Val Morgan Digital hosted its Sydney Upfront presentation in the Yallamundi Rooms at the Sydney Opera House on Thursday in celebration of the company’s four-year milestone and unveiling new opportunities for advertisers in 2024.
Liam O’Meara, general manager of sales for Val Morgan Digital and VMO, opened the presentation before delving into the power of the wider Val Morgan Group (Val Morgan, VMO and Val Morgan Digital) and the growth the group has delivered over 2023.
Amanda Bardas, publisher, spoke to the strategic development of Val Morgan Digital as a dynamic force in the industry, taking the audience through the journey of launching its own property, The Latch, in 2020, and forging global partnerships with influential media brands Fandom, POPSUGAR, Bustle, Inverse, Gamespot, and more recently, BuzzFeed and Tasty Australia.
Nicola Laing
Through these partnerships, Val Morgan Digital’s stable of brands now reaches over 4.1 million 14-39 year old Australians each month, according to Ipsos results from 2023.
Central to the company’s Upfront was the unveiling of its brand positioning: Your Portal to Shared Passion, unveiled by Nicola Laing, group strategy manager.
This new brand positioning reinforces Val Morgan Digital as the gateway for brands to connect with audiences passionate about entertainment, gaming, technology, food, travel, and women’s lifestyle, among other interests.
The new positioning was created from the findings of a consumer research piece Val Morgan Digital conducted across their suite of brands to understand their audiences’ passion points, how they show up for their passion points and how they connect with others within the community.
Amanda Bardas
Brian Florido, managing director of Val Morgan Digital, said: “The new positioning, Your Portal to Shared Passion has been meticulously crafted by our team, through in-depth consumer research we conducted across our suite of brands. It reflects our commitment to better understand our audience, what truly ignites them and the pivotal role our brands play in their lives. We are here to revolutionise how agencies plan and brief publishing brands.
For advertisers, the company represents a vibrant community of publishing brands and this new positioning empowers our partners to connect with their target audiences by seamlessly bridging emerging and traditional passion points, fostering authentic and meaningful interactions.”
Laing and Julia Willing, head of content, then spoke through the different communities the network reaches through specific passion points.
Liam O’Meara
Val Morgan Digital announced five innovative partnership opportunities for advertisers in 2024:
Game Like A Girl: This initiative provides a safe space for female gamers to discover and play their favourite video games free of harassment, offering brands a unique way to engage with this thriving gaming community.
Tasty Tours: Val Morgan Digital is inviting beloved FoodTok influencers to create real-life experiences, bringing food and lifestyle content to life in exciting ways for audiences and advertisers alike.
No Waste Dinner Parties: Val Morgan Digital is launching a monthly dinner series on The Latch to tackle food waste and help save households $2,500 per year.
Video Store: This immersive, in-real-life experience will showcase the breadth and depth of content from Val Morgan Digital’s favourite streaming partners, providing a unique opportunity for advertisers to engage with audiences in a new and exciting way.
Community+: Val Morgan Digital has partnered with Audigent to create custom audience segments that can be accessed across the entire network, empowering advertisers to connect with their target audiences more effectively.
By harnessing the power of Community+, advertisers can achieve unparalleled precision in their campaigns, ensuring their messages reach the right audience at the right time. This innovative approach not only maximises campaign effectiveness but also enhances the overall advertising experience for both brands and consumers.
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Top image: Nicola Laing