Money Announces Rebrand and Profitability Under Its New Management

Money announced a sitewide rebrand this morning, the result of a year-long process to improve the site speed and user experience, as well as signal a new chapter in the history of the nearly 50-year-old publication. Plans for the redesign began when the advertising technology company Ad Practitioners acquired Money from its parent company, Meredith, in October 2019. Ownership officially traded hands on Jan. 31, 2020. The revitalization of the Money brand comes at a pivotal time, as disruptions to the economic status quo have led to increased interest in financial literacy. The rise of meme stocks, investment apps and cryptocurrency, as well as the pivotal role of stimulus checks and unemployment benefits during the pandemic, have reshaped the financial landscape. While the editorial focus of Money has remain unchanged, the publisher hopes its rebrand will improve the reader experience, making valuable financial information more accessible, said head of product Melissa Powel. “Money exists at the cross section of Main Street and Wall Street, which means that we've always stood for making difficult personal-finance topics universally accessible,” Powel said. The value of Money In its first year under Ad Practitioners, Money tripled its revenue from $3 million to $9 million from 2019 to 2020, and the publication is profitable, Powel confirmed. Money achieved this profitability after removing all of its banner ads and third-party data-led advertising, which also reduced the average page load time, from 19 seconds to 3 seconds, the company said. The publication now makes the majority of its revenue through contextual advertising and affiliate links, though it declined to share specific breakdowns. Money also generates revenue through its Ads by Money program, an ad network that other publishers can use to fund their sites. Under Ad Practitioners ownership, traffic to Money also swelled, rising from 66 million unique annual visitors in 2019 to over 100 million in 2020, a 37% increase, the company said. The publication now employs 120 people, with a dedicated editorial staff of 40, an increase from its 15-person editorial team in 2019. Money is currently hiring. The publication has three free newsletters––Dollar Scholar, Retire with Money and Daily Money––which have 150,000, 115,000 and 120,000 subscribers, respectively. The redesign aims to 'unify and modernize' the site To redesign the Money website, Ad Practitioners enlisted the help of Joshua To, a founder of the design firm The Curious Company, and SouthSouthWest, a brand and design agency headquartered in Australia. The design team focused on adding a number of important new features, including efforts to surface the editorial staff and allow readers to navigate content by author. The redesign also categorizes content based on life events, tools and resources, rather than strictly subject matter. From a structural standpoint, the team also removed the sidebar, reconfigured the home page and cleaned up the navigation bar, all in an effort to “unify and modernize,” Powel said. With an Eye on Reader Revenue, Grist Launches New Products Capitalizing on Today’s Political Climate

Media News

Money Announces Rebrand and Profitability Under Its New Management

The 50-year-old publisher generated $9 million in revenue in 2020

Mark Stenberg

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Mark Stenberg