It's B2B media's moment
From M&A deals to experimenting with revenue streams, verticals are the hot thing
In the past few months we’ve seen private equity firms swoop up niche media titles, and then give those companies some cash to go and buy other properties and companies to help the company grow.
But we’re also seeing how niche verticals catering to a specific audience work to monetize that audience in more productive ways than general/consumer media reliant on subscriptions and/or ads. My former colleague Brian Morrissey has a good post on this at his newsletter, which you should subscribe to, in what he calls DTC media.
We’ve known this, instinctively, for years when we’d expense a $3000 ticket to an industry conference put on by an industry publication in some beautiful locale or pay $500 to enter an industry award (and let’s not forget the congrats ads for winning those awards). When the pandemic forced us indoors, the first question for many trade publications was to address the loss of revenue from events.
Nine months later, however, while events haven’t come back, trade publications have stitched enough bandages to navigate these times. And, it seems for many of those outlets owned by private equity, the time is now to pick up other companies to offer more ways to serve, and then make money from, their audience.
(You’ll also notice that many industry publications put forth a message of “helping its audience do their job better/solve their problems.” This is a curious quirk of trade media, as the business side wants the ad revenue and sponsorship from the very companies the edit side is supposed to hold accountable for the shady shit they do, thus an inherent tension inside of every B2B outlet. How do you speak truth to power with neither fear nor favor when your bosses are trying to ink a deal with that company?)
Industry Dive, backed by Falfurrias Capital Partners, picked up CFO.com a couple of weeks ago on the heels of buying content marketing firm NewsCred in July.
Business Insider (which itself, owned by a larger company [Axel Springer] which is owned by a private equity firm [KKR] bought the Morning Brew newsletter last year) wrote:
The acquisition of CFO marks Industry Dive's first venture into print – the magazine still goes out to a controlled circulation of finance professionals eight times a year – though [CEO Sean] Griffey said it would assess the magazine's performance to decide whether to continue it.
Griffey said the key appeal of CFO is its in-depth features and analysis, plus its database of around 300,000 finance professionals across its website, magazine and newsletters.
The addition of CFO.com should also boost traffic to Industry Dive's finance vertical. CFO.com averaged 87,000 monthly unique visitors to its site from September to November in 2020, up 18% over the prior year, according to Similarweb. During the same period, Industry Dives' CFO Dive had 18,000 monthly unique visitors, up 13%.
Coindesk, the cryptocurrency media company, said yesterday that it bought a company called Trade Block, which Coindesk calls “the world’s leading crypto index provider.”
The venture-backed Coindesk took to Medium and its own site to explain the deal, basically saying the acquisition is a mechanics play.
From the company’s CEO (emphasis mine):
First, TradeBlock is the industry standard in providing pricing data, indexes and trading solutions for professional investors who are engaging with crypto technology and allocating money to digital assets. For CoinDesk to continue to fulfill its grand vision, we aim to serve the professional investing crowd with greater urgency and focus to solve their needs. By marrying together CoinDesk’s market-leading news, commentary, video, podcasts, educational events and research coverage with the TradeBlock suite of institutional-grade pricing data, indexes and trading services, CoinDesk will be the premier platform for all crypto investors and the next generation of investing.
My former employer, Adweek, which has been tossed from private equity firm to private equity firm over the last several years, landed with another private equity firm in July, Shamrock Capital (which also recently bought Taylor Swift’s master recordings for $300 million).
Since then, it has gone on its own little shopping spree, picking up Target Marketing, Publishing Executive, and FUSE Media in September. Yesterday, it announced it bought Social Media Week indicating its continued bet on events in the future. And the acquisitions can also point to where it wants to go both editorially and for its business perspectives.
In a 2021 table-setter, also showing off how cash-rich new owners can make an impact, the publication writes (emphasis mine):
Target Marketing is now known as Performance Marketing and provides news, guides and best practices in the areas of direct marketing, email, display, database, phone, mail and the overall customer experience.
To accomplish all this, Adweek is also hiring full-time staffers in several of these crucial areas. We are seeking editors of Performance Marketing and Commerce, as well as a reporter for our Media desk.
We are also increasing our production and customization of newsletters. It’s what you’ve asked for. So we remind you to head over here to sign up for any and all of our free daily and weekly newsletters.
Our goal at Adweek is to help you do your job better.
And Politico, at the end of December, bought the energy trade publication E&E News.
The purchase reflects Publisher and Executive Chairman Robert Allbritton’s vision to continue to grow POLITICO’s editorial and business impact in a key area of focus for policymakers, businesses, and professionals across the globe, and ensures that POLITICO can offer its readers and subscribers the most robust energy and environmental coverage in the world.
“Our mission is to be the preeminent source of politics and policy news and information and to translate the decisions being made in power centers across the globe for the most influential audience in the world,” said Robert Allbritton. “We are doubling down on our policy coverage by investing in journalism and growing our product offerings in the energy and environmental policy space, which touches all aspects of the economy and government.”
The investment in E&E News will help further diversify Politico’s revenue streams as it enters an off-election cycle political year, and its events business—which was heavily affected by the pandemic—will likely be slow to return.
Mr. Allbritton said the majority of Politico’s business comes from professional subscriptions and that most of its ad revenue relies on advocacy advertising. He expects such advertising will rise with a new presidential administration which is expected to change many regulations.
Of course, even non-private-equity-owned companies are getting into the acquisition spree. Yesterday, Wyndham Destinations said it was buying Meredith’s Travel+Leisure for $100 million. The Wall Street Journal reports:
In addition to its eponymous magazine, Travel + Leisure operates membership-based travel services. Wyndham runs 230 timeshare resorts, with more than four million members across its business lines. The combined company would have 18 resort, travel-club and lifestyle-travel brands.
Meredith will continue publishing Travel + Leisure under a 30-year renewable licensing agreement, with the Travel + Leisure staff remaining as Meredith employees, the companies said.
B2B publications (especially ones backed by someone else’s money) catering to a specific audience are showing that investing in other areas beyond journalism can keep them afloat. Everyone wants to have a cash cow like the Bloomberg Terminal. The question, though, will turn to sustainability: as these media properties balloon, can they keep up with the cost of buying these companies (and the people within)? History indicates no.
Thank you for allowing me in your inbox, today and every day. If you have tips, or thoughts on the newsletter, drop me a line. Or you can follow me on Twitter. If you arrived here through social or a friend, please consider signing up. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Phish, “Simple”
Some interesting links:
For zigging when everyone wants you to zag:
Despite pandemic, 60 new print magazines launched in 2020 (NY Post)
For the next generation of confused children:
Denmark launches children's TV show about man with giant penis (The Guardian)
For why local journalism is vital:
How a Florida reporter became a one-woman help desk for anxious seniors navigating the COVID-19 vaccine (Poynter)
For misplaced billionaires:
Alibaba founder Jack Ma is lying low for the time being, but he’s not missing (CNBC)
For big-time brands funding seditious Republicans trying to destroy democracy:
The corporate funding the end of democracy (The New Republic)
20 corporations, $16 million, and 138 Republicans trying to subvert democracy (Popular Info)
CEOs Consider Ways to Smooth the Presidential Transition, Including Holding Back Campaign Money (WSJ)