Acquisition Project | The Ken | By Pranal Sontakke

​

1. About The-Ken

​

The Ken is a pan-Asian, digital news outlet that publishes online stories on topics like business, finance, green tech, education, commerce, and many more every weekday. Focused on narrative storytelling and deep reporting, it aims to bring a fresh approach to business stories for audiences in the region and beyond. It was launched in Oct 2016.

They have journalists reporting from eight cities in six countries across Asia - Bengaluru, Bangkok, Delhi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Mumbai and Singapore. They serve businesses as well as individual customers. Their subscribers include organizations like Netflix, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Top educational institutes like IIMs and ISB subscribe to them too.

​

Newsletters by The Ken

​

Podcasts by The Ken

​

2. What does The Ken solve for?
   
   The publication is geared towards professionals, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in comprehensive, high-quality journalism. It aims to provide in-depth, analytical, and insightful stories rather than the rapid, surface-level news typically found in mainstream media.
   ​
3. Which stage is the product?
   
   The Ken is in its growth stage. They have closed Series B of $2 million in Aug 2023.
   
   
   ​
4. Product Features
   
   
   
   - Article Summary: Ken provides summaries of articles, which can be helpful for quickly understanding the main points of an article.
   
   
   
   - Time to read: Estimates how long it will take to read an article, which can be helpful for planning your time.
   
   
   
   - Prompts: For uncommon words, they provide the meaning for better understanding of readers.
   
   
   
   - Embedded links: The article includes links to relevant sources within the articles, which can be helpful for further research.
   
   
   
   - Infographics: All the articles have high-quality infographics to present information in a visual way.
   
   
   
   - Premium article as a gift: This is Ken's referral program wherein subscribed users can gift 5 premium articles in a month.
   
   
   
   - Bookmark and progress percentage: These features allow users to save articles for later reading and track progress as they read. This is helpful for managing a reading list and picking up where you left off.
   
   
   
   - Customize text size, brightness levels, and theme: Users can adjust the text size for better readability, modify brightness levels for comfortable reading in different lighting conditions, and switch themes (e.g., dark mode) to enhance the overall reading experience according to personal preferences.
   
   
   
5. Typical user flow
   
   - Reader receives Ken's notification of the article or an email on the phone
   - As the reader taps on the notification, The Ken's app opens up and the article is displayed
   - Now, the reader can read the complete reading the article, bookmark, or just read the summary
   - Once the reader completes reading the article they have the option to gift the article to their friends, family, or colleagues via social media apps and messenger.
   - Readers can share their opinions/thoughts as a comment
   

1. User interviews
   
   Happy users
   
   
   
   👨 Kabir
   
   Meet Kabir, a resident of Gurgaon who works with a leading insurance aggregator firm. He manages partnerships and collaborates closely with partnership managers from various insurance companies, fostering relationships with agents and firms. Kabir received The Ken's subscription from his alma mater.
   
   Previously, Kabir only read news from traditional media outlets like The Hindu and Economic Times. Now, his day starts with reading articles from The Ken. He mentions that even on days when he cannot read the full articles, he manages to read the summaries. The in-depth articles have provided him with deep insights into several sectors.
   
   Kabir notes that his approach to problem-solving has shifted to first principles thinking. His knowledge and awareness of certain sectors have improved significantly. His ability to deep dive and understand fundamentals has also been enhanced.
   
   Kabir is unsure whether he will continue reading The Ken if his alma mater stops the subscription. However, he mentions that he might opt for a student plan because he genuinely enjoys reading The Ken and considers himself a power user.
   
   👨‍💼 Arvind
   
   Meet Arvind, a Vice President at a large corporate firm in Hyderabad, working in the finance field. He has always enjoyed learning about finance and is an avid reader of books and articles on the economy, capital markets, funding, and M&A.
   
   Until two years ago, he primarily read Economic Times, Mint, Wall Street Journal, and Moneycontrol to stay updated. He continues to read these sources regularly. However, since subscribing to The Ken, he has been impressed by its deeply researched and easy-to-read articles.
   
   As a power user, Arvind has referred The Ken to many friends and colleagues. He is also an avid listener of The Ken's podcast. He plans to continue his subscription, believing it to be well worth the price.
   
   Not that happy users
   
   🧍‍♂️Rajat
   
   Meet Rajat, an analyst with a consulting firm based in Hyderabad, who has a keen interest in startups and business. While he enjoys reading books, he doesn't regularly follow the news. His firm has provided him with a subscription to The Ken.
   
   When asked whether he would continue subscribing to The Ken if his firm discontinued the subscription, Rajat expressed that he wouldn't. His reasoning was that he didn't find Ken's articles sufficiently valuable and lacked the time to dedicate 10-15 minutes to reading a single article.
   
   From a financial perspective, Rajat feels that for the same price, he could opt for a combo subscription of Mint and WSJ, which he believes offers better value. Additionally, he mentioned The Morning Context, noting that it provides broader coverage compared to The Ken.
   
2. Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Insights from user research suggest that ICP for The Ken are both B2B and B2C customers. Here we will further narrow down the ICPs and with the help of the ICP prioritization framework shortlist a few in each group.

B2B User Group

​

B2C User Group

​

ICP Prioritization

We will prioritize the ICPs based on the following parameters:

1. Adoption Curve
2. Frequency of Use Case
3. Appetite to Pay
4. TAM
5. Distribution Potential

​

​

Based on the framework we will prioritize Company A and Company D in the B2B segment. In the B2C segment, we will prioritize Persona 1 and Persona 2.

1. Competition
   

Competition remains fierce in the newsletter market as there are several options for readers to subscribe based on their interests. The Ken has made a place for itself amongst legacy media houses like Mint, Business Today, and Moneycontrol. Serving markets outside India puts it in competition with global media giants like NYT, Time, ET, FT, and Wall Street Journal.

​

Differentiating factors for The Ken has been its quality and in-depth research journalism. Having newsletters based on specific niches helped it gain subscribers globally. Ken's podcasts on Spotify have over 4.5 rating on average. As per The Ken's website, it has 5,00,000+ subscribers globally. Teams from 100+ companies read The Ken.

​

The Global Daily Newsletters market is projected to reach US$ 18660 million, increasing from US$ 12540 million in 2022, with a CAGR of 6.4% during the period of 2023 to 2029 (Source). Assuming a similar growth rate given the technology enablement and tech-first business growth in the country, we can safely conclude The Ken has the potential to acquire users exponentially as the newsletter market in India is still at its early growth stage.

Pricing Comparison

​

Below are the yearly prices for their recommended plan as per their respective website.

• The corporate prices are per user for The Ken. It decreases if the number of users increases.
• The corporate prices are for 5 users for The Morning Context (TMC). It increases if the number of users increases.
  

​

Reviews - Online and Peers

​

The reviews - this acts as an influencer or a blocker during the decision and action steps for users. The discussions with The Ken subscribers and non-subscribers suggested that reviews from peers and online channels helped them make the final call. The price point has been a key concern while choosing to subscribe or not as the WSJ+Mint combo comes at a similar price.

Here are some snapshots from a Reddit thread:



User's opinion on posters question:

​

​

The conversation indicates that Ken's competitors are "The Morning Context" and "WSJ+Mint". This provides us with an important insight, the marketing pitch for The Ken should highlight its core benefits and value prop according to the reader's persona, enabling them to subscribe to the newsletter.

2. Market Sizing (India)
   
   

​

Calculating the TAM, SAM, and SOM for The Ken

​
Total Addressable Market (TAM)

As per the prioritized ICP, we will target customers with an income of 10,00,000+ in India.

As per the Department of Revenue data, 76 Lakh people in all of India had a salary of over INR 10 Lakh. (Source)

The age group we prioritized is 25-35. As per various sources, we are assuming 15% of the country's population lies between this age group.

Serviceable Available Market (SAM)

According to KPMG India Analysis, 2020, news consumption through digital apps has increased, and newspaper readership has decreased by 38%–40%. According to the 10th edition of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s Digital News Report 2021, 82 percent of Indians read the news online, and 73 percent do so on their smartphones.

​

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)​

​

But, given the competition in the category from existing and upcoming players we will assume the obtainable market is 20%.

This provides us with a crucial insight, to acquire more users and expand revenue opportunities we will need to tap into students and young professionals in the age group of 18-25. To complement our findings the subscription cost of The Ken for students is the lowest compared to the competitors. Considering this insight we will deep-dive into acquisition channels we will want to prioritize and experiment with.

3. Major challenges in coming years
   
   
   
   High Competition: With an increasing number of newsletter services, both new and established, the market is becoming highly competitive. Differentiating content and maintaining a unique value proposition will be crucial.
   
   Personalization: Subscribers expect personalized content tailored to their interests. Implementing effective personalization strategies can be challenging and resource-intensive.
   
   Subscription Fatigue: As more services adopt subscription models, consumers may experience fatigue and become selective about the number of subscriptions they maintain.
   
   Pricing Strategy: Setting the right price that reflects the value of the content while being acceptable to subscribers is crucial. Overpricing can deter potential subscribers, while underpricing can affect revenue.
   
   Retention Rates: Retaining subscribers is often more challenging than acquiring them. Providing ongoing value to keep subscribers engaged and loyal is crucial.
   
   Engagement Metrics: Tracking and improving engagement metrics (open rates, click-through rates) is essential to understanding subscriber preferences and improving content strategy.
   
   Changing Consumer Preferences: Staying ahead of changing consumer preferences and trends in content consumption requires continuous market research and flexibility.
   
4. How to stay ahead?
   
   
   
   Personalized Content: Using data analytics to understand subscriber preferences and tailor content to individual interests.
   
   Feedback Loops: Regularly soliciting feedback from subscribers to understand their needs and preferences, and acting on it.
   
   Analytics Tools: Utilizing advanced analytics to track engagement metrics, subscriber behavior, and campaign performance to make data-driven decisions.
   
   SEO and SEM: Optimizing content for search engines and using search engine marketing to increase visibility.
   
   Bundling: Partnering with other services to offer bundled subscriptions that provide added value.
   
   Experimentation: Regularly experimenting with new content formats, marketing strategies, and engagement techniques to find what works best.
   
   Exclusive Events: Hosting exclusive webinars, virtual meetups, and live Q&A sessions with experts to provide additional value.
   
   Cross-Promotions: Collaborating with complementary services for cross-promotional activities that can attract new subscribers.
   
5. Ways to generate more revenue
   
   
   
   Increasing revenue for The Ken can be achieved through various strategies that focus on expanding the subscriber base, increasing the average revenue per user (ARPU), and exploring additional revenue streams.
   
   Referral Programs: Encouraging existing subscribers to refer friends and family by offering incentives such as discounts or free months of subscription.
   
   Advertising and Sponsorships: Monetizing by including advertisements or sponsored content. Partnering with brands that align with the audience’s interests.
   
   Merchandise: Creating and selling branded merchandise, such as T-shirts, mugs, or books, to the loyal subscriber base.
   
   Related Services: Offering additional services such as consultancy, webinars, or online courses that complement the newsletter content.
   
   Loyalty Programs: Implementing loyalty programs that reward long-term subscribers with discounts, exclusive content, or other perks.
   
   Content Partnerships: Collaborating with other content creators or media outlets to co-produce content and reach a wider audience.
   
   Micropayments: Implement micropayment options for occasional readers who may not be interested in a full subscription but are willing to pay for individual pieces of content.

​

​

1. Existing Acquisition Channels - Analysis

• Organic Channel
  
  As per The Ken's CEO, they have acquired the majority of the customers with word-of-mouth (WOM) publicity. WOM is the most efficient source of acquiring customers and every brand aims for it as the CAC is negligible. But, in the case of a newsletter service, the distribution could be limited. This leaves a lot of revenue and acquisition opportunities on the table.
  
• Referral
  
  The Ken's referral process allows existing subscribers to gift a paid article to their friends, family, or colleagues. The gift link can be shared across multiple social media platforms. But, subscribers have a limit on articles they can gift in a month. The recommended subscription allows subscribers to gift only 5 paid articles per month.
  
  The image below displays the article gifting experience in The Ken's iPhone app. This is displayed after the reader completes reading the article. This validates that the user has experienced a happy moment as they have read the article.
  
  
  
  The image below displays the marketing copy and article preview when a subscriber wants to gift a paid article on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and X respectively. The copy creates an urgency and exclusiveness but it lacks personalization. The subscriber gifting the article gets no real benefits from this action. Hence, a lack of motivation could be a challenge here. In our experiment, we will look into solving motivation for subscribers.
  
  
  
• Sales Outreach
  
  In a 2021 interview, Ken's CEO shared they have hired a sales representative to acquire B2B clients. Given its growth since then, we can safely assume that The Ken has adopted a sales-driven approach for B2B clients. It takes effort and communication to nurture B2B leads. Enabling efficient communication is an effective channel for acquiring B2B customers.

​

2. Comparison of channels
   
   

2. CAC:LTV ratio
   
   As Ken doesn't run ads to acquire new customers we will look into other cost centers and make assumptions.
   
   Content Creation: Costs associated with creating high-quality content, such as salaries for writers, designers, and editors.
   
   SEO Efforts: Expenses related to optimizing the website and content for search engines, including tools, services, and in-house SEO experts.
   
   Social Media Management: Costs for managing social media accounts, including salaries for social media managers and costs for tools and software.
   
   Referral Programs: Any costs associated with referral incentives or rewards for existing subscribers who refer new customers.
   
   In one of the interviews, Ken's CEO mentioned they have a team size of 50 people. Assuming an average monthly income of ₹1,00,000 per employee, the total cost to generate content and social media management is ₹50,00,000. Additionally, assuming a cost of ₹10,00,000 for SEO efforts, and other software tools.
   
   Assuming The Ken is acquiring 1,500 new users every month with an AOV of ₹4,000 per year, Gross Margin of 40%, and Customer Lifetime of 5 years.
   
   Calculating Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC):
   
   CAC = Total Sales and Marketing Expenses/Number of New Customers Acquired
   CAC = ₹60,00,000/1,000
   CAC = ₹6,000
   
   Calculating Lifetime Value (LTV):
   
   LTV = Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) × Gross Margin × Customer Lifetime
   LTV = ₹4,000 x .7 x 5
   LTV = ₹14,000
   
   LTV:CAC = ₹14,000/₹6,000 = 2.33
   
   Although, the ratio is good, but can be improved further by focusing efforts on increasing the number of new customers.
   
3. Acquisition Channels for The Ken

​

We will run experiments on 3 acquisition channels. We have narrowed down them based on the Channel Acquisition framework.

1. Paid Ads: As The Ken is at its growth stage we will prioritize acquiring customers using this channel as this allows us to experiment at a high rate and have the ability to scale.
2. Referral Program: With the existing WOM and designing an effective referral program solving for motivation will provide us an opportunity to acquire customers with lower CAC. This requires minimum effort to set up and maintain.
3. Partnership Program: Create a bundle plan with leading publishers like "Time" or "NYT".

Paid Ads

​

We will use the campaign framework here:

• Channel selection
  Instagram, Facebook, Google, YouTube, LinkedIn
• Audience segment
  Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook - 25 to 35 age bracket, tier 1 cities, interest in business and tech, likes attending conferences and traveling
  Google and YouTube - 25 to 45 age bracket, tier 1 and 2 cities, interest in business and tech
• Campaign structure
  

• Ad Creative
  We will experiment with static and video creatives depending on the value prop.
  A few Value Props for The Ken:
  

Based on this we will experiment with different messaging to see what resonates most with the ideal customers.

• Campaign Measurement:

We will track key performance indicators (KPIs) based on our objectives:

Instagram Ads

Although Ken doesn't run ads, but it can be a medium to increase product awareness. The Ken ranks very low in Google search and its category "newsletters". Here are a few creatives that Ken can use in its ad to generate curiosity and brand awareness:



(image source: Ken's Instagram)


Referral Program

​

We will use the Referral Design Framework:

• Who will we ask for a referral?
  To ask for a referral we will need to validate whether or not the reader has experienced a happy moment. Completing reading an article can be considered a happy moment.
  Hence, every reader will see an option to gift a paid article after they complete reading it.
• How will this customer discover the referral program?
  Every reader will see an option to gift a paid article after they complete reading it.
  
  
• Why will they refer?
  We will introduce benefits for the customers to share the article. If 3 users subscribe using their referral link or coupon code they will get a 15% discount on their next year's subscription.
• How will they share it?
  Customers can share the exclusive link via text message, X, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
• How will these users track their referrals?
  We will create a dashboard in the accounts tab allowing customers to track and manage their referrals.
• How will they keep referring?
  We will introduce staging rewards for the customers.
  If 5 users subscribe using their referral link or coupon code they will get a 30% discount on their next year's subscription.
  If 8 users subscribe using their referral link or coupon code they will get a 50% discount on their next year's subscription.

Referral Journey

• User opens the app and read the story
• User complete reading the article and at the end finds the option to share the article with 5 people
• User has the ability to share it on multiple social media apps and messenger
• User can track the referral from the "Account" tab
• User can track who opened the link and when
• User gets referral credits when any of the referrals subscribe to The Ken
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

How to increase referral per person?

• Aha moment: Products Aha moments are best place to drive referral from. Identifying existing and redefining new Aha moments contiuously will provide more opportunities for Ken to ask for a referral from its subscribers.
• Tiered rewards: Offering a variety of rewards based on the number of referrals a subscriber makes. Starting with small, digital rewards (e.g., exclusive content, early access to future issues) and progress to bigger incentives (e.g., discounts, merchandise) for higher referral numbers.
• Gamification: Introducing a gamification element by adding a referral leaderboard or progress bar. This can create a sense of competition and encourage friendly rivalry among subscribers.
• Social proof: Showcasing testimonials from satisfied subscribers or highlighting impressive statistics about Ken's reach or impact. This builds trust and encourages others to subscribe.
• Personalize the message: Personalizing the referral message with the subscriber's name and a brief mention of why they might enjoy the newsletter. This adds a touch of authenticity and increases the chance of them sharing.

Partnership Program

We will explore partnership opportunities with leading media giants like "NYT or "Time".
This will reaffirm its position in the premium space and open the opportunity to acquire a wider audience. It will provide The Ken the opportunity to enter new markets and continue expanding its global audience.
​

​

​

Thank you!