Semafor Will Generate 30% of First-Year Revenue from Events

The news and business publisher Semafor is on pace to generate nearly one-third of its first-year revenue from SemaforX, its experiential business, according to co-founder and chief executive Justin Smith—a percentage that will likely increase in 2023 as it expands its portfolio from 15 to more than 40 global events. Partly, this is thanks to its decision to host nearly 12 events prior to launching its newsroom, which officially debuted in October. Semafor hosted a private Parisian dinner in September, which was sponsored by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and in July, it launched its Trust in News franchise, a series of ongoing conversations in partnership with the Knight Foundation that courted controversy for its inclusion of Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The publisher has also benefited from the experiential track record and commercial connections of Smith, who began his career launching events and has honed the practice at each successive outpost. Most recently, while chief executive officer at Bloomberg Media, Smith spearheaded the launch of its New Economy Forum franchise. Forbes’ Event Revenue Rises 60% as It Embraces Hybrid Formats This week, Semafor will launch its inaugural Africa Summit, a one-and-a-half-day event that falls within a larger set of weeklong programming called Africa Week. The franchise will be one of roughly five tentpole events Semafor aims to host annually, including the Semafor World Economy Forum in April. “When we started Semafor, we knew events would be very central, especially for a new company looking to find profit quickly,” Smith said. “Subscriptions and advertising require a long time to build up. An events business, if you do it well, can be monetized right away.” The strategy also reflects the resilient demand for event sponsorships, which have remained a bright spot amid an industrywide downturn in advertising revenue. According to research from the events agency Freeman, 82% of marketing decision-makers plan to maintain or increase event spending over the next 12 months. “A lot of brands are absolutely looking at experiential events and partnerships as a tool they can use again,” said Greg Manago, president, content+, at Mindshare. “The current economic environment, however, is stemming that tide a bit, so it is a balance.” Highlighting its coverage of Africa As a core component of its editorial remit, Semafor aims to expand to every major continent and break news with reporters indigenous to the area. Led by Yinka Adegoke, a Nigerian-educated journalist and the former founding editor of Quartz Africa, the publisher has chosen Africa as the first leg of this international expansion. Although Semafor began reporting on the continent at its launch, the Africa Summit serves to christen these efforts, as well as introduce U.S. audiences to the Semafor style of international reporting, Adegoke said. “The silver lining to creating content for international regions that is customized to those regions—as opposed to the foreign-correspondent model—is that the content becomes interesting to people outside of Africa looking to understand the region,” Adegoke said. Semafor Africa will coincide with the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, which will bring more than 50 African dignitaries and heads of state to Washington, D.C. The publisher designed its Africa Summit to coincide with the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit occurring in Washington, D.C., the same week, which will see President Joe Biden host around 50 heads of state from the continent for the first time in eight years. The timing helped Semafor nab a number of dignitaries for its programming, including the president of Namibia, Hage Geingob, the president of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema and the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. The first day of the summit will occur Monday, an interview with Kagame will follow Wednesday, and the final half-day of the summit will occur Thursday, followed by a reception at Smith’s D.C. residence Friday. The event anticipates roughly 700 in-person attendees and around 1,000 virtual participants, according to the publisher. Sponsors include Qualcomm, Cisco and Mastercard, all of which will receive activations that integrate their branding into the programming slate, including a panel in which Smith will interview three Qualcomm executives on stage. Three formats of events Next year, Semafor plans to host roughly 40 events and increase the percentage of its total revenue generated by its experiential footprint, Smith said. The publisher splits its events portfolio into three groups, including four to six signature events and eight to 10 policy summits, such as its upcoming Healthcare Summit in January; the remainder will be smaller, roundtable dinners. Nearly 75% of the events will occur in Washington, D.C., targeting the Beltway policymaker crowd. The publisher plans to experiment with hybrid and video technology, capturing interviews and repackaging them across major platforms to ensure its content flows downstream of its journalism, according to Smith. Semafor also aims to bring a heightened level of contextual relevance to its on-site advertising, weaving the relevant products of its sponsors—internet access from Qualcomm, e-learning from Cisco and financial equity from Mastercard—into the programming as a tangible expression of native content. Such efforts have increasingly become table stakes in the highly competitive events space, said Adam Charles, the executive vice president of agency and professional services at Freeman. “Audiences now are more selective and protective of their time, so creating an experience that resonates with them is vital,” Charles said. A Blended Portfolio: How Publishers Are Integrating Their In-Person and Virtual Events

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Semafor Will Generate 30% of Its First-Year Revenue From Events

The publisher, whose inaugural Africa Week begins Monday, will host 40-plus events in 2023

Mark Stenberg

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