The Female Quotient launches new video podcast as it expands into media biz
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The Female Quotient, a woman-owned experiential company that hosts a slew of big events around major global conferences, has launched a new video podcast as part of a larger push into media and publishing.
Why it matters: FQ has become a staple of the professional events industry for a decade, drawing major newsmakers and corporate executives to its branded lounges for stage programming and private gatherings. Now, it's looking to extend its brand to more people outside of the conference bubble.
- "In many ways, we're the inverse of the traditional media model," FQ president Talia Bender Small told Axios.
- "Most digital media companies today are trying to build live experiences and events to deepen audience connection and brand opportunities. We have that built-in IRL audience, and they're asking for more from us between those moments of convening."
Zoom in: The new weekly video podcast, called "Broadlines," debuted Tuesday with hosts Rae Williams, a multimedia journalist and pop-culture expert, and Natalie Lizarraga, a veteran local news anchor.
- The show will be distributed on YouTube and across all major podcast platforms. The FQ will also stream it across its social channels, including Instagram and LinkedIn.
- It will offer a breakdown of top news headlines of the day that are relevant to working women.
- "So much of the news today is loud, fast, and overwhelming, but what women really need is context," Williams said in a statement. "Broadlines is the conversation I've always wanted to have: honest, culturally fluent, and rooted in real experience."
- "I have been in traditional news for a very long time, and found that you hear a headline, but never get to fully digest how it affects your life," Lizarraga noted in a statement. "I am so happy to be a part of a bigger conversation happening behind the headlines, and how it affects women."
Between the lines: The FQ has built a sizable audience online, but is now starting to invest more in publishing and developing new business opportunities around media.
- The company has around 5 million followers across major social media platforms, such as Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, which is where it primarily distributes video from its events as well as original short-form content.
- The FQ has started to invest more in short-form video series underwritten by brands. Last year it launched "The Marketing Edit," a series that spotlights bold marketing strategies and C-suite leadership, with ad agency ROKT.
- The firm also publishes a weekly newsletter, which covers the working woman's experience in today's culture. It has around 100,000 free email subscribers, a spokesperson confirmed.
- Looking ahead, "you can expect more original content across formats, like additional video podcasts, short-form series, written editorials, and industry-specific series catered toward business leaders, like 'The Marketing Edit' for the marketing and advertising community," Bender Small said.
Zoom out: Building more media assets will help The FQ diversify its revenue and business model.
- "It also enables us to offer corporate brand partners more visibility beyond a single moment in time, across platforms and formats," Bender Small said.
- "We've had strong success creating branded content with companies and think of The FQ as a modern publisher," she noted, citing an example of a "Celebrating Leaders in AI" digital campaign that it recently launched with Cisco.
- The new "Broadlines" series will remain editorially led by The FQ, but will have opportunities for advertising.
Zoom out: The FQ was founded by CEO Shelley Zalis in 2015 and has remained privately owned and funded since.
- Zalis told Axios the company is in "a uniquely strong position" because it's been able to grow organically year-over-year. That growth has been powered mostly by brand partnerships around its events and branded content around some of its digital media.
- Zalis said she plans to reinvest in the company as it expands into media for continued growth.
The bottom line: "At a time when the media landscape is changing drastically, The FQ continues to grow and garner unprecedented engagement rates," Zalis said.
