LADbible Group signs multi-year deal with Val Morgan Digital
After refuting reports of its Australian business shutting down last month, LADbible Group has today announced a multi-year partnership with Val Morgan Digital, which will see the latter take over commercial representation of the youth publication in Australia and New Zealand.
The five-year deal will allow LADbible Group, including LADbible Australia and SPORTbible Australia, to expand its commercial offerings across the two markets.
Last month, news.com.au reported the UK-founded company would be shutting its Australian business down at the end of the year. In a statement sent to Mumbrella, the publication rejected that news, and said LADbible would “continue but with an optimised operating model” down under.
The model under Val Morgan Digital will be effective from 1 January 2024, and will see LADbible’s sales and strategy teams integrate with Val Morgan’s teams, in an effort to consolidate their knowledge of the audience and content, and expand the publication’s advertising solutions.
“We’re thrilled to be joining forces with the biggest social publisher in the world, with whom we share a commitment to foster vibrant digital youth communities,” said Brian Florido, managing director at Val Morgan Digital.
“This partnership marks a significant step forward in our journey at Val Morgan Digital as the home of youth media in Australia to continue building a network that gives brands an unmatched opportunity to connect with highly engaged and hard-to-reach Australians. It continues to fuel our mission to be the number one APAC digital publisher for the 14-39 demographic.”
“Excitingly, we’ve also opened the door to sport, with the addition of SPORTbible Australia which will position us as a social leader in one of the biggest passion points for young Aussies.”
Florido continued: “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.”
According to Ipsos Iris data, Val Morgan Digital is the largest online media publisher in Australia for 14-39 year-olds, cementing itself as a key player to assist LADbible’s growth.
“This is an exciting day, as we announce our next phase of growth for the LADbible Group brands, and together strengthen our position as the go to youth publisher for the APAC region,” said LADbible Group’s CEO, Sally Solomou.
“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.”
Amanda Bardas, publisher at Val Morgan Digital, concluded: “The partnership with LADbible Group enhances our portfolio of brands and compliments what we’re about – building 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.”
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Lauren McNamara is a journalist at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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