In this week’s episode of The Breakout Growth Podcast Sean Ellis and Ethan Garr chat with Mayur Gupta, Gannett’s Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer.  Very few industries have been as dramatically impacted by digital disruption as the newspaper industry, so we wanted to learn from Mayur how he approaches and looks to drive growth in a world of constant change. 

Gannett owns USA Today and more than 1000 other daily and weekly publications. As the world has shifted from print to digital consumption of media, the company has had to evolve from its legacy media roots into a content subscription business. Mayur describes Gannett today as “The Netflix of non-fiction content” and that has meant a new approach to marketing and growth. What has not changed is Mayur’s underlying beliefs about what drives sustainable growth.

Mayur describes growth as foundational, and not just a tactic or a hack. And he goes on to explain that sustainable growth is a mindset and culture where you work to create flywheels that grow the brand, grow the user base, and grow user value. So when the world is changing around you, as is now the norm in the newspaper business, there is still firm ground from which to view and seize opportunities. 

This is our second conversation with Mayur, who joined The Breakout Growth Podcast a few years ago when he was at Freshly. He also previously led growth at Spotify. So as we look to learn more about how to lead and navigate growth in a rapidly changing environment Mayur’s perspective is both unique and powerful. 

Let’s jump in with Mayur Gupta, and don’t forget to subscribe to `the Breakout Growth Podcast YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-K_CY4-IrZ_auEIs0j97zA

We discussed:

* Joining Gannett, “The Netflix of non-fiction content” (06:44)

* The formula for sustainable growth: grow the brand, grow the user base, grow user value (10:23)

* Seizing digital growth while respecting a loyal but ebbing print market (17:29)

* North Star Priorities, OKRs, and Cross-functional pods (35:00)

* Managing through data blind spots (26:00)

* Establishing ourselves as a “trusted destination” (54:23)

* Growth is a foundation and an outcome (56:00)