Case Study: Crain Communications achieves revenue growth and 39% subscription conversion with Piano

How Crain Communications uses pricing research to grow revenue

Crain Communications, led by CMO Veebha Mehta, is a diversified business publisher that faced the twin challenges of over-reliance on deep discounts and rapidly changing reader behavior after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mehta needed to answer how to use promotions effectively, balance revenue with circulation, and drive sustainable subscriber growth without eroding value.

Crain applied systematic price research and live price testing (with insights shared via Piano) to uncover customers’ true willingness to pay, decouple print and digital pricing, refine trial offers, and gate premium content. Those changes shifted more revenue to digital, improved monetization of trusted products, and delivered a 39% overall conversion rate on subscription offerings.

Crain Communications

Veebha Mehta

Chief Marketing Officer