Britain’s biggest quality digital news brand to launch petitions platform, climate commitments pledge and data partnership pilot, alongside refreshed commercial proposition for brands 

London, United Kingdom – 13 October 2021 – The Independent, the UK’s most read quality digital news brand and a top-ten US news brand, is marking its 35^th birthday this month by announcing the upcoming launch of a petitions website, a series of climate commitments and a new data insight partnership pilot. It also officially launches its new all-encompassing commercial proposition for brands.

This news comes as The Independent publishes new audience research from Ipsos Mori, which shows that Independent readers are the most politically active, the most sustainably active and the most likely to purchase greener options, compared with readers of all other quality news brands. 

Three new initiatives

• Building on its distinguished and award-winning heritage for campaigning journalism, The Independent will be providing a powerful platform to its readers with the launch of YourPetitions.com next year. Your Petitions will enable registered users to make their case for real-world change, tackling issues they care about most. Campaigns do not need to be officially endorsed by the publisher, but will be curated with oversight from the journalists engaged with the title’s renowned ‘Independent Voices’ comment pages to ensure the site is a trusted and respectful environment, empowered by being linked directly to The Independent’s industry-leading coverage.
• The Independent also announces today a renewed commitment to its decades-long tradition of leading environmental journalism, by setting a goal to be net zero by 2030, alongside a number of climate commitments in its journalism, including more climate-focused news, views and inspiring, engaging lifestyle coverage.

• Continuing its commitment to business innovation, as the first and only major news publisher to make a successful leap from legacy to digital-first publishing, The Independent is also announcing that it will work with a select number of advertisers in a new ‘Audience Match’ pilot initiative. Five brands will be selected to join a series of data ‘clean rooms’ to deliver game-changing insights on how these brands can work together with The Independent, and enable precision targeting of each client’s consumers in a trusted, privacy-first environment, as the industry builds towards a cookie-less future.

The Independent’s Managing Director, Christian Broughton said: “The Independent is more than a destination for trustworthy news and engaging views – it offers a positive set of values, and says something about its readers. That goes right back to our beginning, with the advertising slogan ‘It is, are you?’ Thirty-five years on, we see this clearly demonstrated in our new research. Our readers are more likely to act in a socially responsible way, to sign petitions, to vote in elections, to donate money, and to make sustainable consumer choices. Powerful campaigning journalism has always been at the forefront, through our opposition to the Iraq War, our commitment to climate journalism, the Syrian refugee crisis, our Final Say marches and our US death penalty campaign just last week. With Your Petitions we are creating a platform to empower our readers, inviting them to champion their own causes.” 

Zach Leonard, Chief Executive of The Independent, said of the climate commitments: “Net zero commitments are only meaningful if they are backed by action, and we are determined to be transparent in our approach, reporting back about our progress, our challenges, as well as our successes. Along the way, we are dedicated to ensuring we remain a trustworthy source of climate news and views, continue to inspire change, and take an inclusive, encouraging approach, respecting all views and choices.”

New all-encompassing commercial offering, Independent Advertising

These initiatives come as the business launches its refreshed commercial proposition, Independent Advertising, encompassing the commercial team, and the data and insight teams, backed by Independent Intelligence, a new, extensive insight bank with an industry-leading, proprietary suite of tools.

The offering will cover all advertising services, including areas targeted for strategic growth: Independent TV, eCommerce and Ignite, the new content partnership division.

Independent Advertising allows brands to come together with its unique audience of positive change-makers – The Independent’s 96 million average monthly global visitors – in a brand-safe environment, supported by an unparalleled understanding of audience, best-in-class tools and leading communications expertise.

Andy Morley, Chief Digital Revenue Officer at The Independent said: “Our audience research shows that advertising seen in The Independent is more trusted by readers than in any other quality news brand. We also know that we attract readers who are leading the way in being politically and socially active, and who are engaged and ready to act. This means that when brands advertise with us, they campaign with us. With our new and refreshed commercial offering we provide our partners with the ability to engage with this active audience in a brand-safe environment, supported by our best-in-class insight and data offering, Independent Intelligence.”