It’s upfront season – a time where marketers and agencies line up to see the latest and greatest major publishers have to offer.
This year media agency Initiative will be shining a light on less visible media across Australia that doesn’t get the same fanfare and attention as the major players. The agency is launching the inaugural Forgotten Upfronts, a platform for publishers catering to niche audiences to showcase their unique offering to clients and industry executives.
Forgotten Upfronts, open to everyone in the industry (RSVP here), will highlight the significant opportunities many brands miss out on due to a lack of understanding, awareness or just exposure to what is available in the market.
“I can’t tell you how many articles I’ve read over the years that cry for more inclusive planning, but the numbers show this isn’t translating into action,” said Initiative chief strategy officer Chris Colter (main photo). “As an industry we can be so blinded by our biases, albeit unconscious, that we neglect to properly understand the opportunities that exist to reach new audiences, many with significant spending power and influence.
“Forgotten Upfronts is taking the first step to change this. It will be a bi-annual event that gives publishers who target neglected audiences a similar spotlight as major broadcasters to showcase the unique benefits, opportunities and solutions they provide,” said Colter.
Initiative is already receiving strong interest in the Forgotten Upfronts from senior marketing executives and marketing teams across the industry.
Launching on September 28th, with an official invitation for all to attend, the first Forgotten Upfronts will feature publishers catering to a wide range of overlooked audiences; from NITV (First Nations), Boomtown (regional/rural), S&J (culturally and linguistically diverse) and Starts at 60 (+50’s). Each will share the unique commercial and brand gains that can be achieved by investing in their communities. Each event moving forward will feature a new range of publishers and partners to continue inspiring the industry to think outside our bubble.
Finally, in line with the event, Initiative will launch the Diversity Directory, an opensource website for the industry to search for and contact any publishers catering to smaller or niche communities. If you are a publisher looking to get listed, please contact [email protected]
