News

The Urban List to launch new regional network Metropolist on Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast

MetropolistLifestyle content platform The Urban List has launched a regional network called Metropolist which aims to deliver lifestyle content to Australians living outside of capital cities, with the network launching on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast in November.

Speaking to Mumbrella The Urban List founder Susannah George said Metropolist is about “connecting regional locals, as well as savvy tourists with a really great digital experience”.

“It’s The Urban List’s take on content, so it’s vibrant, authentic and credible, only this time we’re delivering that content and value to people outside of the city,” she said.

Set to launch on the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast in November, Metropolist will have a dedicated team of four content and marketing people based on the ground in Queensland.

“The Urban List strategy has always been to recruit in-house talent, we really believe in in-house content creation,” she said.

George

George

“We are committing to hiring local content and marketing teams in each of the markets we roll out to. Each of those teams will be charged with creating fantastic content 365 days a year.”

The team will be creating content across the key verticals of food and drink, fashion and design, health and fitness, beauty, and travel.

The site will be launching with two foundation brand partners, however negotiations are ongoing and George declined to reveal the brands involved.

“Those foundation partners will be collaborating with us to drive the Metropolist momentum. We approached a selection of partner brands who we felt were really early adopters of content-led strategies,” she said.

“They see the value in content marketing in terms of driving customer loyalty, driving conversation and driving conversions. Those brands are being rewarded by getting in first and the chance to block their competition across the Metropolist platform.”

For brands based on the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, the chance to be involved with the network from start is non-existent, with George only saying as the network grows “there may well be” opportunities for local companies.

“Our focus for launch has been partnering with two foundation brands that can help bring the business to life and from there we’ll be able to offer a lot more opportunities locally,” she said.

“The content strategy will be very similar to the Urban List in that all the content will be hyper-local and that will be balanced with some of these branded content activations.”

The Metropolist Network is looking to roll out across eight and 14 markets by the end of 2016.

“The reason I can’t commit to a specific number is because it depends a little bit on the support we receive from state tourism bodies. We have been having conversations with them in regards to regions that are important to them,” she said.

“It’s also we’re launching Metropolist with two foundation partner brands, some of that rollout depends on markets that are important to their growth.”

The launch of Metropolist follows on from The Urban List expanding to Perth and Auckland last month.

Miranda Ward

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.