Forbes Australia rolled out this week, with a premium bi-monthly magazine, website and curated events.
AdNews spoke to Sarah O’Carroll, editor-in-chief of the local edition of the US publication, about the benefits of being part of an international brand, the strength of a print magazine in 2022 and why it’s important to spotlight the stories of those in the rising creator economy.
O’Carroll said that discussions between Michael Lane – the founder and CEO of Forbes Australia - and Forbes Global about launching a local edition of the storied business brand had been happening for a while, with Australia being a market that Forbes had looked at expanding into for many years.
“In terms of target markets, Forbes has a number of core audiences: business and tech decision makers; Forbes 30 Under 30, which is a global franchise targeting that younger, up-and-coming business generation; C-suite executives; Forbes Women, a platform where they really target women in business; and entrepreneurs and business owners, a massive audience and one that we really want to own here in Australia.”
“There's about 2.4 million Australians who go to [the global edition of] Forbes at the moment and they love the Forbes content, so the launch of Forbes in Australia is really an opportunity to celebrate our homegrown success stories.”
O’Carroll said that there's a burgeoning tech sector and community here in Australia and the first issue of the magazine serves as a celebration of that.
“There’s dynamic conversations and innovation and tech developments happening in Australia that will be of interest to the audience not just locally, but globally. We're in the position to be able to put a global perspective on our local stories.
“We really want to unearth the deeper stories of Australia's business leaders and entrepreneurs and inspire meaningful conversations and actions.
“A media brand has impact when they can connect with people in a way that makes them feel understood and valued, so what we really want to do is to drive the agenda on ambition and success and innovation in Australia.”
O’Carroll said that one of the reasons that Forbes partnered with Lane was because of his strong background in events.
“One of the main things about Forbes Australia is we're going to have a lot of events as well. Being able to bring these stories to life, through bigger events, but also smaller, more intimate events, and to be able to help entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, philanthropists and others to be able to really connect around these stories, is definitely a priority.”
O’Caroll said that while traditional media have tended to monetise through advertising, Forbes Australia is approaching the opportunity from a member-focused view.
“I think a lot of young entrepreneurs and businesspeople aren't necessarily sifting through the traditional business media to get to the stories that matter to them. We want to create a publication that they really feel speaks to them and that they can connect with.
“That creative economy can no longer be ignored. You have millions of young people who are building businesses empires through social media platforms, so we're really going to look at those new waves of entrepreneurs.
“There will be many more companies like Atlassian and Canva coming through the ranks and we want to tell those stories. We want to be able to delve into not just who got the latest round of funding, but telling the stories of those entrepreneurs - where the ideas are, what the trends are and sharing their journey as they as they grow.”
O’Caroll said that she feels extremely lucky to be able to work in print magazines again as she didn't think such an opportunity would arise.
“We can see that print is not dead. To have that magazine in your hand and to be able to read more in-depth stories about these entrepreneurs is just great, because I know when you're online, you click off to something else or check out another link, whereas when you read through a magazine, you really do get the deeper insight of what that story is.
“There's so many inspirational stories in the first issue of the magazine that showcase the wide variety and diversity of people who are trying to solve some of the world's biggest problems; those who are really pushing forward with Web3 and quantum, but even the traditional industries and how they're trying to revolutionise through things like AI.”
“When people ask ‘who's your competitor?’, I honestly don't see a direct competitor anymore.
“Every media organisation is just competing for the attention of readers and that's why that connection is so important. We're not just going to try and get as many people to the website as possible; we actually want to connect with our readers and our members from day one.”
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