The Spinoff Launches Urgent Membership Drive Amid NZ Media Crisis

Facing financial pressures, The Spinoff has teamed up with creative studio Daylight to double its paid memberships in 2025, as New Zealand’s media crisis threatens its future. Currently, only 3.2% of its 500,000 regular readers support the platform financially.

The campaign, ‘Find Your Corner of The Spinoff’, uses data-driven ‘content compasses' to showcase the diverse interests of paying members. Inspired by political alignment charts, these visuals plot reader preferences across a range of scales, from political debates to pop culture.

The initiative features existing paying members who consented to share their content preferences, photographed by Film Construction’s Jake Dennis. Over 30 variations of the compasses have appeared nationwide in out-of-home advertising, supported by Phantom Billstickers and JCDecaux. A complementary social media series, print inserts, and podcast promotions will run throughout the year.

Speaking exclusively to LBB, Daylight executive creative director Charlie Godinet explained why the campaign’s messaging resonates with existing and potential members.

“The Spinoff reaches nearly half a million Kiwis every month, all with diverse interests,” Charlie said.

“We used onsite analytics to distill the most popular topics and formats on the platform from a cross-section of our audience. This created the backbone of the current messaging; however, the campaign is designed to be topical, like The Spinoff itself, and will evolve as the news does.”

Anna Rawhiti-Connell, The Spinoff’s head of audience, said, “Whether it’s our rigorous political and current affairs coverage, sharp pop culture analysis, or humourous but deadly serious rankings, we’re proud to be at the heart of life here in Aotearoa.

“But right now, only 3.2% of our regular audience support us financially. Now, more than ever, amid global turbulence and battles over control of media, we need those who value our independent journalism to show that by supporting our mahi.”

Charlie stressed the campaign is ultimately about finding and funding content we love.

“Whilst saving the entire platform might feel like a huge undertaking, our idea was to connect users with the part of the platform they connect with most, a part for them to protect, a part for them to call their own,” he said.

“The Spinoff audience returns daily, and the idea that the platform might disappear tomorrow is a reality, something true for all independent media in Aotearoa. Basically, if you want quality journalism to survive, you need to pay for it.”

The campaign comes after a devastating year for NZ media, with collapsing ad revenue forcing layoffs and closures. In November 2024, The Spinoff published an open letter "levelling" with their audience. In a February 2025 update, the publication announced they are about halfway to their goal.