News Corp Australia has announced it has increased its investment in Medium Rare Content Agency, acquiring 20 per cent of the commercial content business it did not previously own.
Michael Miller, News Corp Australasia executive chairman, said: “From the day we launched Medium Rare as a joint venture with founders Gerry Reynolds and Sally Wright in 2014 we’ve had high aspirations for the business and confidence in the growth of the commercial content category. Gerry, Sally, and the Medium Rare team have exceeded these ambitions.”
The increased investment from News Corp Australia in Medium Rare caps off a spate of strategic investments designed to further scale News Corp Australia’s fast-growing commercial content business.
Last October, the company purchased a stake in Australia’s largest full-service video production company Visual Domain and in May took a position in digital finance news and marketing group Stockhead while Medium Rare bought content marketing agency Storyation in December 2019.
“It was a logical decision to increase the company’s exposure to Medium Rare, with a tier-one client list including Coles, David Jones, Foxtel, Bunnings and Qantas,” Miller said.
“The combined skills and capabilities of Medium Rare, Visual Domain and Storyation, as well as Suddenly and our internal creative agency Roller, to leverage News Corp Australia’s data, audio, commerce along with the company’s digital audience networks and brands provides our clients compelling campaign solutions,” he added.
News Corp Australia’s managing director, commercial content, Mike Connaghan paid tribute to Reynolds and Wright, who will now step aside from their roles as directors and managing executives.
Connaghan said: “Sally and Gerry had the foresight, nous and talent to identify a new high-growth market segment and then the perseverance and work ethic to attract the talent needed to transform their idea into something that can now be considered an essential part of our media landscape.”
“They are great entrepreneurs whose work has assisted our nation’s most famous and enduring brands to tell their stories and grow their businesses in ways no-one had before.”
Pictured left to right: Nick Smith and Fiorella Di Santo
Connaghan said he was delighted to announce Nick Smith as managing director and Fiorella Di Santo as chief commercial officer.
“Nick and Fiorella are both well known in the market and to our clients and their new roles reflect the high esteem in which they’re held. Together, they will focus on further growing Medium Rare’s position as the nation’s leading content agency in terms of size, client roster and revenue and further develop its proven prowess in performance-based digital, social and video content for our clients,” Connaghan said.
The Medium Rare founders said they are proud to leave the business in the best shape possible, having put in place a strong succession plan and the resourcing required to ensure continued success.
“Part of the reason for our success is that we’ve never sat on our laurels. We’ve always looked to the future, continuously planning ahead,” Reynolds said.
“In addition to creating an enviable roster of premium clients, our recent investments in Rare Creative, Storyation, Rare Studios and Medium Rare New Zealand augur well for continued expansion.
“Medium Rare’s award-winning teams are the best in the business, so clients remain in the very best hands,” he added.
Wright said that, eight years after launching, Medium Rare is unquestionably Australasia’s leading content agency.
“We set out to disrupt custom publishing and have ended up redefining marketing in this country. On our first day, we were the company’s only employees; as we depart, staff numbers will be just shy of 200 across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Auckland.
“Over the years, we’ve continuously expanded our range of services; received local and international recognition as leaders in our field; and hired, nurtured and furthered the careers of the very best media talent in the region.”
“We remain very proud of Medium Rare and wish everyone well for the future,” Wright added.