Building Audiences Through Editorial Strategy
Business challenge: How does a legacy media franchise modernize its point of view without losing the audience that built it, or failing the audience it needs next?
“What does an LGBTQ+ media brand owe its audience today?”
Led growth strategy for one of the world's largest LGBTQ+ media companies, and launched Pride.com, expanding audience reach by more than 70%.
The challenge, the decision, and the impact, in three paragraphs.
The audience had grown up. The publications had not. Younger LGBTQ+ readers were leaving for social platforms while the core readership still expected the franchise to speak for them.
We repositioned the editorial voice, launched Pride.com as a new front door for a younger audience, and rebuilt the commercial model around the readership the brand was actually earning.
Reach expanded by more than 70%, advertiser confidence returned, and the franchise regained the ability to speak credibly to a generational transition inside its own community.
Legacy audiences are not a constraint. They are the reason the brand is still on the shelf.
The audience had grown up. The publications had not. Younger LGBTQ+ readers were leaving for social platforms while the core readership still expected the franchise to speak for them.
Modernizing a legacy franchise means deciding who you need to earn next without losing sight of the readers who built the brand.
Modernize the point of view without abandoning the readers who built the franchise, and rebuild the product and revenue model around the audience the brand was actually earning.
Editorial repositioning, digital product overhaul, and a new commercial model that stopped treating the LGBTQ+ audience as an addressable segment and started treating it as a readership.
Renewed audience growth, restored advertiser confidence, and a franchise that could credibly speak to a generational transition inside its own community.
What this taught me: Legacy audiences are not a constraint. They are the reason the brand is still on the shelf.
Three more capabilities chosen by strategic similarity.
Turning Editorial Authority into Commercial Product
How do you make an unfamiliar financial brand believable to American investors, and build a sellable product out of the answer?
Building Credibility with Skeptical Audiences
How do you earn trust from an audience that has learned to discount corporate participation in its culture?
Building Brands Through Community
How does one of America's largest companies become a more meaningful participant in Black culture by creating value that extends beyond communications?
Your Organization is Your Brand.
Why every business decision has become a branding decision.
The best conversations begin with a difficult question.
If a version of this challenge sits on your desk, I’d like to hear it.
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