Val Morgan Digital Upfronts Reveal Exciting Plans In Content & Commerce For 2022

Val Morgan Digital has unveiled its big 2022 plans during its upfronts today for its four properties, The Latch, Fandom, POPSUGAR Australia, and Thrillist Australia! 

Val Morgan Digital announced that it will focus on reaching new audiences, bridging the gap between commerce and content, and creating initiatives that help drive the world forward. It will also continue its integration with HOYTS, through content, events, and in-cinema experiences.

The drive for 2022 is clearly to focus on further blending commerce and content, for instance In 2022, the publisher will work even closer with Val Morgan Outdoor (VMO) to further amplify messages across retail precincts, health and wellness clubs and petro and convenience locations across the nation.

The publisher has also launched ARC (Awareness. Relevance. Consideration), giving brands more visibility on their campaigns. ARC is shifting the conversation from vanity metrics, to results like brand uplift and increased intention or action to buy.

To reach new audiences, Val Morgan Digital also announced the launch of several new verticals on its established publications.

Since its launch in early 2020, The Latch has been focused on helping readers live a more sustainable life. As we emerge into a post-pandemic world, climate change is our overriding concern, and in order to help drive towards a better tomorrow, The Latch will launch a Sustainability vertical and help its readers make a collective commitment to the planet.

Continuing to evolve the POPSUGAR brand and meet Australian women’s needs, POPSUGAR Sport will be launching in the new year, following the early success of POPSUGAR Gaming that officially launched last week.

Female Australian athletes are greatly under-represented by mainstream sports sites as 4 per cent of sports media content is dedicated to women’s sport, although AusPlay data shows that 52 per cent of Australian women and 68 per cent of girls regularly participate in sport-related activities.

With POPSUGAR Sport, Australian women will be given a place that they can celebrate the achievements of our female athletes and help reimagine how mainstream media support young women playing sport and supporting teams.

And as international borders open, Thrillist will launch its New Zealand City Guides.

The publisher will also continue to bridge the gap between content and commerce, with the launch of multiple e-commerce storefronts across The Latch, POPSUGAR and Thrillist. Each storefront will offer readers curated edits, deals, offers and bespoke shopping moments within specific categories.

Streaming, travel and experiences, fashion and beauty, and sustainability will be launch categories.

Val Morgan Digital identified through recent surveys, that 85 per cent of readers are likely to purchase something from the sites.

Initiatives that Drive the World Forward

• The Latch will partner with HOYTS on Homegrown, to support the sustainability of the Australian film industry.
• The Mental Health Uprising will launch on Thrillist, an initiative supporting the mental health of those who work in the hospitality industry.
• POPSUGAR will launch The Powerhouse, a female finance advisory board, primed to guide our audience through every financial milestone.

Amanda Bardas, Publisher at Val Morgan Digital, said:  “The team and I are thrilled to unveil what we have coming. Our aim is to continue creating responsible content for our readers, our team, and our clients, and amplify that content in contextually relevant locations.

“As we move into 2022, and the state of the world evolves, so too will our brands, through some of the initiatives we’re rolling out across different screens and platforms.”

Baradas added: “We know that editorial drives a 16 per cent increase in outdoor engagement, and outdoor amplifies digital audience with an 18 per cent increase in engagement, so pairing the VMD and VMO networks together gives brands unparalleled results.

“We not only create purposeful and strategic content, but we create it specifically for the environment that it lives in, and we believe this is crucial to successfully integrate a publishing and out-of-home business.”