Exclusive: BDG's influencer pivot
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Hugel at Nylon's Surf Lodge residency in Montauk, N.Y. Photo: BFA, Madison McGaw
BDG Media, the parent company to fashion and lifestyle publications such as Bustle, Nylon and Scary Mommy, expects to be profitable this year and earn up to $130 million in revenue, its CEO and founder Bryan Goldberg tells Axios.
- Last year it earned around $110 million in revenue, he said.
Why it matters: A few years ago, Goldberg was focused on scaling his portfolio to take the company public or sell it. Now, he's leaning into BDG's niche brands to grow memberships around social influencers.
- "We are the next generation influence company," Goldberg says.
Zoom in: Core to BDG Media's strategy has been investing in new revenue streams — notably memberships and events — while also cutting back significantly on costs.
- Roughly 240 people work at the company today. At its peak, it employed 400.
- "Our focus right now is driving significant cash flow," Goldberg says.
- "We may sell the business in the coming years, but not until we have proven that we can drive significant growth and cash flow. We'll get more for the business when we're highly profitable, and we're along the way," he notes.
State of play: BDG makes the majority of its revenue on direct advertising sales. Goldberg hopes memberships will drive more momentum to that business.
- BDG launched its first major membership pegged to its fashion and lifestyle brand Nylon this year.
- It's been positioning Nylon as a destination for top influencers by throwing big parties at marquee events such Art Basel, Coachella and New York Fashion Week.
- The first-party data the company collects from influencers, including their addresses, is a real, valuable asset, Goldberg says. "The data is a function of the trust we have with the influencers."
How it works: Unlike most media companies, members don't pay.
- The company has selected members from a pool of over 12,000 applicants to be a part of an elite club of social influencers that it can then use to upsell brands.
- BDG has so far accepted 1,100 Nylon members to date and expects to add another 1,500–2,000 or so by next year.
- It makes money selling sponsorships to brands at its major events, with the promise of reaching top influencers.
What's next: The company is now hoping to make money from a nascent gifting program it launched last month where brands can send Nylon members merchandise for free, with the hope of exposure.
- Goldberg says the relationships and trust it's built with influencers has allowed it to uniquely broker these types of deals.
- One of Nylon's early gifting clients, Columbia Sportswear SVP and head of marketing Matt Sutton, said the membership program was intriguing.
- "The Amaze Puff campaign is all about celebrating cozy confidence and outdoor style, and NYLON's community gives us a fresh way to introduce Columbia's latest women's jackets to a fashion-forward audience — and the response has been fantastic," he says.
The big picture: BDG Media is one of the few independent media rollup companies that still exists today, but it's smaller than it was a few years ago when it explored a possible SPAC IPO.
- Women's fashion and beauty brands have had a particularly difficult time remaining independent in an era where lifestyle content has migrated largely to TikTok.
- Jezebel, Refinery29, TheSkimm and others have all been sold for a fraction of their value at their peak in recent years.
What to watch: Goldberg hopes to eventually scale BDG's membership model to all of BDG's major brands. Scary Mommy, a parenting website it acquired in 2021, is a logical next fit, he says.
