Building on a $6 million spring campaign touting the benefits of sharing, free commuter daily Metro announced a series of new promotions Thursday encouraging readers to share its product with others.
Metro also announced a new partnership with Qriket, a free iPhone app that is a hybrid content delivery system and game. People using Qriket to scan QR codes in Metro and share breaking news updates and videos with their social networks, are eligible to win $10,000 in Qriket cash prizes available exclusively to Metro readers.
“It’s amplifying our editorial, making sharing really easy and rewarding readers as a bonus,” said Jodi Brown, vice-president of marketing and interactive for Metro in Toronto. “Last spring’s campaign focused on the value of sharing, and this represents some of our tactical efforts against that.”
Today, the publication partnered with fashion retailer H&M on a “Metro Day” promotion inviting its readers in Halifax, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver to show their copy of Metro or its app in H&M stores to receive a 25% discount on their first purchase.
The program is being promoted through a full-page ad on the inside front cover of today’s paper, as well as through online and mobile channels, an e-blast to 50,000 Club Metro subscribers and the publication’s followers on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.
Brown said that Metro’s readership, which skews 18-49 with a sweet spot of 27, aligns well with that of the core H&M customer. Previous initiatives with fashion retailers like La Senza have been successful, she said.
“When we hit our core demo, especially in fashion, we’re the right partner to generate a lot of excitement,” said Brown. “Metro and H&M are a really great fit from a fashion perspective, but I can see us making other Metro Days and partnership in other categories with brands that are an awesome fit like that as well.”
Metro is set to re-launch its loyalty program ClubMetro.com on Sept. 24 with an online redesign overseen by Jet Cooper. The redesign includes more sharing tools and branded opportunities for advertisers,” said Brown.
