LADbible Group and Val Morgan Digital have signed a five-year commercial partnership that will see LADbible Group’s commercial offering expand in the Australian and New Zealand markets.
This comes after a spokesperson from LADbible spokesperson told Mediaweek last month the group was in “discussions with a number of strategic partners to continue our commercial business in Australia” after denying speculation it would be shutting down business in Australia.
The addition of LADbible Group’s brands means Val Morgan Digital will expand its reach to 7.36 million people, a third of the total internet population in Australia. LADbible Group reaches over a billion people across the globe every single month.
The growth also cements Val Morgan Digital as the largest online media publisher in the country for 14-39 year-olds, according to IPSOS Iris.
Brian Florido, managing director of Val Morgan Digital, said the partnership is a significant step forward for Val Morgan Digital as youth media in Australia continues to build a network that provides brands with an opportunity to connect with highly engaged and hard-to-reach 14-39 demographic.
Florido also noted that Val Morgan Digital has also opened the door to sport with the addition of SPORTbible Australia and highlighted the cross-media opportunities for LADbible Group clients.
He said: “We’re in a unique position to have two sister brands, Val Morgan Cinema and VMO that allow brands to connect with audiences beyond the URL and into cinema environments, retail, health and wellness clubs, petro and convenience and office towers. We’re excited to seamlessly open this door for LADbible Group clients.”
Effective 1 January 2024, The LADbible Group sales and strategy teams will integrate with the Val Morgan Digital team, taking their knowledge of the audience and content with them, to expand and build LADbible Group’s advertising solutions, and Australian-based creators will partner with the brand to create bespoke localised content for Australia and New Zealand.
Solly Solomou, CEO of LADbible Group, said it was an exciting time for growth for the LADbible Group brands.
“Together strengthen our position as the go- to youth publisher for the APAC region. As a global leader in creating content for youth audiences, this partnership with Val Morgan Digital will unlock further opportunities for our brands and provide our existing and new clients with a best in class commercial and creative offering,” she added.
Amanda Bardas, publisher of Val Morgan Digital, said the partnership will enhance its portfolio of brands and builds “a network for people to explore their shared passions across a whole range of things, like gaming, beauty, food, sport, travel and entertainment.”
“We’re excited to welcome the LADbible Group suite of brands and the team where we’ll continue creating vibrant Australian centric content,” she added.
See also: LADbible spruiks local content collaborations as it denies shuttering Aussie business