Bauer Media has acquired event business The High Tea Party as it focuses on driving revenue growth with consumer ticketed events at scale.
Founded 10 years ago, The High Tea Party is a series of fun events targeting women across Australia. Each experience takes place over a weekend at a five-star location and attracts more than 3,500 attendees who are treated to engaging speakers, fashion and beauty presentations, product sampling, market stalls from vendors both large and small and of course, the high tea itself.
The acquisition enables Bauer to leverage its large audience, portfolio of media brands, talent, marketing platforms and commercial partners to expose their brands and businesses to new customers and build relationships with existing.
Sarah-Belle Murphy, executive general manager at Bauer Media said: “Event experiences are an incredibly important part of our business and as we continue to diversify our revenue streams, consumer ticketed events at scale are a focus for us. The High Tea Party is an established brand with a large and loyal audience. This, combined with the clear synergies that exist with our titles and marketing expertise, makes it a perfect fit for the business.”
Alison Dean, CEO of The Peppermint Group, who started The High Tea Party, will consult to Bauer for 12 months, with the first event planned for June 27-28 at Sofitel Melbourne On Collins and then in Sydney near the end of the year.
She said: “The High Tea Party is a business I’m incredibly proud of and I am excited to be involved with the transition over to Bauer Media. With the backing of such an influential media company, the growth of this property will be something to watch.”
The High Tea Party brand has joined Bauer’s existing portfolio and Julia Smith, former head of digital strategy at Australian Radio Network, has been appointed to run the business, supported by a cross business team from marketing, digital and sales.
Murphy added: “We’re delighted to have Julia on board to drive the growth of The High Tea Party and the invaluable experience Alison brings in having run the event for the past 10 years. For our partners it represents an opportunity to engage with a motivated audience through product sampling and sales, stage sponsorships, data capture and direct consumer feedback. We’re looking forward to working with all of them as we launch in Melbourne and Sydney this year.”
