Bath-based media group Future has launched three new digital brands to capitalise on the top emerging trends from lockdown – gardening, keep fit and binge-watching TV.
Future said it had brought the new websites to market at speed in response to growing consumer interest in areas previously seen as niche.
The brands – Gardeningetc.com, WhattoWatch.com and FitandWell.com – leverage content and editorial expertise from TI Media, the Country Life and Chat publisher it acquired for £140m in April.
Described as the home of outdoor living, Gardeningetc.com is a play on homes brand Livingetc and is the first major website dedicated to this part of the blooming homes and garden sector. Future said it contains design ideas to how-to’s and product guides and will cover “everything from patios to decks, garden furniture to trampolines, BBQs to fire pits”.
WhattoWatch.com harnesses the content, expertise and broad audience reach of Future’s TV entertainment brands, helping users binge smarter by guiding them through confusing video programming choices and advising them on the services and gear they need.
According to Future, FitandWell.com is the first digital wellness brand for the post Covid-19 era. Targeting those looking to improve their overall health and fitness, regardless of gender, age or fitness level, it also caters to the booming ‘active aging’ segment, tapping into the growing number of senior citizens, who are expected to more than double between 2015 and 2050. Content includes health and wellbeing, fitness, nutrition and mental health delivered through a mix of health-related news, exercise-based how-to guides, reviews of fitness equipment, healthy recipes and inspiring case studies.
Group MD Andrea Davies, whose remit includes Gardeningetc, said: “As Covid began to take a toll in March/April the Homes team realised that gardens and outdoor living would be an escape – the control that people had in uncontrollable times, an expansion of the space that we were confined to. This was evident in the research with searches for and spend on outdoor living skyrocketing.
“We recognised that speed to market was essential to capitalise on the spike in interest and spend, and the time of year. Our agility in terms of site production worked to the best Future ethos in terms of treating the brand like a start up with a low cost base.
“The team applied audience and e-commerce methodology to build audience quickly. The site has been a great success since launch at the end of June – we are already three months ahead of projected audience target figures.”
Future, owns around 150 titles ranging from TechRadar and PC Gamer to Classic Rock and FourFourTwo, said the opportunity to leverage TI Media’s content to launch new websites using its own technology platform and monetisation models was of strategic importance in the acquisition.
Group MD for Life and Style content Angie O’Farrell said: “We’re constantly looking to expand and extend our content, to find new niches and subsections. It’s both gratifying and thrilling to see legacy TI staff and content contributing to three great new launches.
“It’s genuinely exciting to be part of such an ambitious, focussed and fast-moving company.”
Future announced the acquisition of TI last November, but completion of the deal was delayed until April due to an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The takeover added 38 brands to Future’s portfolio, including titles such as Decanter, Country Life, Homes&Garden and Woman & Home.
