The die is cast

No. 91 — Alea jacta est
It is October 3, 2024, and you are reading the newsletter from Médianes.

Hello, everyone,

Are you one of those people who regularly clean out your Instagram feed to delete all those useless accounts you follow just to enter giveaways? So are we—and we’re sick of it. Today, we’re sharing a few ideas to help you reach a truly targeted audience for your giveaways.

Also in this issue, we cover the revival of the Comic Sans MS font, the Northern Lights in Canada, and the "1,000-Euro Game."

By the way, did you know? We regularly publish Médianesa column called “Papier pixel.” In the latest installment, we take a look at how the media covers Internet culture. We welcome your feedback.

Enjoy the read,

— MARINE SLAVITCH, JOURNALIST AT MÉDIANES

Why not?

IDEAS FOR YOUR MEDIA

Contests are a classic tool used by the media—particularly on social media—to engage their audience and attract new followers. To ensure they remain an effective tool, they should be integrated into an overall strategy, making sure they reflect the values and interests of the target audience.

Staying true to one's values

A contest is an opportunity to partner with a media outlet, an organization, or a brand. Choosing the right partners is essential for maintaining your image. Vert, an eco-focused media outlet, decided to partner with Sailcoop—a cooperative committed to decarbonizing boat travel—to give away sailing trips to its subscribers last summer. The only requirement: becoming a member of their donor club. The same contest with Air France would have been much less appealing.

Show solidarity

It’s not easy for independent publications to gain visibility. Rather than viewing those in the same editorial niche as you as competitors to be crushed, it can be smart to join forces. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Censored magazine, the release of the latest issue of La Déferlante, and the launch of Season 2 of the Tonnerre film club, these three feminist media outlets launched a joint contest on Instagram. It’s a show of solidarity and a way to reach communities that share the same values as those promoted by your media outlet.

Build Engagement

Beyond the immediate prize, a contest is an opportunity to build a lasting connection with your audience. Rather than limiting yourself to a random drawing, you can host contests where participants submit content. As part of a week dedicated to the town of Urrugne, the Sud Ouest newspaper invited its readers to submit their best photos. The prize was publication of the photos in the newspaper and in books published by Éditions Sud Ouest. It was a way to engage the local community, showcase the region, and build reader loyalty through giveaways.

From the studio's perspective

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

After helping with the redesign of its website in 2023, the team at Médianes, the studio, has had the pleasure of supporting POLITICO in its expansion in France in the areas of communications and media relations since January 2024.

We worked with the marketing team and editorial staff in Paris to raise the profile of this European trade publication among French readers, particularly in connection with the launch of new verticals and the promotion of its Pro offering.

In fact, we were delighted to get a glimpse of the results of this work at the media outlet’s back-to-school event last week in Paris. You can find out more on our studio’s website.

On Our Radar

OUR MARKET RESEARCH TO SUPPORT YOUR PROJECTS

This is serious business

DANIEL BROKSTAD / BROKSTAD STUDIO

Comic Sans MS is often mocked by the general public and considered by graphic designers to be imprecise, ugly, and poorly designed. Conversely, this font is beloved by people with dyslexia because its irregularity makes it very readable! This was a key argument in a 2022 awareness campaign led by Dyslexia Scotland, in collaboration with the agency Innocean Berlin and WeTransfer.

O Canada

CATHERINE FRANÇOIS / TV5 MONDE

L’aurore boréale is the only French-language newspaper in the Yukon, a remote territory in Canada’s far north with a small Francophone population. Led by an all-female team, its commitment to diversity, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and intercultural ties set this media outlet apart. And its success in a challenging environment for print media is a testament to its resilience and adaptability.

Over at medianes.org

IT'S HOMEMADE

Inoxtag, the Media, and Internet Culture

MARINE SLAVITCH / MEDIANES.ORG

The relationship between content creators and traditional media has all the hallmarks of a Cold War. But Inoxtag’s ascent of Everest broke the ice, drawing the attention of a press that is often reluctant to acknowledge Internet culture. An analysis of the media coverage.

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In Brief

THAT WAY, YOU'LL KNOW

• Télérama, INA, mūsae: These media outlets are hiring. Check out their job openings.

• Mediacités is launching a fundraising campaign to ensure its survival in 2024 and continue producing independent local investigative journalism.

• A first in France: Mediapart is creating a position for an editorial director for racial issues to monitor for any potential racial bias.

• The Ecology Book and Press Festival brings together numerous independent media outlets on October 4, 5, and 6 at the Académie du Climat (Paris).

• A journey aboard a trawler, into the heart of the waves and undertows of the French fishing industry. Discover the latest issue of *La Disparition*.

• Editor's Pick: The secret to the success of the timeless “Jeu des 1,000 euros” segment on France Inter has finally been revealed.

See you on October 17!

Thank you for your messages, which have helped us enrich this newsletter. We’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome the teams at *Pour la science*, *Le Progrès*, and *Carenews*, as well as everyone who has recently subscribed.

See you on October 17. Until then, take care of yourselves and your social media.

— THIS NEWSLETTER WAS PREPARED BY MARINE SLAVITCH IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MÉDIANES TEAM.