A top-100 U.S. lifestyle publisher with millions of monthly readers across food, health, and home content partnered with Admiral to increase visitor engagement without sacrificing user experience. Facing rising acquisition costs and a growing need to convert more casual readers into loyal subscribers, the publisher looked for a lighter, more frequent way to connect with their audience. The solution: Admiral’s Nudge layout.
As a content-rich site that depends on both advertising and subscription revenue, the publisher faced a common challenge: how to surface key offers (like newsletter signups, subscription prompts, or adblock messages) without interrupting the browsing experience.
Their goals were clear:
Increase engagement rates across subscription and newsletter CTAs
Maintain or improve bounce rate and session depth
Deliver messaging more frequently without the intrusiveness of modals or interstitials
They wanted a solution that could gently guide users toward action while keeping the site experience clean and enjoyable.
Prior to implementing Nudge, the publisher had success using Admiral’s banner and modal templates, but found those formats best suited for limited, high-impact touches. Their team needed a new way to:
Re-engage repeat visitors without oversaturating the experience
Deliver multiple offers (e.g., newsletter + adblock recovery) without clutter
Scale engagement across devices, particularly mobile
They also wanted to explore journey shaping strategies that could support multiple conversion paths without confusing or overwhelming the user.
The publisher began experimenting with Admiral’s newly launched Nudge layout—a lighter-weight, corner-anchored engagement format designed for frequent, low-friction interactions.
Working with Admiral’s Customer Love team, the publisher quickly:
Deployed nudges for multiple offers, including a “go ad-free” subscription path, newsletter signup, and social follow campaigns
Positioned nudges dynamically based on device and page type for maximum visibility
Tested performance across key entry points, such as recipe pages and article templates
Seamlessly integrated nudges into their existing Journey strategy, without disrupting other engage types
Because the Nudge layout retains most core functionality from banner and modal formats, the team was able to repurpose creative and targeting rules with minimal effort.
Within the first 60 days of launching Nudge campaigns, the publisher saw clear improvements in both performance and user experience:
+28% increase in newsletter signups across all entry points
2.1x lift in adblock recovery opt-ins compared to banner-only deployments
9.4% average CTR across all Nudge campaigns
Minimal impact on bounce rate or session duration, reinforcing the value of lightweight touches
3–4x more touchpoints delivered per visitor journey without increasing perceived disruption
The Nudge layout proved particularly effective on mobile, where traditional modals often disrupt user flow. Visitors were more likely to interact with nudges that appeared at natural pauses in browsing behavior.
“The Nudge layout gave us a completely new way to connect with our audience—one that feels native, respectful, and effective. We’re finally able to deliver more touches per visit without compromising the experience. It’s been a game changer for our newsletter and subscription goals.”
— VP, Audience Engagement, Top Lifestyle Publisher
After a strong early performance, the publisher plans to expand Nudge usage across their full site footprint and experiment with:
Progressive data collection to better understand user preferences
Time-based sequencing, such as daily recipe nudges or seasonal CTAs
Custom creative for key channels, including email capture campaigns tied to traffic from social and search
As they continue evolving their visitor relationship strategy, Admiral’s Nudge layout will remain a key tool in balancing subtle engagement with measurable results.
