WeChat has introduced a feature that enables brands and publishers to set their own prices for content they produce, with interested users paying directly through the platform for access. In the age of ad-blocking, could this kind of paywall encourage people to pay for what they read and watch?

The success of ad campaigns is often measured by how many people see them. But The Wall Street Journal’s ‘Ambitious Hours’ campaign took a different route, exclusively targeting people with specific lifestyle choices – meaning the only people who saw it were the people that mattered.

On the eve of the EU referendum, the Financial Times dropped its paywall for 24 hours, ensuring that everyone who wanted to vote had access to the facts. But rather than readers enjoying a convenient content free-for-all, the push led to a 600% surge in digital subscriptions.

With the abundance of free content online, people no longer need to pay for the news, causing problems for publications whose traditional revenue streams are drying up. Can giving readers the option to pay for individual articles save quality journalism? Dutch platform Blendle certainly hopes so.