Sports marketing leaders from State Farm, the Golden State Warriors, the NBA and more will join ADWEEK Brand Play on May 9 to unpack the trends, techniques and tools you need to break into the space. Register for your virtual pass.
Building a brand is about the impact and influence it has on its audience. But how do you keep that brand relevant to its audience over time?
On the latest episode of The Speed of Culture podcast, Rich Antoniello, founder and former CEO of Complex Networks, joins host Matt Briton to discuss the rise of his media company, the transition to digital space and creating a unique brand that appeals to its target audience.
Antoniello is an experienced business leader with a demonstrated history of building brands and working in the online media industry. He founded Complex Networks, a media and entertainment company for young people that covers popular and emerging trends in style, sneakers, food, music, sports and pop culture, in 2002.
Formerly, Antoniello was a national sales director at National Geographic Publishing, an account manager for Men’s Journal and media planner at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising. He is also an entrepreneur skilled in digital strategy, content development, advertising and sales.
If you want to learn more about building a unique media brand, check out the key takeaways of this episode below.
Key Highlights:
- 04:50-15:31 — Building Complex: When Antoniello started Complex, other magazines were verticalized. But he believed in mixing all topics together and wanted to present things in a unique format. Complex was focused on a young male audience who love hip-hop, music, lifestyle, sneakers, culture and design. Ultimately, Antoniello decided to take Complex into the digital space by distributing ads on partner websites and doing editorial cross-promotions.
- 15:31-18:51 — Scaling the Business: Antoniello believes starting a business requires a jack of all trades. You need people that understand how to do everything because businesses have become so integrated. But as you scale each discipline, you need a more verticalized specialty.
- 37:20-43:32 — The Future of Publishing Companies: Antoniello believes there is no middle ground between publishing and content. You are either a publisher with verticalized audiences that are specialty oriented, or the Amazon and Walmart of media. The big winner will be someone who can put together the qualitative crossover and the operational best-in-class expertise with the right type of ownership structure for today’s creators. You should also focus on your audience and help them become successful along with you.
