Growing investor appetite in backing fast-growing businesses that also deliver a social good, has been a boon for online publication Primer, which has not only managed to weather the COVID-19 storm but found advertisers to back the business.
Founded by former Marie Claire editors Felicity Robinson and Anna Saunders in 2019, the self-funded publication is the latest addition to the local crop of social enterprises - eco-friendly toilet paper company Who Gives a Crap, beauty brand Thankyou and Humanitix - that are putting a portion of their profits into a worthy cause.
Anna Saunders is one of the founders of Primer, a women’s website offering journalism, fashion and beauty which also operates as a social enterprise.Credit:Janie Barrett
Robinson and Saunders, who live in Melbourne and Sydney respectively, donate 50 per cent of its profits to women’s non-government organisations. This money currently goes to the Women and Girls’ Emergency Centre in Sydney, a decision which was made because of the two founders’ experience as journalists covering domestic violence.
In the last financial year, they donated $21,400 to the organisation.
“I remember when I was a 22 years-old, going to a domestic violence shelter in Wellington,” New Zealand-born Saunders says. “The frustration you sometimes get as a journalist is that you go in, you write your story, and then you move on.
“I also think there’s this growing narrative where many brands talk about empowering women. It’s one thing to talk about empowering women and I think it’s another thing to actually invest in it financially. We really wanted to go to the next step.”
Social enterprise businesses are growing in Australia. Data from social enterprise industry body Social Traders estimated there were about 20,000 social enterprises in the country in 2020, and the Queensland government last week announced established Queensland social enterprises could start preparing applications for grants of up to $25,000.
But there are few - if any - local media organisations that dedicate their profits in the same way as Primer. The company’s dedication to helping young women has caught the attention of popular brands, such as Afterpay, Polo Ralph Lauren, Thank You and Coach, that may have typically aligned with traditional magazines or other online female publications.
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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