Mike Federle, the CEO of Forbes Media, sent out the following to the staff:
Team –
Last month’s trifecta of innovations has paid dividends.
The introduction of daily cover stories and evocative new brand campaigns – all wrapped up in a beautiful new OS – has propelled us to new digital heights.
According to comScore, our total digital audience in the United States hit 71.1 million uniques in July, an increase of more than 18 percent over June and nearly 28 percent year-over-year. In fact, Forbes was the only major business media brand in the top 5 to show month-over-month growth, with BusinessInsider, WSJ.com, CNNMoney and Bloomberg.com all registering month-over-month declines.
July’s stellar showing marks the third time in the last 12 months that Forbes.com has hit an all-time digital high. In April, our total digital audience climbed to 67.1 million, which was nearly 2 million more than our previous all-time high of 65.2 million in November 2017.
Among the many successes that propelled our growth last month (and in previous months):
- Our editorial team continues to innovate with in-depth digital cover stories, immersive data visualization pieces, evocative photography and stunning video. Our contributor network – which now numbers more than 2,200 – allows us to cover a wide range of stories across industries in ways that no other business media outlet in the world can. And while our Kylie Jenner cover was a monster hit, balanced growth came via investigative pieces – such as the Papa John’s and Wilbur Ross exposés – as well as the fantastic stories that accompany our signature lists, notably Richest Self-Made Women.
- Our new OS – with its redesigned homepage, premium and standard article pages and new site taxonomy – allows readers to spend more time with the content they love. And Bertie, our new CMS built from the ground up with integrated AI tools, is helping our editors, reporters, contributors and BrandVoice partners tell even sharper stories.
- And our sales and marketing teams continue to respond in real-time to an ever-changing marketplace that increasingly favors custom campaigns that tap into coveted audiences like ours. Among the many wins this year: the new Insights-driven Intel AI thought-leadership digital magazine; JP Morgan Chase signing on as the first title sponsor for our upcoming Under 30 Summit in Boston and KPMG, whose Great Rewrite campaign earned almost every content marketing award available.
The continued growth in our digital traffic reflects the hard work of each and every one of you. Through your efforts, we are creating unique experiences for our audiences and our marketing partners every day. Thank you for your drive, dedication and cross-department integration.
