Founders’ Story
It has been ten years since Mediaplanet’s inception, and the world’s largest brands have now caught on to the effectiveness of content marketing. Below Mediaplanet’s founders share how their simple concept grew into an international company.
Mediaplanet’s first office in New York, 2007
Mediaplanet’s International Headquarters, 2012
It has been eleven years since Mediaplanet’s inception, and the world’s largest brands have come to trust the effectiveness of content marketing. Below Mediaplanet’s founders share how their simple concept grew into an international company.
Mediaplanet was founded in Stockholm in 2002 by two Swedish entrepreneurs, Richard Båge and Rustan Panday. It was born from a simple but unique idea: What if we could offer companies the chance to advertise in a niche editorial environment with the reach of the daily press? Wouldn’t their advertisements be more powerful when aligned with relevant, action-oriented articles?
The Print Expansion
The international expansion first began in 2004 when we rolled out offices in Oslo and London. We quickly learned the concept worked in every country, in any language, and the European expansion continues to this day. In 2007 we broke ground in New York. What started in a dingy, windowless office in Soho has since grown to a five office North America operation. In 2012 we continued our journey on a new continent, in Sydney, Australia and this summer, our third office in the US will open in San Francisco.
In 2009 we refined our design and renewed our commitment to editorial quality by expanding our journalist network, collaborating with impressive sources and educating our now global team on the importance of editorial excellence. We’ve since distributed our reports in the world’s most prestigious publications, interviewed hundreds of celebrities and featured exclusive features with leading experts in the fields of health, lifestyle, business, technology and corporate social responsibility.
As our publications developed, our client portfolio grew and more and more brands caught on to the power of advertising amongst high quality, reader-friendly content directly addressing the issues and themes most relevant to the sector.
The concept goes digital
In 2009 we brought our concept online with the birth of Online Video, an exciting digital platform that allows companies to advertise in brief educational videos produced with industry experts and distributed through highly-trafficked web sites.
Richard and Rustan’s narrow focus/wide distribution concept proved scalable once again, and Online Video has since opened in Amsterdam, Brussels and Zurich and continues to grow.
Our digital offering launched in New York in April 2012 with Conversionplanet and is now ready to enter Mediaplanet’s portfolio and has been rebranded Mediaplanet Digital. We want to meet our customers’ requirements and provide a product with the dynamics that are required in a market that is constantly changing.
Mediaplanet Digital will complement the Group’s already well-established products, Mediaplanet Print and Mediaplanet Online video.
Today we operate from more than 25 offices, 17 countries, and three continents and boast nearly 400 employees. Although we are proud of our growth, we are not satisfied. We will continue to open new markets, launch new businesses, and share the effectiveness of Richard and Rustan’s novel concept with companies around the world.
L: Richard Båge, R: Rustan Panday