Bustle Digital Group Eyes 'Real, Meaningful Revenue Driver'

As Bustle Digital Group expands, the publisher once known for its lifestyle brands has developed a particular taste for a different kind of coverage. Beginning in late 2018 when it acquired Mic, BDG has built out what it calls the Culture & Innovation portfolio, a group of publications either acquired or launched that explore the intersection of tech and culture. In addition to Mic, these include Inverse, Input and the recently relaunched Gawker. As part of this expansion, BDG has named Joshua Topolsky, founder of the now-defunct The Outline, as chief content officer of the portfolio. “This evolution is based on a lot of factors, but its primary goal is to turn the Culture & Innovation group into a real, meaningful, audience-driving, revenue-driving part of the company,” Topolsky told Adweek. Tech advertising follows tech expansion Grouping its publications into sections––every title except for women's fashion brand W now falls into one of three categories: Culture & Innovation, Lifestyle or Parenting––allows for BDG to better allocate its resources, as well as sell advertising more efficiently. BuzzFeed Wants to Become an ‘Inspiration Engine,’ Influencing and Monetizing Consumers The strong tech weighting of the Culture & Innovation portfolio has already attracted advertisers like Microsoft and Samsung, which BDG then introduces to its other portfolios, and vice versa. As a result, from 2019 to 2020, BDG saw a 249% increase in ad growth in the tech category, and a 114% increase from the first half of 2020 compared to the first half of 2021, according to the publisher. This cross-promotion and blended audience differentiates the group from competitors. As such, it's helped BDG increase client retention rates for three years straight, rising from 63% to 67% to 72%. Compiling these complementary titles gives BDG “relevant scale,” said Scott Bender, partner and global head of client strategy at Prohaska Consulting. The size of BDG makes it more appealing from a financial perspective, but the assets the publisher has collected also make sense strategically, he added. Thanks to their tech acquisitions, BDG will have more opportunity to play with monetization outside of advertising, like commerce.Scott Bender, partner, Prohaska Publishing “Thanks to their tech acquisitions, BDG will have more opportunity to play with monetization outside of advertising, like commerce,” Bender said. “The acquisition also helps them with their data needs, because the more signals they can gather, the more accurate a user picture they can create for advertisers.” In the first half of 2021, BDG saw 50% revenue growth compared to the same period last year, and the publisher is on pace to generate more than $150 million in revenue by year's end, according to The Wall Street Journal. Incubatory potential Now that the publisher has sorted itself internally, it can more strategically acquire properties that fill gaps in its portfolio. Case in point: its recent acquisition of Some Spider Studios, which expanded its Parenting portfolio from one brand to four. In most cases, thanks to its size, BDG is able to help publishers grow at a sustainable pace by focusing on their editorial strengths. Inverse, for instance, has doubled its audience size to 22.9 million monthly visitors since its July 2019 acquisition, while Input has grown to an audience of 3.7 million in just 18 months. “We let brands be the best version of themselves, to grow at the pace they need to grow, and to focus where they need to focus,” Topolsky said. “When you’re a startup, you're fighting every day for your survival, constantly fixated on making the numbers work. The infrastructure of BDG takes some of that pressure off.” BDG is keen to acquire new properties in the near future. As the company vies for a SPAC acquisition, its new structure and expanded audience make it a more compelling business, said Kim Iadevaia, evp of content and digital partnerships at media agency Zenith. “The diversification of BDG’s portfolio over the years and, most recently, with its acquisition of Some Spider Studios, has opened the door for more brands to partner with them to reach desired consumers across categories,” Iadevaia said. “Its expansion into tech and culture provides more opportunity for engagement with a broader audience than before, essentially answering the need for more content.” Post-Pandemic, Most Publishers’ Ad Revenues Have Fully Rebounded

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'Real, Meaningful Revenue Driver': BDG Beefs Up Culture & Innovation Portfolio

Gawker, Inverse, Input and Mic are just the beginning

Mark Stenberg

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