning work off-platform in new and innovative ways, whether it be The Wall Street Journal's growing presence on TikTok or its substantial following on YouTube, where it has more than 6 million followers. As marketers, we're always looking for ways to bridge the gap between audiences who sample our journalism off-platform and those who come directly to our owned and operated platforms to purchase a subscription.
Events. What is your strategy?
We operate one of the most premium event businesses in the industry, a strength that is amplified by the exceptional convening power of our trusted brands. We leverage our events to engage influential, high-quality audiences-particularly across the C-suite-through exclusive experiences that bring our editorial authority to life. These events are not only a source of direct revenue but also a powerful tool for deepening relationships, generating brand affinity and creating unique value for our partners.
Our events bring together all Dow Jones properties and areas of expertise, capitalizing on our unique competitive advantage to reflect the full breadth of our capabilities and foster stronger consumer and business relationships. In doing so, our events unlock new opportunities for growth across both our advertising and subscription revenue streams, all while reinforcing our position as the essential source of news, data and analysis for decision makers. The success of our events is the result of a truly cross-functional work-stream across Dow Jones, uniting teams across news, production, sales, and marketing to provide a best-in-class experience for our attendees, speakers, and sponsors alike.
Future of Media overall. How do you envision the media landscape evolving over the next decade? What role will traditional media play in this future?
I believe the media landscape will only become more fragmented in the future, driven by innovations in AI, the proliferation of "news influencers," and the increased focus on personalization and algorithm-driven news consumption. While there will be more content than we know what to do with, truly reliable and trusted information will become increasingly scarce - and therefore, more valuable.
With the rapid increase in user-generated content and the advent of "bad actors" using these channels to spread misinformation, the line between what is and isn't authentic will continue to blur. The premium on credibility will rise, and media organizations, like Dow Jones, that have built a long legacy on their reputation for editorial rigor and fact-based reporting will win out. The future of traditional media will depend not just on how news is distributed but on providing real value to customers and helping them navigate the complexity of the world, especially business leaders and policymakers whose decisions impact all of us.
The value of trust will only increase, and the media companies that stick to their values and never waver from uncovering the truth will not only endure, they will lead.
Challenges and opportunities. What are the biggest challenges facing media companies today?
In today's environment, scale is no longer a primary advantage. The true opportunity lies in fostering relationships with audiences who depend on our specialized news, data, and information to inform their decision-making. Their engagement with us is driven by necessity, not chance. As the digital referral ecosystem continues to splinter, this inherent connection is a significant strength for us, and nurturing those connections will be vital for sustained growth in the long term. Our priority is not solely on maximizing reach, but engaging the appropriate audience at the right time and developing new product offerings that meet their unique needs.
Additionally, as advertisers seek brand-safe, context-rich environments and more direct access to premium audiences, media companies with robust editorial standards and rich first-party data are well-positioned to succeed. Ultimately, the focus for us is staying relentlessly focused on the customer: building their trust, innovating around their needs, and diversifying our portfolio while remaining grounded in our mission to deliver the most trusted news, data and analysis to help our customers make decisions.
More about Mark Challinor: Mark is a commercial and media advertising strategist. He recently led the International News Media Association's (INMA.org) Advertising Initiative (the news industry's deeper dive into media advertising). He has also been European and global president of INMA. He produces a monthly Future of Media Advertising newsletter on LinkedIn and runs an advertising committee made up of senior executives from across the world's media. Mark is now CEO of News Media UK Consulting. Follow Mark on X: @challinor and LinkedIn.