Our recently launched report, Innovators in Specialist Media Europe (Consumer Media Edition) dives deep into twenty hugely innovative, and successful, European media companies. In this extract we look at how Freeda Media leveraged its knowledge of social media and spun off its proprietary tech into a standalone company. P.S. Our free-to-download report is available now. You can also download the first edition (B2B media) here.
Launched on Facebook in 2016, Freeda Media is an Italian start-up that has become a true Pan-European publisher with its team spread across Milan, Madrid and London. Aimed at Millennial and Gen Z women, the publisher now boasts over 11M+ global followers in 82 countries worldwide, and reaches 150M people monthly.
The publisher’s mission is to spread real stories to inspire positive change, and in its own words is, quote, “the voice of the new generations of women, of men, and of humans who don’t recognize themselves in traditional gender categories – of fearless thinkers and doers who speak their mind with authenticity and want to turn the world into a better place.”
At the outset, Andrea Scotti Calderini, CEO and co-founder of Freeda Media, made a strategic decision to focus Freeda’s content creation primarily on social media, leveraging platforms where the younger generations are most active. It has since created a huge global community of over 11 million people interacting with its Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn channels, built by encouraging a two-way dialogue with their community of young women.
Freeda Media is also a highly experimental publisher, trialling new formats, including a podcast Little Revolutions, and a short-form, episodic social series There She Rows, which follows a female Atlantic rowing team. It is also planning to test new formats including long form storytelling via unscripted documentaries.
Metrics and Proprietary Tech
A key factor in Freeda Media’s growth has been its in-depth focus on what makes content successful on social media. In fact, such has been its success, Freeda introduced the Freeda Platform, a cutting-edge technology marketing tool designed to enhance brand relevance through active listening to consumer conversations on social media.
Freeda Platform tracks and analyzes thousands of content pieces, continuously evolving to increase relevance. It gathers over 200 data points for each content piece, employing machine learning to evaluate the influence of both technical and creative aspects on performance. These insights are crucial in optimizing the effectiveness of both organic and paid content.
The platform now has over 40 brand partners, including Armani, Gucci, Jeep, Lavazza and Kia. Future plans include developing the Freeda Platform so that brands can use it on a SaaS basis.
Lessons for other publishers
- Forensic analysis of what makes content successful on social media.
- Develop proprietary tech for your own business and then commercialise it for brands.
The above case study is one of twenty featured in our latest report, Innovators in Specialist Media Europe (Consumer Media Edition). Other examples include Berlingske Media, De Groene Amsterdammer, DECO PROTeste, Exponential View, Giallozafferano (Mondadori), and many others. Written by Carolyn Morgan, the free-to-download report is available now. You can also download the first edition (B2B media) here.
