Christiano Nygaard, the Director of Operations for Zero Hora's parent company RBS,  presented a study of how they went about it.

Mr Nygaard focused on several areas – subscription and distribution strategies and a philosophy of keeping readers surprised. But perhaps the most interesting part of the strategy was a focus on an area that some newspapers have abandoned – attracting young readers.

"The challenge over the last 10 years is, 'let's not put aside any readers, especially the youngsters," says Mr Nygaard.

Fifty-three percent of Zero Hora's readers are below the age of 40. Of its 180 journalists, one-third are under 30. "It's important to have people working inside who understand what young people are thinking," Mr Nygaard says.

The young approach carries throughout the newspaper, which offers vibrant design, lots of images, exclusive points of view, a very regional approach and a wide variety of supplements for television, culture, education and more. It considers its sports coverage "a portal for youngsters to enter into the paper. We're strong in surfing and radical sports for youngsters."

"How to attract young readers is a permanent challenge," Mr Nygaard says.