How The Independent Became One of the First UK Publishers to Launch ‘Consent or Pay’

ESI Media is an innovative, award-winning media business. Voted Media Week’s Brand of the Year, their brands include the Evening Standard, The Independent. Their portfolio offers advertisers cross-platform quality content and a range of audiences.

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Overview

The Independent is focused on maintaining the highest standards in data privacy and in order to ensure this process continued, started exploring the evolution of its consent management strategy through the Summer of 2024.

A key part of this process was the need to address the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) directive for UK websites to add a “Reject All” button to consent banners.

Publishers quickly adapted strategies to comply while assessing how they could manage any detrimental impact on both user engagement and revenue as tests showed that up to 30% of users would choose Reject All if given a binary choice.

The Independent, along with many other UK Publishers, explored various approaches including:

• Direct implementation

Some added the “Reject All” button as required.

• Alternative wording

Others tested options like “Essential Cookies Only” with a “Reject All” function.

• Consent or Pay

A growing alternative was the “Consent or Pay” model, allowing users to choose personalised ads or pay for an ad-free experience, offering a way to maintain revenue while giving users more control over their data.

Integration of “Consent or Pay”

Sourcepoint brings extensive expertise in implementing the “Consent or Pay” model, having been at the forefront of its adoption across Europe. The integration of Consent of Pay follows the same technical framework as standard consent implementations, with key-value pair targeting enabling segmentation between subscribers, new users, and those who click “Accept All.” This ensures the correct message is delivered based on user status. Sourcepoint also offers standardised messaging templates to streamline deployment.

Additionally, Sourcepoint integrates with various payment partners, such as Contentpass, Evolok, and Piano, as well as proprietary subscription systems. Through our message builder, clients can easily redirect users to payment pages, allowing publishers to monetize users who opt out of personalized ads in favor of an ad-free or non-personalized experience, offering a sustainable approach to consent and revenue generation.

Launch

After careful consideration of the options available, The Independent made the strategic decision to launch “Consent or Pay.” The model was initially implemented on their flagship property, independent.co.uk in July 2024.

Upon launch, the Independent experienced a seamless integration, with no technical issues or disruptions. Post-launch, the team closely monitored the performance metrics, particularly focusing on consent statistics, to assess user engagement and the model’s effectiveness.

Optimisation

In the context of the UK’s increasingly fragmented digital landscape, optimising the “Consent or Pay” banner post-launch has become essential for maximising user engagement and ensuring a consistent user experience. The lack of a unified consent banner model across the UK means that end-users are exposed to a variety of approaches, making it crucial for publishers to continuously refine their strategies.

The Independent has demonstrated a strong commitment to optimising their consent or pay model by leveraging Sourcepoint’s A/B testing capabilities. Through these tests, they examined various aspects of the banner, such as the performance of different calls to action (CTAs). Their findings indicated that using familiar, traditional wording for CTAs yielded significantly better results in terms of user interaction and conversion.

The Independent and Sourcepoint have bi-weekly meetings to closely monitor consent performance metrics. This iterative approach allows the team to make data-driven adjustments and refine the user experience, ensuring that the banner remains both effective and aligned with the evolving needs of their audience.

For more insights into how Sourcepoint clients have approached a “Consent or Pay” strategy, read our case study with Heise Medien