Financial Times Taps into Audience ‘Superpower’ with New Global Campaign

By The Malketeer

The Financial Times (FT) has unveiled a new global platform designed to raise awareness of its advertising and partnership offerings among the media and marketing industry.

Launched last Friday (7 june), the campaign titled “Reach our Readers” invites the industry to engage with the FT’s 22.4 million global readers, highlighting the platform’s influence and reach.

A Bold New Strategy

The “Reach our Readers” campaign is characterised by a series of ads crafted in the style of the FT’s signature pink broadsheet. With a sharp focus on influence, key campaign lines include:

• “Where opinion formers form opinions”
• “Talk to the 22.4m who influence the 8bn”
• “Not read by any old Mark, Elon or Jeff”

Elizabeth Dolin, FT Commercial’s Head of Marketing, explains, “This new campaign sits at the heart of a wider strategy to raise the profile of FT Commercial’s capabilities in a fresh and creative way, whilst leaning into our brand heritage. The FT is relied upon by leading corporate executives and high-net-worth individuals. When you invest in media with the FT, you access the most influential people in business and politics, and some of the wealthiest and most discerning consumers in the world.”

Creative Collaboration and Campaign Scope

Created by the new agency Motel, “Reach our Readers” will be featured across the FT’s paid and owned channels and will play a central role in an event takeover at Cannes Lions later this month.

The campaign will focus on key advertiser sectors such as fashion, banking, and luxury, targeting markets including the US, Paris, Singapore, and the UK.

Luxury has emerged as a growing priority for the FT, with the publisher claiming its editorial content reaches a global network of 3.2 million luxury influencers. Reflecting this, additional campaign lines include:

• “From fashionistas to Threadneedle Street”
• “From Wall Street to Brick Lane”
• “From Fifth Ave to Number 10”

Leveraging Influence and Reach

In a LinkedIn post, Dolin emphasised the campaign’s reliance on the “FT’s superpower” as a platform read by the “world’s real influencers.”

According to the latest ABC national newspaper circulation figures for April, the Financial Times boasts an average print circulation of almost 110,000, making it the only paid-for newspaper not to experience an annual decline. When digital readership is included, the FT attracts 22.4 million monthly global readers.

Expanding Marketing Capabilities

In a bid to bolster its marketing capabilities, the FT recently appointed creative agency Orange Panther Collective to develop its global audience acquisition campaign for 2024.

From a partnership perspective, the FT’s commercial arm inked a global tie-up with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team in February. This “strategic collaboration” will span a series of “exclusive global activations” scheduled throughout the Formula One season.