Saunders said the dedication to improving society has helped the young startup get its foot in the door with clients. But they’ve needed to provide high-quality lifestyle content and news coverage to accompany its social responsibility efforts.
“Increasingly people want to invest in brands – and that includes media – that share their values and stand for something,” Saunders says.
Primer produces fashion, beauty and current affairs journalism. It covers everything from styling hacks, modelling agencies changing the face of fashion to social housing.
It has about 40,000 unique users every month, with a weekly newsletter audience of 5,000 and an open rate close to 40 per cent. Earlier this year, Primer was accredited by the Australian Community and Media Authority under Australia’s news media bargaining code as a news media organisation earlier this year.
But it faces competition in its field of expertise. There are plenty of media outlets that specialise in women’s content; Mamamia, Refinery29 Australia and Popsugar among them. There is also competition from traditional magazines such as their former employer, Marie Claire, and Harper’s Bazaar.
Prime co-founder Felicity Robinson says accreditation under the news media bargaining code was a pivotal moment for the start-upCredit:Chris Hopkins
Saunders and Robinson are using what they’ve learnt in various journalism roles in the UK and Australia, but have made several changes to the way they run things that they believe set them apart. Primer chooses not to run celebrity gossip and its fashion stories don’t use models. It also writes solely about ethical shopping choices. And for an online publication, its features are long – sometimes thousands of words. Contributors are an important part of the publication’s coverage.
“We have fashion and beauty, but also we have these really strong news-based features,” Robinson says. “That was really important to us because if you’re interested in fashion and beauty, it doesn’t preclude you from having an interest in current affairs.“
Unlike many online publications that rely on display advertising or subscriptions, Primer does not make its money this way. Instead, it generates income from what it calls “integrated editorial” – which is when brands pay for the content to appear. This month the publication will also launch a content marketing studio, which will focus on building campaigns for premium and luxury brands.
With six children between them and living interstate, Saunders and Robinson struggled in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to find a way forward. They thought about cutting costs and taking on more of the work themselves. But with news consumption reaching all-time highs during the prolonged lockdown periods, Robinson and Saunders are now confident they are ready for the future.
“It was super stressful because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” Saunders says. “The initial instinct was to pull back on spending, and to try and do as much of the editorial ourselves. But actually, we came through it really well. People are more hungry now for content and people are on their devices all the time.”
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