After nearly 20 years at Ogden, legendary publishing executive Bryan Welch will lead new media division at B Lab, a company focused on business as a force for good in the world
Let’s start the week with personnel moves both major and minor, per Folio:, plus a look at how digital ad revenue did in 2014, according to the IAB.
Bryan Welch Stepping Down as Ogden Publisher and Editorial Director
One of our favorite people in publishing is making big news. Bryan Welch, whose embrace of the Mequoda Method helped him lead Ogden Publications into an era of unprecedented prosperity, is leaving the company he founded to serve as CEO at B Lab’s B the Change Media.
Ogden’s brand roster includes Mother Earth News, Utne Reader, Mother Earth Living, and Grit. The niche publisher has grown nine-fold overall during Welch’s two-decade tenure, Folio: reports.
Its websites attract more than 3.5 million unique visitors each month. And after Ogden acquired Mother Earth News, that title alone saw 211% audience growth in five years upon Welch’s implementation of one of our best practices: digitizing and archiving past content. Mother Earth News signed on as a Mequoda Member in 2004, and its year-over-year page views jumped from 600,000 to 1.5 million in 2005. Monthly subscription sales climbed from $8,000 to $30,000 in that same time frame.
For all of this and more, we named Bryan Welch a Mequoda Master and inducted him into our Hall of Fame in 2014. To see more of Bryan’s accomplishments, read Don’s story from September.
Now, Bryan Welch will work his magic at B Lab, a nonprofit focusing on corporate accountability. The Nutting family, owner of Ogden, is an investor in this group, as well, Folio: reports. Welch will serve as CEO for its B the Change Media.
“Capitalizing and launching the media brand will be his first priority, he says, which is slated for the full multiplatform treatment: print – newsstand and subscription – websites, newsletters, podcasts, video and events,” writes Michael Rondon.
“While exact details are still being determined, Welch says the project, which will launch by year’s end, will rely both on reader and sponsor revenue, though he expects the majority will come from the latter. Practicing what it preaches, sponsoring companies will have to meet the same standards that B Lab promotes.
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“We want to inspire people to make career decisions, business decisions and buying decisions based on conscience,” Bryan Welch tells Folio:. “In broader business media, too often a company’s conscientiousness is trivialized, it underestimates the growing importance of transparency in building brands.”
Bill Uhler will succeed Welch as publisher, Folio: reports.
Learn more about Mequoda Masters and the Mequoda Digital Publishing Hall of Fame.
Other Personnel Moves in the Publishing Industry
Hearst Magazines Digital Media has named Jessica Cumberbatch Anderson as Director of ElleDecor.com and Veranda.com, Folio: reports. Meanwhile, Faye Brennan is now senior editor at Women’s Health. And Nannette Fevola is the new sales marketing director at Newsday Media Group.
Digital Ad Revenue on the Rise
According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, digital ad revenue hit $49.5 billion in 2014, a new record. The mobile side saw a 76%, the IAB says, and along with video represented the most significant growth segment.
Bryan Welch executed the Mequoda Method to perfection, and generated serious revenue for Ogden Publications in the process. You can do the same. Start by downloading our free Organic Audience Development Strategy Handbook today!
To read more about Bryan Welch and other publishing executives making moves, visit Folio:.
