• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, October 15, 2015

The New York Times is bundling its print and digital products together -- one day at a time. Beginning this week, the newspaper is offering free digital day passes to its Web site and mobile apps to anyone buying a print copy of the newspaper at a newsstand anywhere in the U.S.

The program allows newsstand customers to enter a promotional code from the newspaper on their mobile device to get free, unlimited access to the newspaper’s digital channels, including a large amount of content that doesn’t necessarily appear in the print edition.

The promotional code consists of a keyword that the newsstand customer can then send as a mobile short code via text. After sending the text, the customer will receive a link to activate their digital access for the day. The user must be logged in to the Web site or create a new account in order to access the content. Content availability ends at midnight every day.

The promotion aims to offer newsstand customers the same benefits, for a shorter period, which the publisher offers to home delivery subscribers with its All Digital Access feature. The initiative will also help expose retail customers to content including real-time news updates, video, interactive features, blogs, and other content available exclusively online.

Probably not coincidentally, the new promotional program comes on the heels of a strategy memo circulated to NYT employees by the publication’s leadership. It stressed a prominent focus on mobile devices as the main means of reaching new readers and building engagement with its existing audience.

Among other things, the strategy involves expanding mobile offerings to include more products like its popular Cooking app, which has been so successful it will serve as a model for similar service channels in categories like real estate, health and film and television.