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BNP Media Evolves as Marketing Partner Amid Challenging Ad Market

By: Christiana Sciaudone

Selling compelling ads in digital media isn’t always easy, and it’s getting even harder, according to B2B media publisher BNP Media. The 98-year-old company publishes content on topics ranging from food engineering to roofing via more than 45 brands, controlling titles such as Packaging Strategies and Candy Industry. And while it may seem they’ve got the upper hand in catering to industry niches – and even the niches within those niches – competition for ad dollars from behemoths like Google and LinkedIn is ever-present.That’s forcing BNP to invest in marketing offerings that go above and beyond. They even acquired a marketing agency last year with a team of 20 to 30 specialists to help advertisers reach readers not only on BNP sites, but across platforms.“We're trying to talk to [advertisers] about ways that we can become a marketing partner for them, rather than just a place to come in and put an ad,” Tagg Henderson, owner and co-chief executive officer, told A Media Operator.Henderson, who runs the company along with brothers and fellow co-CEOs Harper and Mitchell, is focused on lead generation for his thousands of small business customers. The advertisers spend an average of $15,000 to $20,000 and often have very small marketing teams that don’t have the bandwidth to tackle the various channels–from video to email to print magazines–through which they can reach their desired audience. Henderson sees these customers as partners, even if it benefits competitors. That’s why BNP is “building websites, building landing pages, helping them do retargeting, just helping them overall with their digital marketing efforts.”“It's certainly about survival, but it's also just about being realistic about… all the options they have in front of them today,” Henderson said. Tough times, Opportunities AheadIt’s been a challenging year for BNP, which closed two brands and laid off several employees. Henderson declined to comment on how many. They now have 340 staff members from a peak of 500 a decade ago. The company’s profit margin has also come under pressure, though it is still making money. Sales should total $65 million this year, and Henderson is targeting growth of 3% to 5% in 2025. BNP pivoted to largely digital products a few years ago within a short 90-day timeframe and they now represent 55% to 60% of revenue. Events represent 30%, and the rest is comprised of three remaining print magazines and continuing education sales. While printing and postal costs have dropped as a result of the pivot to digital, the tech investments to go mainly digital and the marketing focus come with a high price.And simply delivering readership numbers isn’t enough anymore. In digital, Henderson has found that it’s all about engagement. More sophisticated companies want to see those readers who are engaging with content and their market messages, Henderson said. For example, BNP might have 500 people who clicked on an email about a marketing message. BNP will then go and analyze those numbers and figure out who has engaged with similar content or services and present 10 to 15 readers that their sales people can talk to. The rest then go through a nurture campaign. “We're really leaning into using our content and using advertisers’ content to push people through the sales funnel,” Henderson said. The key for BNP is to give advertisers “somebody that really wants to engage, really wants to have a meeting with them, really wants to learn more about their product,” Henderson said. “Not just ‘here's a bunch of people who saw your ad or here's a bunch of people who clicked on something.’” And while they do face competition from Google to small publishers, their niche markets do count for something, and they’re trying to make the most of it. “We're really trying to leverage the assets that we have that a social media platform might not or Google might not,” Henderson said. “We're really leaning into using our content and using advertisers’ content to push people through the sales funnel in a way that is really delivering high quality leads to an advertiser, somebody that really wants to engage, really wants to have a meeting with them, really wants to learn more about their product.”