News Ltd creates strategy role to boost ad revenue for food brand Taste
News Limited has appointed Fiona Nilsson to the new role of brand development director for Taste, its food and recipe online and print brand, as part of the publisher’s plan to boost its readership and advertising revenue.
In her new role Nilsson will be responsible for the development of a national strategy for Taste across print and online, and identify new revenue and business growth opportunities.
Taste.com.au launched three years ago and now has over 1.6 million unique browsers according to Nielsen Online data. The site also has more than 185,000 registered members.
In 2009, Taste launched as a newspaper lift-out and it is now produced weekly, appearing in The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, the Herald Sun in Melbourne and The Courier-Mail in Brisbane, The Advertiser in Adelaide and The Sunday Times in Perth.
Nilsson joined News Magazines six years ago as marketing and circulation director and was appointed to the senior executive team when News Limited acquired the FPC magazine titles in 2006.
In 2008 she was appointed publisher of News Magazines’ food group, with responsibility for Delicious, Australian Good Taste, Super Food Ideas, Donna Hay Magazine, Vogue Entertaining + Travel, Taste.com.au and MasterChef Magazine which will launch later this year.
Nilsson adds the new role to her existing responsibilities.
She will be supported by Jeanie Edwards who has been appointed project manager to coordinate the implementation of the new strategies across the company. Baldwin continues in her role as News Magazines’ digital business manager responsible for the brand’s online development.
Meanwhile, ACP Magazines will attempt to muscle in on News Magazines’ market-leading position in the food category following the acquisition of food title Recipes+ from independent publisher Knockout Media.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Taste.com.au
I’ve never once bought the magazine but I use the website on my laptop or iPhone at least once a week. And not because I’m a great cook — I use it because I’m *not* a great cook, and I can quickly get a recipe and a shopping list together.
The goodness is in the depth and breadth of recipe content from more than one publication. When you’re feeling like a challenge you can take on something from Gourmet Traveller. When you have 30mins before your partner and kids gnaw your leg off and there’s nothing but a bag of frozen peas and a set of car keys on the kitchen bench, you can still go to bed a proud modern dad.
And users actually use the rating and commenting features without being prompted, so you can see what’s worth pursuing. If News could transfer some of the social media success of taste.com.au over to truelocal.com.au perhaps it wouldn’t be quite the crapsplosion it is.
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Gourmet Traveller is NOT in the News stable, Alan …
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Taste is easily the best asset NDM has acquired
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Thanks Libby. Clearly, I’m no gourmand, just a man… one ordinary man… (swelling Hollywood trailer music)
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Larry – agree Taste is great, but I reckon three years after purchase NDM’s buy of SportingPulse, the community sport network with massive reach, but that shares ad revenue back with grassroots sports, will be the stand out. Massive potential.
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agree melissa, sportingpulse has potential but not sure the approach they’ve adopted since acquiring it will realise it.
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We’ve had a look at the sportingpulse network and didn’t realise how big it is. Lots of opps for engagement with local communities that are hard to find elsewhere
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