The Reader

From the beginning, Square presented itself in a distinctly different way from other payment companies: the design was simple and beautiful, and the storytelling centered on the businesses it served. Not only did this give the brand a unique position in the market, but it also resulted in an extraordinary library of visuals.

In 2019, a group from Creative, Comms, and Marketing came together to determine how we could better utilize those visuals. We decided to develop a brand magazine, The Reader, and test its impact on customers' brand affinity.

The magazine was developed to be an evergreen asset, featuring a mix of seller profiles and education content. While some profiles were written for the magazine, we also repurposed digital content and used QR codes to direct readers back to the website.

We sent the issue to 1500 existing customers and then followed up with a survey to understand the impact of the magazine on their feelings about Square. We saw a lift of over 5 points in brand affinity, and the vast majority of those surveyed indicated that they would enjoy receiving more issues. The Reader was also used at industry events and by the Sales team, which used it to open and progress opportunities with enterprise businesses.

Brand
Square

Year
2019