Val Morgan launches The Latch, a publishing platform aimed at ‘affluent over 30s’
Val Morgan has revealed the identity of its digital publishing play. The new platform, The Latch, will launch in 2020 and be aimed at attracting an audience of affluent over 30s.
The platform bills itself as a “curation of entertainment, lifestyle and wellness content”, and will aim to connect advertisers to high-value audiences across the Val Morgan network.
The Latch launches in January
Editorial and commercial partner content will also be shared across Val Morgan’s cinema and outdoor networks, meaning the company will be able to target audiences where they shop, train, refuel and watch.
The Latch will be spearheaded by Brian Florido, who was recently appointed as managing director of Val Morgan Digital, and executive editor Amanda Bardas.
Despite a crowded digital landscape, particularly with content aimed at millennials, Florido said Val Morgan had found a gap in the market.
“Val Morgan identified a gap for audiences over 30 and The Latch will allow us to speak directly to this increasingly important demographic,” he said.
Bardas and her team of writers and editors will be charged with building an audience via “witty, colourful and engaging content”.
“The Latch will deliver thought-provoking content designed to unlock interesting conversations and educate without any fluff, click-bait or hyperbole,” Bardas said.
In addition to its cinema and outdoor assets, Val Morgan has Fandom, aimed at the slightly younger 13 to 29-year-old demographic, with TV, movies and video game content.
Florido said Val Morgan’s combined assets will help brands reach important audiences.
“This new platform will extend the incredible campaign work we’ve been delivering with Fandom, enabling brands to have richer conversations with their consumers via relevant partnerships, branded content and more immersive experiences,” Florido said.
The Latch is due to launch in January 2020 at thelatch.com.au.
They do realise many millennials are now over 30 right? Is the gap the affluence thing?
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Yikes. Looks like someone has run out of ideas.
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So they are competing with D’Marge, Vogue and GQ?
Agree with ‘meh’…. 2012 called and they want their unique audience generator back!
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they want their justified ‘gap’ reasoning to launch platforms back.
The only gap in the market is flyfishing. Good luck Florido.
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I like how people are saying “meh, Dmarge bla bla”, yes but they also don’t have scale of Val Morgan assets… so for a marketer it is pretty enticing to create bespoke content that could be shown in a cinema. Pedestrian, don’t be bitter because you still buy bot traffic for branded articles about which scnitty is best..
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So why wouldn’t marketers and agencies just buy cinema advertising via VM as they always have?
Are VM going to start running Latch content pre-roll as if it were an ad before a movie??!! LOL!!!
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Are you sure your name isn’t Brian Florido?
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Great team – good luck to Brian and Mandy!
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@Christian Scale – so enlighten me … what ‘snitty is the best’ … keen to know
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D’Marge Schermarge. Not sure Australian’s need another digital platform targeting affluents. It’s a very small piece of the overall media pie. Frankly I would rather be chasing media dollars from cruise ship companies targeting horny 20 something year olds. Arrrrr, set sail for Thot Island.
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This site’s going to be huge. Gaping whole that needed filling. Looking forward to seeing in Jan
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Interesting for another publisher targeting affluent over 30’s when consumer confidence is at a low & press continues to document a looming recession… will be interesting to watch. Sounds more like they are just targeting the demo of AIH’s (Agency and Investment Heads) “rather than affluent over 30s”
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@anonymous GQ’s demographics are mostly sub 30 looking at Nielsen stats. Not sure their audience could even afford half the stuff they feature.
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I was actually there, and the presentation blew me away. I hope it goes well for them – they’ve got a great team backing them!
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Yeah, that tall guy with the big lips can really sell!
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How does one secure tickets to a Thot Island voyage?
Do I have to scan the QR code off the movie screen of a Latch content piece? And will this then link to an augmented reality pop up of Thot Island???
Hey Latch, give me a job in your strategic team!!!!
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If it runs on cinema, it isn’t pre-roll champ.
Native content produced by a digital publisher that then runs on the big screen is actually a huge opportunity for brands who haven’t been able to afford making big budget TVC’s the opportunity to run on cinema. If they do it well, it will probably resonate even better too.
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