The Guardian is officially launching its events series Guardian Live in Australia by a tie-up with popular youth-focused music festival Splendour in the Grass.
The partnership sees The Guardian present the Splendour Forum, which is an intriguing mix of live discussion panels, debates, interviews, Q&A sessions, and even scientific talks, taking place over the festival weekend.
Tory Loudon head of events and programs at the Guardian told AdNews that Guardian Live is a way to connect with its audience in Australia.
“We want to broaden what we offer, we very much want to be apart of greater conversations and also deepen the conversation with our readers,” she said.
While both the masterclasses and events have a ticketed price, Loudon explained that while the ticket costs will raise some money for the business, it's more about, “a combination of reach and being not only the leaders in the space but also the experts.”
Louden would not be drawn on the type of revenue that The Guardian Australia is hoping to generate from events, however she wouldn't rule out working with brands in a sponsorship capacity in the future.
The Splendour in the Grass event is slightly different event however because entrance to the forum is covered by the cost of the festival ticket.
The launch comes off the back of a soft launch of the Guardian Live series, where The Guardian's outgoing editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger spoke about how the news organisation dealt with the fallout from publishing the Edward Snowden leaks.
The Guardian Live events also tie-in with the publisher kicking off masterclasses in this market. At the time Ian McClelland, managing director of The Guardian Australia told AdNews that he was excited about getting involved in the rise of the “knowledge industry”.
“This whole idea that entertainment doesn’t have to be about theatre or film, it can actually be about self edification, learning new things and listening to interesting people.”
The Guardian also isn't the first publisher to bolster its events play, with Bauer Media recently looking to ticketed events as a major source of income in the hope they could account for up to 30% of projected total ad revenues in the near future.
Hearst Bauer Media Brands general manager, Marina Go, recently told AdNews that while the majority of the publisher’s revenue still comes from print advertising, she sees the space for the rapid growth of events as big business for Bauer and its brands.
“90% of our revenue still comes through print, about 10% comes through digital, certainly in the next year or so events could take up 10% of our revenue stream,” Go said.
“I look at business models overseas and there are some very successful ones out of the US where events make up a third of the total revenue stream. I'd like to see it get to that point with the Hearst business.”
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