How The New York Times Is Using Its City’s Subway to Promote Its Full Suite of Products

The New York Times encapsulates more than most consumers may think. 

There is naturally world class journalism from one of the world's most reputable news publications. But the full suite of New York Times products also includes fan favourite games, such as Woldle, an array of dinner inspiration with NYT Cooking, and some of the most intricate sports coverage with The Athletic. 

An immersive experience on the New York subway is currently inviting consumers to discover the breadth of these products. Since 15th August, the S shuttle subway train that runs between Times Square and Grand Central station in New York City has been completely transformed from top to bottom by The Times. Each car of the shuttle train now represents an individual product found in a Times subscription - spanning News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter and The Athletic - that has been brought to life. 

The concept and execution was led by The New York Times’ in-house marketing creative team and is an extension of its recent ‘All In’ campaign. “New Yorkers have a lot of pride and stake in our journalism, but they don’t always know everything about us,” says Amy Weisenbach, SVP and head of marketing at The New York Times. 

In fact, Amy and her team recently learned that nearly seven in ten of The New York Times’ ‘All Access’ subscribers in New York weren’t able to correctly identify all the products included in their Times subscription. This insight served as the catalyst behind the experience, which is designed to continue driving awareness of all product offerings.

“We see an opportunity for The Times to play an even bigger role in the lives of tens of millions of people around the world,” says Amy. “In 2022, we announced our new vision and strategy: to become the essential subscription for every curious, English-speaking person seeking to understand and engage with the world. 

“Our strategy is designed to help The New York Times mean more to more people. We aim to leverage the power of our brand and reach of our news audience to become a category leader in other areas that occupy a big place in people’s lives, like games, cooking, shopping advice and sports.”

The lifeblood of many New Yorkers, the city’s subway system felt like a natural home for the campaign. More specifically, the S shuttle has six train cars and The New York Times had six products that it wanted to highlight. It offered an opportunity to highlight each product individually, while also how, together, they add up to all of The New York Times. “A complete subway station takeover (that included the cars themselves) provided an exciting venue to deliver our message,” says Amy.

Shuttle riders are immersed in unique environments that represent the full suite of Times products, spanning News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter and The Athletic. Each shuttle car interior has been transformed into an unexpected, immersive environment with the colour palette of each Times product wrapping the exterior. The writing and tone “has the wit of a New Yorker,” according to Amy, with clever contextual references wherever possible. Riders can also discover neat surprises in each car, such as: 

“Our overall 2023 marketing strategy ties back to The Times’ broader essential subscription business strategy,” says Amy, “These two pieces work together to shape a broader understanding of The Times brand today and how it’s evolved to our full bundle offering.”

Earlier this year, The New York Times launched ‘All In’, its first marketing campaign that focused on its essential subscription strategy. The campaign was also created by the organisation’s in-house team and demonstrated the value of the full New York Times subscription. Additionally, The New York Times’ most recent brand campaign, ‘More of Life, Brought to Life’, also strives to help the brand mean more to people. 

“Our marketing will continue embracing The Times’ goal of becoming more valuable to more people and helping them make the most of their lives and passions — whether it’s offering them access to thousands of expert-tested recipes or daily word games like Spelling Bee,” says Amy. 

“This work delivers on our efforts to increase awareness of our full enterprise offering. Success means ensuring more people know what’s included in their Times subscription, driving reappraisal and awareness of all we offer. We’re seeing positive signals that this work is doing that.”

Consumers can continue engaging with The New York Times’ products (and even potentially win some swag) by checking out its pop-up experiences inside the 42 Street shuttle station at Grand Central. Details are as follows: