media's underdog: how Front Office Sports scores big

good morning media folks ☀️

The media industry is in it’s worst nightmare right now.

Numerous established companies are laying off employees, or shutting down altogether. This is alarming because this was not anticipated at all for 2024. There's been a series of disputes between unions and management and efforts to sell off major media brands. All to alleviate financial pressures. Not to mention, slowing Ad revenue growth has made it even tougher to manage the environment. From Google to The Messenger, to the Wall Street Journal... everyone is affected.

But not all is lost! There are still a few media businesses proving it’s still possible to build a thriving establishment.

If you're not familiar with Front Office Sports, they were created by Adam White and Russell Wilde Jr. Both have great backgrounds, but nothing crazy extensive that would put them ahead of the curve of anyone else (The Athletic, Overtime, Player’s Tribune, etc..). It's about the decisions they made that make Front Office Sports so successful during these tough times in media.

They've experienced such rapid growth, that it was named Fast Company's most innovative company in 2021, ADWEEK's Hottest in Sports in 2022, and Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America in 2023.

We’ll discuss the key decisions they made around editorial, content, and monetization that prove why they're doing so well.

so what’s going on?

Some of the challenges that these media companies are facing are around investor pressures and expectations. The problems persist because of rising costs, over-investments, and balance sheets that have a ton of debt. That's why even the big heads like Disney, Google, and Paramount have laid people off.

But for private companies, it's even worse.

They don't have the capital to manage shifts in advertising, and old business models are not able to catch up with fast-moving consumer consumption.

This doesn't even take into account the democratization of media. There's too much competition, and they aren't able to turn profits fast enough because of that pressure. Of course, we have to take into account inflation and what kind of effect that has on media companies.

But FOS hasn’t skipped a beat. They've grown in headcount 534% in the last year (according to LinkedIn). They've focused on Admin and Operations hiring over the last year... getting their processes down instead of overhiring in sales and marketing.

defying the odds

One of the best early things that Front Office Sports did was focus on niche and underserved markets through tons of channels. They recognize that the actual business of sports, sports marketing, finance, and economic impacts of sports events and decisions were topics that weren't being discussed at all. And they leveraged the business community on LinkedIn and Twitter to build a brand identity within these niches.

They also maintain a high standard of journalism. While others focused on quick views, hooks, SEO manipulation… FOS continued to provide well-researched and insightful content that directly contributed to user retention.

On top of that, they’re hyper-focused on their community engagement. They went traditional, creating events, and webinars and leveraging Q&A's, live discussions, and interactive polls to keep their community engaged through different channels. But put their own modern spin on it.

I don't know this for sure, but my best guess is that they have segmentation, personalization, and targeted comms down pat. The reason why I can assume this is because of their focus on operations and administration growth. This gave them pointed strategies on how to engage their community while also tailoring content to meet the specific interests of different audiences.

Deep collaboration with industry figures, like athletes and sports execs for exclusive content also creates a unique value proposition. FOS gave their community the ability to reach these types of people easily.

the backbone turned into money

None of this matters if they aren't generating revenue. So what are their approaches to monetization?

With a huge reach… 800k newsletter subscribers, more than 35 million monthly newsletter opens, 1.5 million monthly page views, and over 175 million social impressions, they’ve developed a comprehensive advertising business model around this audience. They offer native and premium Ad experiences through various channels, social first executions, and highly custom content (which includes franchises/IPs, original series, and branded content). But where they really shine is their experiential and thought leadership campaigns.

One notable example is their campaign with Fidelity Investments called "Second Acts."

It was a branded content series, which highlighted athletes transitioning into new careers post-retirement. Focusing specifically on areas of entrepreneurship, sports analysis, and philanthropy.

The goal was to provide a brand lift for Fidelity as a leading retirement planning solution. The campaign drove 21 million cross-platform impressions and significantly increased brand awareness within the FOS community.

It also included a 5 part video series with notable figures like Jalen Rose, Rex Chapman, and Shawn Johnson-East. It gave insights into their life, struggles/successes, and telling stories that you don't typically hear. It focused on the theme of reinvention and positivity.

3 lessons you can take from this

niche specialization is key: Focusing on a niche can help you create a dedicated audience who are seeking specialized content. Establish authority in a specific domain, and the people will follow.

innovate with creative content: Go beyond the standard news reporting and advertising product strategies. Include storytelling elements, diverse content, and unique perspectives that can add value to your readers.

build community: Leverage interactive discussions and community events. Create two-way channels of communication, where readers can interact, share their thoughts, and feel part of something they can advocate for.

In tough environments where everyone is turning right... consider turning left.

see you next week,

shaan

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