Case Study - A multi-year partnership modernizing The Dispatch's digital presence

About The Dispatch

The Dispatch delivers fact-based reporting on politics, policy, and culture to a growing audience of engaged readers. As their subscriber base expanded, they faced increasing challenges from a fragmented vendor ecosystem that created unnecessary costs and complexity. Their existing technology stack couldn't support the personalization, tiering, and segmentation capabilities needed to serve their diverse audience effectively.

The disconnect between their editorial quality and their digital presence was becoming a barrier to growth. Manual processes between their CMS and email service provider led to duplicated work and frequent errors, slowing down their ability to deliver timely content to readers.

The Challenge

The Dispatch approached us with several critical pain points that were limiting their ability to scale:

Fragmented Technology Ecosystem: Multiple vendors and disconnected systems created operational complexity and increased costs. Each platform required separate management, leading to inefficiencies across the organization.

Outdated Digital Presence: The existing website design didn't reflect the quality and professionalism of their journalism. The visual identity and user experience failed to match the caliber of their reporting.

Limited Audience Capabilities: Without personalization, tiering, or segmentation features, they couldn't tailor content to different audience segments or create premium experiences for their most engaged subscribers.

Manual Newsletter Workflows: The publishing team spent hours manually transferring content between their CMS and email service provider, creating bottlenecks and introducing errors into the distribution process.

Our Solution

We took a comprehensive approach to modernizing The Dispatch's digital infrastructure, addressing both immediate needs and long-term scalability.

Platform Redesign & Relaunch

Working closely with The Dispatch team, we executed a complete visual overhaul of their digital presence on WordPress VIP. The new design elevated their brand to match the quality of their journalism while streamlining the publishing workflow for their editorial team.

As part of this transformation, we migrated their subscription management from Memberful to Piano, carefully transferring payment tokens and subscriber data to ensure a seamless transition without disrupting their revenue stream.

Premium Membership Experience

We designed and built a multi-tier membership structure that opened new revenue opportunities. The premium tier includes:

• Guest pass system allowing subscribers to share premium content with friends
• Audio articles for on-the-go consumption
• Personal bookmarking and saved article functionality
• Customizable homepage sections based on reader preferences
• Paywalled share links to expand reach while protecting premium content

These features transformed The Dispatch from a one-size-fits-all publication into a personalized platform that adapts to individual reader needs.

Unified Onboarding & First-Party Data

We created a streamlined member activation flow that serves two purposes: welcoming new subscribers and collecting valuable audience intelligence. This first-party data enables The Dispatch to segment their audience effectively and deliver more relevant content to different reader groups.

ESP Migration & Automation

Recognizing that their email strategy needed a more robust foundation, we led the migration from ActiveCampaign to Iterable. The new platform enables advanced automations, sophisticated audience targeting, and personalized email campaigns that drive engagement and retention.

Editorial Tools & Workflow

To eliminate the manual newsletter creation process, we developed a custom newsletter plugin that integrates directly with their CMS. Editorial staff can now publish newsletters with the same ease as posting articles, while maintaining full control over formatting and personalization.

We also implemented a sectioning system that allows content to be gated based on subscription access levels, supporting both free and premium content strategies within a unified workflow.

What we did

Impact

The modernized platform delivered measurable improvements across revenue, efficiency, and brand positioning:

Revenue Growth: The premium membership tier and improved subscription flexibility created new monetization pathways, increasing subscriber revenue and average revenue per user.

Editorial Efficiency: Centralized publishing tools and automated newsletter workflows freed up valuable editorial time, allowing the team to focus on journalism rather than technical processes.

Brand Elevation: The refreshed digital presence positioned The Dispatch as a premium publication, supporting new partnership opportunities and attracting a more engaged audience.

Technical Foundation: The consolidated technology stack reduced operational complexity and costs while providing a scalable platform for future growth.

Moving Forward

The partnership with The Dispatch continues as we support their evolving needs and explore new opportunities to enhance their platform. The foundation we built together enables them to iterate quickly, test new features, and respond to their audience's changing preferences.

By consolidating their technology stack and building a flexible, scalable platform, we've positioned The Dispatch to grow their subscriber base while maintaining the editorial quality and reader experience that sets them apart in the digital journalism landscape.