The Brag Media expands into New Zealand

The Brag Media has announced its expansion into New Zealand with the recent hire of Ryan Baynes as Sales Manager.

Responsible for launching the network in New Zealand, Baynes joins the parent company of titles like thebrag.com, Tone Deaf and The Industry Observer, among others from market-leading independent global advertising platform The Rubicon Project. He is charged with driving the strategic and commercial growth of The Brag Media’s titles in the region, including Rolling Stone.

Dane Robertson has also joined the commercial team as Senior Account Manager, based in Melbourne. Robertson joins from Val Morgan and is working closely with direct and agency partners.

Joel King, The Brag Media’s Chief Revenue Officer, said the appointment of both hires to his team will greatly benefit agency partners, assist the publisher’s growth strategy and strengthen its position as Australia’s largest and fastest-growing publisher of culture titles.

“Both Ryan and Dane bring extensive experience to The Brag Media Team,” King said. “Their strong understanding of the current digital market will deliver our agency partners in both Melbourne and New Zealand more support, informed insights and recommendations.”

The Brag Media has also unveiled improved, refreshed logos and websites today to that highlight the publisher’s expansive newsletter technology and network of culture titles.

With each website providing the content engine for The Brag Observer, its newsletter network, The Brag Media now focuses and segments its audiences across 35 hyper-specific niche newsletters covering lifestyle interests, music genres and artists. Targeting by state, gender and age are also available, leading to stronger engagement and minimal churn.

Both announcements follow The Brag Media’s exclusive launch of 14 iconic global titles such as Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter and IndieWire across Australia and New Zealand – extending the publisher’s reach to 5.4 million monthly unique views in the ANZ region.

Luke Girgis, The Brag Media’s Chief Executive Officer, said today’s announcement signals a major milestone for the business and its commercial partners as it expands beyond music following a landmark deal with New York-based Penske Media Corporation.

“The redesign of our websites focusing on niches is just the first phase of a larger product roadmap for The Brag Media, providing a more tailored experience for our readers and higher targeting precision for our valued advertisers,” Girgis said.

“It is a big moment for The Brag Media as we evolve our offering as experts in music, to include culture and entertainment with the most iconic culture titles in the world.”

Pictured L-R: The Brag Media’s Managing Editor Poppy Reid, CEO Luke Girgis, & CRO Joel King

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.