How are specialist consumer and B2B publishers innovating, what are significant opportunities, and in which areas do they plan to invest?
In 2023, we launched two reports focused on innovation and trends in and across specialist media publishing, i.e., those publishers targeting well-defined communities around their personal and professional interests and passions.
The comprehensive, 60-page reports featured forty publishers across consumer and B2B verticals and the results of two quantitative surveys of over a hundred business leaders.
The first report, covering the European market, focused on B2B media (published in June 2023), and the second focused on consumer media (published in November 2023).
They included an overview of trends, company profiles, and results from quantitative surveys.
The reports are available for free, and you can download them here. We will also bring conversations around these topics to life in March 2024 with our Mx3 Barcelona media innovation summit, which you can learn more about here.
Mx3 Barcelona provides a unique opportunity for Consumer and B2B media to connect, share ideas and insights, collaborate and learn from one another. Our Early Bird rate ends very soon. Sign up here to join us at the discounted rate.
Our consumer media report includes twelve guiding principles for publishers, while our B2B report includes seven innovation strategies.
Consumer Media Strategies
The report includes twelve guiding principles for innovation. In no particular order of preference:
CONTENT
- Building editorial authority, trust and authenticity
- Creating multi-format content
AUDIENCE
- Defining new audiences and launching new brands
- Building a closer membership community
- Driving growth through social
MONETISATION
- Reinventing digital subscription packages
- Creating branded content for partners
- Extending into non-media services
- Expanding internationally
TECH
- Experimenting with AI
ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
- Establishing a culture and organisation to attract talent and build productivity
OTHER
- Targeting acquisitions and fundraising.
B2B Media Strategies
The report includes seven innovation strategies.
Expand your audience – Success starts with deep knowledge of your audience and understanding the secondary audiences you can reach.
Content Innovation – Explore content innovation within core brands, producing multiple forms of content plus personalisation to drive engagement and reach new audiences.
Product innovation – Develop digital standalone products that solve problems for your audiences and can be charged separately.
Events and Community Innovation – Capture event content to keep the conversation going post-event, explore digital versions of in-person events and nurture online communities.
Innovation in Marketing – Clients want measurable marketing solutions tailored to their target audience.
Digital Subscriptions – Digital subscriptions are scaleable internationally, appeal to younger audiences, and provide audience data, insights and recurring revenue.
Tech Strategies – Tech innovation with clear objectives, experienced teams, and the requisite investments is one of the themes emerging from the research for the report.
You can access the reports here.
Opportunities and Investment
Apart from the qualitative interviews for the report, our research partners, Syno International, also conducted two surveys among European business leaders. The consumer survey had 64 respondents, and the B2B survey had 56.
There is much more in the reports, but I’d like to highlight three questions about investment into revenue streams, future opportunities and tech investment here.
When reading the results, bear in mind a time lag of around six months between when we researched the two reports, with the B2B one mainly conducted in March and April 2023 and the consumer one in September and October 2023.
1. Which revenue streams will you invest in over the next five years?
The top five listed by consumer publishers were:
- Subscriptions/membership
- Advertising
- In-person events
- E-Commerce
- Marketing services
The top five listed by B2B publishers were:
- Subscriptions/Membership
- Advertising
- In-person events
- Sponsored content
- Consulting
2. What are your main opportunities?
The top five listed by consumer publishers were:
- Exploring/experimenting with AI
- New product development
- Diving deeper into niches
- Workflow efficiencies
- New storytelling formats
The top five listed by B2B publishers were:
- Diving deeper into niches
- Artificial intelligence
- New product development
- First-party data
- New storytelling formats
3. Where are you focusing your tech investment?
The top five investment areas for B2B publishers were:
- Content management
- Data and analytics
- AI-driven tools
- Subscription platforms
- CRMs
Download the reports for free here.
We profiled the following companies in the reports:
In our first report, we featured Agri Media, Alternatives Economiques, B2B Marketing, Bonnier News Business, Dennik N, France Media Group, Healthcare Business International, Henneo, HR Grapevine, Karger, Landwirtschaftsverlag, Mensagem, Rapid News Group, Roulart Healthcare, Spitta, The Drum, TU Media, William Reed and Wolves Summit.
In the second report, we featured Berlinske Media, Blick (Ringier), De Groene Amsterdammer, DECO PROTeste, Exponential View, Freeda Media, Giallozafferano (Mondadori), Mediapart, Mill Media, Monocle, Motor Sport Magazine, One Football, Pink News, RBA Revistas, Republik Magazine, Roularta, Sloft, The Local, The News Movement, and The Pioneer.
We also want to thank our sponsors again for their support. They are Glide Publishing Platform (B2B report) and 10up, Affilizz, Labrador, and Norkon.
Learn more about the profiled publishers and our sponsors in the two reports. Download them for free here.
Join the conversation at MX3 Barcelona
Be part of our community of media leaders, innovators and mavericks from companies such as Condé Nast, Deutsche Welle, Financial Times, Flashes & Flames, Future, Her Campus Media, Industry Dive, Morning Brew, Questex, Ringier, The Wrap, Vox Media, and more as we gather in Barcelona, Spain in March 2024.
Media Makers Meet – Mx3’s Barcelona summit focuses on creator-led, consumer and B2B media innovation in and across defined media verticals. Learn more at mx3barcelona.com.
Connect, exclusively
At Mx3 Barcelona, knowledge isn’t just shared one way; it’s exchanged in an environment made for peer-to-peer interaction and conversations. On-stage, there are no slides, interviews are off-the-record, and the audience is invited in as active participants in discussions.
Our Mx3 Huddles allow attendees to book one-to-one meetings with various experts to discuss business pain points and solutions, challenges, and opportunities.
Attendees are part of mould-breaking, often serendipitous conversations. Whether at a coffee station, on the RBA Revistas terrace, leading off the main Mx3 Barcelona stage, at our informal social or on walks through the city.
See the agenda, speakers and more at mx3barcelona.com.
Make it an experience
Barcelona is the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, known for its food, art (such as at The Picasso Museum), and architecture, including the La Sagrada Familia. There are long white stretches of beach, and you can explore streets like La Rambla, buy local produce at La Boqueria Market and find treasures at the Encants markets. Barcelona is also home to the global powerhouse football team FC Barcelona.
Several of our attendees travel a long way to our events. For those wishing to make more of their stay in Barcelona, there are road trips to Montserrat with its numerous mountain historical sites, up the spectacular Costa Brava coast towards France in the north or down to the Costa Dorada in the south, wine tours to the Penedes wine region, and more.
See more at mx3barcelona.com.
