This week, Julio Bruno, CEO at Time Out Group talks about the brand reaching a milestone 50th birthday, the growth of their different revenue streams, and how they stay true to the Time Out brand across 315 cities. He also explains why the print magazine is still a vital part of the business, and how their unique approach to Time Out Markets is their biggest opportunity next year.
In the news roundup we discuss the Battle of the Lads, Meredith cutting 4,500 jobs, and whether the Observer was right to publish an op-ed from the prime minister (yes). Esther and Peter debut their music hall double act.
In our own words: Esther Kezia Thorpe
Getting in touch with potential guests is a task that has really bought home to me the value of Twitter. If someone shares something interesting, it’s really easy to reach out and say, ‘Hey, would you like to talk about that on the podcast?’ It’s a strategy that works about two thirds of the time.
When Julio Bruno tweeted a sneak peek of plans for Time Out 50, I assumed that this would probably be one of those times that didn’t get a response. After all, Julio is the CEO of a global publisher.
Fortunately, I was wrong, and when I thanked him for responding, his reply summed up his whole attitude to the business.
“I think that in a media company like ours, with the focus on digital, you have to practice what you preach. Imagine a CEO that is not digitally minded, and is just not there, you would question in today’s world the role of that CEO. How can you expect your team to be digital first, digitally minded with all this transformation if the CEO still has his PA writing letters for him?’
I feel very lucky with this podcast to be able to talk to some of the world leaders in publishing about how they make their business models work, their challenges and what they’re working on. It’s often difficult to choose what to focus on in the short time we have available, so I hope that our decision to ask about their revenue mix and how they operate around the globe makes for as interesting a listen for you as it was for me.
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