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The Economist serves Hongkongers insect ice cream to drive subscriptions

The Economist

“I’ll have a scoop of Scurry Berry, please”

The Economist has taken to the streets of Hong Kong in an experiential campaign to drum up subscriptions by offering insect ice cream.

A branded ice cream delivery tricycle will tour Hong Kong’s central business district area from 26 June to 16 July serving flavours such as Scurry Berry, a fruity ice cream with a mix of insect bits, and Choc Hopper, which contains chunks of grasshopper and chocolate.

The idea came from a story in the magazine published in September last year headlined “Why Eating Insects Makes Sense”. The article looked into the future where insects could be used to feed the world’s growing human population.

Passers by will be able to sign up for a special subscription offer on the spot to receive a one month auto renewal digital subscription starting at HK$38 plus a complimentary copy of Mega Change 2050, book about what the world will look like in 2050.

Grace Hahn, circulation and group marketing director for The Economist, Asia Pacific, said: “As our subscribers across the world already know, The Economist offers so much more than simply business, financial and political news and analysis. Every week we deliver thought provoking articles and content about the cultural, commercial and technological events that are shaping the society we live in.”

The Economist stunt“We wanted to demonstrate this and bring our newspaper and digital content to life in a unique and engaging way for potential readers in Hong Kong. What better way to provoke thought, discussion and debate about such an interesting and important topic than by giving out free insect-laced ice cream on a hot day in the city,” she said

The experiential campaign was put together in collaboration with Hong Kong agency I Love and comes after a series of creative ideas to drive subscriptions in the territory in recent months. In July last year, The Economist toured Hong Kong in a camper van serving coffee and giving out free trials of the magazine’s digital products.

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