“I started reading La Vanguardia when I was 7 or 8 years old, it was part of the house,” explains businessman Ramon Térmens, who, at 74 years old, continues to be a faithful reader of the newspaper. In his family, on his mother’s side, They have been subscribers for 101 years. “I have always read La Vanguardia, since I can remember,” psychiatrist Ramon Andreu Anglada, 86, also recalls, “my father read it with devotion, especially the chronicles of Augusto Assía. (Felipe Fernández Armesto) during the Second World War”.
These two testimonies are an example of the unique model of reader engagement with La Vanguardia. It combines, on the one hand, a deep-rooted personal and family attachment to the newspaper, which will turn 143 years old on February 1 and which has recounted events spanning three centuries. This tradition has passed from one generation to another. But, on the other hand, the new (and broader and more varied offer) of digital journalism is increasing the number of new subscribers. “A newspaper is like a book and La Vanguardia seems to me to be the best book on the market,” highlights Dr. Anglada.
The psychiatrist is one of the 146,000 current subscribers, of which 39,000 have a subscription to the paper newspaper, while the digital one already has 106,000, with very rapid growth, since this option has been available since October 2020. The forecast is That by 2024 it will end up with a total of 165,000 subscribers. And the degree of loyalty is very high. In the case of the paper newspaper, 57% of the subscribers have been there for more than 10 years (and of these, 27%, more than 25 years), while 25% are between 3 and 10 years old and only 18%, in less than 3 years. With the digital offering, subscriptions are expected to grow by at least 25,000 a year.
The degree of satisfaction of subscribers is 9.2 out of 10. “La Vanguardia gives me personal enrichment and being able to stay up to date with what is happening in our environment,” highlights Ramon Térmens. Nowadays, the information offer is linked to the advantages of subscription, which allows you to enjoy the Vanguardia Club, highly valued by the most loyal subscribers, and exclusive content, such as personalized newsletters, podcasts and audiobooks, being able to comment on the news in the web or play Entrenmente.
In addition, the digital newspaper offers new (and multiple) forms of active participation for readers. And quality. Proof of this is the reader Ignacio Díaz Galán, who has won the José Luis Tobalina Prize for journalistic articles, with the article A book for everyone, published in the La Vanguardia Readers Network. This is how tradition and innovation merge successfully.
