ACM is Australia’s largest independent media operator, with 142 mastheads including The Canberra Times, The Newcastle Herald, The Examiner, The Border Mail, The Courier and the Illawarra Mercury serving an audience of 6.4 million* people each month.
Although once a part of Fairfax Media/Nine, ACM is now 100% independently owned by Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz’s ASX-listed Thorney Investment Group. The media company publishes regional, community, suburban and agricultural digital and print mastheads, some of which have a long and proud history of more than 150 years.
Up until now, advertisers have often misconstrued ACM as a publication that serves solely regional audiences, but the truth is, ACM’s reach is nationwide. The business is undoubtedly strong in regional areas – where 9.1 million Australians now reside – but 48% of ACM’s audience are from metropolitan areas.
Of that audience, 2.2 million are families, 1.6 million are Gen X-ers, and 1.1 million are the elusive Gen Z. When it comes to purchasing power, 1.2 million are car buyers, 1.1 million are property buyers, and 4.4 million are ‘travel intenders’.
The power of stories
ACM’s content division, Story Central, gives brands access to the business’s trusted editorial expertise, helping them to tell their stories through ACM’s trusted voice. Story Central is a collective of 30 content creators embedded in newsrooms throughout the country. ACM’s Story Central writers have deep and broad experience writing content for a wide range of categories and clients.
ACM chief revenue officer, Sharon Fitter
Story Central helps brands by creating bespoke content aligned to their individual objectives. These include native content, which is closely aligned to ACM’s existing editorial layout and branded content. Both can include guaranteed page views online, social optimisation or alignment with a client’s SEO strategies. Other forms of content include topical advertising features, local and agricultural business profiles, custom magazines and more.
The business has already run several successful story partnerships with brands including Adobe, Woolworths, and Samsung. Brands come to ACM when they have a story to tell, but want to do so in a voice that’s authentic, trusted, and makes sense in the context of the platform it’s running on.
“ACM titles are a part of the fabric of the communities in which we operate. This connection with readers is incredibly strong and therefore creates a highly engaged audience” said ACM chief revenue officer, Sharon Fitter.
“I’d encourage clients to leverage this trusted voice and tell their brand’s story in a unique and powerful way with ACM,” Fitter said.
If you’re ready to harness ACM’s powerful audience and make your story matter, ConnectNow with ACM.