GMG's New Advertising Model Is Netting an 8-Figure Revenue

A content marketing model launched by media company Gallery Media Group (GMG), publisher of titles including PureWow and One37pm, has generated an eight-figure revenue since its debut in the first quarter of 2021, the publisher said. The service, called the Gallery Partnership Program (GPP), aims to quickly insert brands into cultural moments and viral trends, a task it streamlines by combining three content-marketing services under one roof. In doing so, the model blends the full-service offering of a social media marketing agency with the branded content capabilities of a publisher. Brands typically allocate a fixed budget to the program for one year, which GMG then uses to create branded content on its domains, its owned-and-operated social channels and through its network of creators. In most cases, brands retain full ownership of the created assets, said chief executive Ryan Harwood. GMG guarantees that clients will meet their preset quota of impressions––or whatever key performance indicator the company chooses––and uses paid marketing to make up the difference where necessary. So far, the program has attracted 20 total clients––10 of which are new––and has a 72% renewal rate, Harwood said. The appeal for brands is fast turnaround and low overheads. “When trying to reach the right audience at the right moment, nimbleness is always the goal,” said Jeff Giocondi, the associate vice president, head of commerce and search at the Kepler Group. “In theory, this program looks able to achieve that.” Gallery Media Group Is on Pace to Generate $50 Million in Revenue The Gallery Partnership Program streamlines viral marketing In one instance, the GPP team identified an emerging trend on TikTok that aligned with a product offering––razor blades––from one of its clients, Schick. Inspired by the movie Top Gun, TikTok users began styling mustaches in the fashion of one of the film's protagonists. In response, GPP began working with its creator partners to incorporate Schick razor blades into their feeds, writing Schick content on the male-oriented site One37pm and pushing Schick blades across its owned-and-operated social accounts. “GPP combines three capabilities of ours into one offering,” Harwood said, “which creates a content flywheel between marketing, social and editorial.” Jumping on cultural trends represents a low-cost, authentic way for brands to bring awareness to their products and build brand affinity, but suitable opportunities are rare and can be challenging to capitalize on, said Keith Kakadia, chief executive at social media marketing agency Sociallyin. Identifying an opportunity, creating a campaign and launching into a market typically requires a number of disparate parties to communicate complex logistics at a rapid clip in a tight window of time. GPP helps expedite this process. When the zeitgeist presents an opportunity, an in-house branded content team produces articles on relevant sites across the GMG portfolio, while a social growth team uses the 60+ channels owned by GMG––including @moms, @recipes and @fashion on TikTok––to amplify them. GPP uses the relationships that GMG has developed with social creators, and it can be activated across all major social platforms and even other mediums, such as podcasting. Whereas an agency could hawk influencer marketing and a publisher could peddle branded content, few companies can combine the services into one bundle, Kakadia said. GMG also owns two of the three legs of the offering, which enables it to keep the cost lower for brands. Ceding control The primary appeal of GPP––its expediency––is also its key liability, according to Giocondi. No company wants an off-brand message to enter the market, but by ceding a degree of control over its brand marketing to GMG, companies risk just that. While GPP accelerates the communication process, the program does ensure that brands have an opportunity to review campaigns before they launch, reducing the likelihood of a messaging mishap. The media company will have more luck wooing new clients to GPP when it can clearly demonstrate the results of the program, but until then the service might be an uncomfortable fit for risk-averse companies, Giocondi said. “You definitely have to think about brand safety and ad adjacency––a viral moment might seem like a good time to jump into a trend, but sometimes it might not be received well,” Giocondi said. “Ultimately you have to ask, ‘What degree of control do I have?’”

Marketing Innovation

GMG's Content Marketing Model Is Netting 8-Figure Revenues

The Gallery Partnership Program debuted in the first quarter of 2021

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg