Folha de S.Paulo’s Marcelo Benez in conversation

What have been the growth areas for you in your media company in 2024?

Digital subscriptions, Digital advertising and the new design project of Folha de S.Paulo that was launched on September 1.

Is AI having a major impact on your business? In what ways?

Folha de S.Paulo is currently using AI for some specific tasks, mainly by our newsroom, especially for mechanical work that can maximize journalists’ time, such as resizing texts or translations, always with a personal touch at the beginning and at the end.

How is your relationship with the big tech platforms?

It is getting better as time goes by, with several business interfaces, such as programmatic advertising, technology support and sponsored projects of the newsroom. Just as an example, Google has released an important photo project using more than 1.5 million pictures from FolhaPress news agency, which is the first project of this segment around the world.

Can you share any innovative strategies your organization is implementing?

Technology and innovative strategies have been crucial for many of our current projects. As stated before, the new design project of Folha de S.Paulo brings major innovations: from the new content arrangement for the print edition, which makes the reading experience more comfortable and more harmonious with digital platforms throughout the day to the world’s best printing technology, that brings sharper colors, better images and doesn’t stain the reader's hands. All of these novelties reflect on the advertising array of special offerings, from metallic or fluorescent inks to ads with smell-unique formats.

In what way does advertising support your subscriptions drive?

Subscription revenues are rising. We are currently working on advertising projects that also encourage new subscriptions, such as: the best gastronomy in Sao Paulo, a 300-page magazine and a digital environment on our website and smartphones, full of information related to the best restaurants and bars in the city, supported by our newsroom custodianship, and a survey carried out by Datafolha Institute in Sao Paulo.

What are the key elements of building a strong brand in today’s market? How do you maintain brand relevance in a rapidly changing environment?

Credibility, independence, critical journalism, nonpartisanship and professional journalism features that have contributed to making our brand the largest and most influential newspaper in Brazil.

What differences do you see in media consumption across various areas/regions you operate in?

Folha de S.Paulo’s current position is focused on the national market. At the same time, we’ve been offering technology and audience segmentation possibilities for tailored advertising projects, classified by geographic regions, behavior targets, social classes, among others.

What is your overall view of the state of the advertising market?

We have been working hard on new special advertising projects, multiplatforms, branded content, seminars and revenue diversification that have been an important strategy to attract new advertisers and business segments.

Sales teams. Do you see a future where new structures, new approaches and new skill sets are required?

Since we are living in a very transformed world, sales teams definitely need to adapt to the new environment of the advertising market. In this context, the best way for a professional to keep relevant is to be more a consultant than a seller, understanding the customer needs and communication strategies, in order to offer the best solutions. That is the best way to build long term relationships with agencies and advertisers.

Where does print fit into your advertising portfolio?

From the advertising perspective, print is still relevant in Folha de S.Paulo’s potfolio and represents 65% of revenues, due to the perception of credibility. Our sales teams are multiplatform, so they sell advertising in both ways: only print and also multiplatform projects.

Events. What do you do in this space?

Events have been an important ingredient in the revenue diversification mix. All members of our sales teams can sell sponsorships for different events. We’ve been carrying out events in different ways: organized by the newsroom or by Folha Studio when the sponsor prefers to work together on several events.

What is your take on future advertising trends?

Advertising will always be present in relevant vehicles due to their credibility and power of influence in societies. In this context, print can still be effective for reaching audiences through niche publications, like printed books. Regardless of the platform, the most important trend is that among several media options, advertisers will be where important audiences are.

How do you envision the media landscape evolving over the next decade? What role will traditional media play in this future?

Traditional media can continue being a safe harbor of credibility in the future, driven by technological advancements and open mind to adapt to new consumer preferences.

As we look towards 2025, can you offer any comfort or words of wisdom to those media companies who have seen ad revenue losses this year?

The best way is to focus on tailor-made projects for advertisers because every time we can make their eyes shine through an innovative approach, they strive to find resources to sponsor those projects.

More about Mark Challinor: Mark is a commercial and media advertising strategist. He recently led the International News Media Association’s (INMA.org) Advertising Initiative (the news industry’s deeper dive into media advertising). He has also been European and global president of INMA. He produces a monthly Future of Media Advertising newsletter on Linkedin, as well as running an advertising committee made up of senior executives from across the world’s media. Mark is now CEO of News Media UK Consulting. Follow Mark on X: @challinor and LinkedIn.

Last week, we had time with The Globe and Mail’s Tracy Day. You can catch up on the News Horizons hub.