“I started reading La Vanguardia at the age of 7 or 8, it was part of the house”, explains the businessman Ramon Térmens, who, at the age of 74, 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’ve been reading La Vanguardia since forever, since I’ve been able to use reason,” remembers the 86-year-old psychiatrist Ramon Andreu Anglada, “my father read it with devotion, especially the chronicles of Augusto Assía (Felipe Fernández Armesto) during the Second World War”.
These two testimonials are an example of the unique model of linking readers to La Vanguardia. It unites, on the one hand, a deep-rooted personal and family affection for the newspaper, which will be 143 years old on February 1 and which has narrated events spanning three centuries. This tradition has passed from one generation to the next. But, on the other hand, the new (and wider 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”, emphasizes Dr. Anglada.
The psychiatrist is one of the 146,000 current subscribers, 39,000 of whom have the subscription to the paper newspaper, while the digital already has 106,000, with very rapid growth, since this option has been available since October 2020. The forecast is that 2024 will end with a total of 165,000 subscribers. And the degree of loyalty is very high. In the case of the paper newspaper, 57% of subscribers are more than 10 years old (and of these subscribers, 27% are more than 25 years old), while 25% have between 3 and 10 years of seniority and only 18%, less than 3 years. With the digital offer, subscriptions are expected to grow by at least 25,000 a year.
The degree of satisfaction of the subscribers is 9.2 out of 10. “La Vanguardia gives me personal enrichment and being able to keep up to date with what is happening in our environment”, emphasizes Ramon Térmens. Today, the information offer is combined with the advantages of the subscription, which allows you to enjoy the Club Vanguardia, highly valued by the most loyal subscribers, and exclusive content, such as personalized digital newsletters, podcasts and audiobooks, being able to comment on the news in web or play Entrenamente.
In addition, the digital newspaper offers new (and multiple) ways for readers to actively participate. And of quality. Proof of this is the reader Ignacio Díaz Galán, who has won the José Luis Tobalina award for journalistic articles, with the article A book for everyone, published in the Readers’ Network of La Vanguardia. This is how tradition and innovation merge successfully.
