MIT Technology Review’s Evolution From Print

MIT Technology Review’s got a big and very credible brand behind it in the shape of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The 126-year-old publication has not, however, come close to fulfilling its potential, yet.

The publication has taken a few years to sophisticate its digital imprint and prepare to go big and bring in new readers. The goal is to become the leading voice in technology in the same way that Harvard Business Review is the voice of business management.

Today, MIT Tech Review has 54,000 high-quality paid subscribers, and MIT pays for an additional 130,000 alums to receive the magazine. A digital subscription costs $80 a year, and a digital and print one costs $120. The publication is poised to introduce a $300 premium subscription with additional reports, newsletters and significant discounts to its events. What they’re hoping to do next? A $1,000 subscription…

“We want to be the destination for tech news and insights… Just like if you have people who say, I really need to understand how to be a better boss and a better leader of my company, they automatically would say HBR, and so we want people to immediately think, ‘I’ve got to read Tech Review,'” MIT Technology Review Chief Executive Officer and publisher Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau told AMO. “We’re not that today. We know that’s a long way off, that it’s not something we’re just going to get to within the next two years or something, but that’s what we try to get people oriented towards. And that’s going to mean a lot more content, many more readers, a much overall larger enterprise and we’re excited to build that, but we’ve got to do that brick by brick.”

The reach of 54,000 paying subscribers should increase four or five times over the next three to five years, Alison Papalia, vice president of marketing and consumer revenue with a focus on subscription growth, told AMO.

Annual revenue is at $20 million today, which is twice what it was when Bramson-Boudreau started in 2016. They are not sustainable yet and won’t be for a few more years. MIT helps plug the gaps. About one-third of revenue comes from subscriptions, half from ads and the rest is split between international licensing and events.

“I’d like to make a shitload of money from advertisers, but I would not like to be dependent upon them for reasons that are clear,” Bramson-Boudreau said.

New Ways To Market

When Bramson-Boudreau joined the publication from The Economist, she was rattled to discover that the publication, from marketing to the publishing cycle, was oriented around print—it was, as she put it, pretty “stale.”

She went to work and three years ago hired Papalia. They tackled everything from hiccups in payments to tired marketing tactics, and added animation and video to their stable.

“We’ve got a more vibrant approach to bringing people in, and we can still do more in that area,” Papalia said. “We still have a lot more that we can do that’s really cool, I mean, we’re MIT Technology Review. I certainly expect that we should be the leader in choosing new tools and figuring out the new ways to market.”

The executives see no competition in the leadership of tech arena. Rather, they see a fragmented market that they can dominate and become top of mind.

So, who’s reading MIT Tech Review? Tech enthusiasts, C-suite employees and those who are simply curious about the topic.

Papalia said: 

Now we’re really approaching it as it’s more people need this content to make the business decisions, investment decisions and that kind of thing and also understanding the social impact of what all the things that are happening right now with AI, with climate, with biotech… We’re certainly not talking about the little incremental changes coming in the world. We’re talking about the big ones.

The MIT name gives the publication credibility but it’s a responsibility to carry.

“It is also a weight on my shoulders to make sure that our editorial content and our editorial leadership is 100% squarely locked in on that reality, because the last thing I want is a phone call or an email saying, ‘What the hell is this?’” Bramson-Boudreau said.

Content is triple-edited and it’s very much long-form. It’s clearly not for just anyone in this era of gnat-sized attention spans. That doesn’t mean MIT Tech Review isn’t on social media or using shorter-form digital formats, though it’s been largely dependent on word of mouth to grow thus far.

“There’s experimentation that we can do on some of the short social video places,” Bramson-Boudreau said. Part of that is to tackle younger generation.

Other efforts to attract new readers include roundtables, intimate conversations with editors and reporters about whatever’s topical at that time. They are just 30 minutes, and easily able to slot into one’s day. They are also developing a better app and there are, of course, events.

“We also have an event business that brings the content to life, and so hearing from all the experts on stage in this live format, that is really going to be a big part of our future,” Papalia said.

In October, the publication also launched a free six-week AI newsletter course aiming to attract new users with an offering that breaks down artificial intelligence, which is on the tip of everyone’s tongue lately and likely overwhelming a great number of people.

“There’s a lot of words out there. You’re wondering what they are. Let us help you build it up and understand it, which makes it very much more accessible,” Bramson-Boudreau said.

The course has attracted 17,000 subscribers with an average open rate of 57%. Next up will be more complex AI-related courses and those that delve into specific areas like healthcare or finance.

“Everybody’s talking about AI, and the way I like to see it is, we’re elevating the conversation. We want more people to come to us and realize we’ve got trusted and credible journalism, which is a really hard thing to sell right now in the media industry,” Papalia said. “Because we come from academic roots at MIT, and we have that connection, we are the trusted, incredible source for all emerging technology information.”

Papalia likened the current media landscape to a circus where everyone has something to say and is trying to be the loudest and attract the biggest audience.

She said: 

If somebody’s looking for a couple of really quick hits that they can read while they’re on the treadmill, this isn’t going to be the place they go. This is for folks who want really deeper understanding, and want to understand the potential and the impact… Coming here, you get this curated experience in the magazine. You get our daily take on what’s important and what you need to look at and other links to stories that we publish, but also others. The goal is to make this the destination. Make this the one stop.