At the June 2025 MediaPost Publisher Insider Summit in New Orleans, Q.Digital’s Chief Revenue Officer Justin Garrett joined an executive-level panel with leaders from National Geographic, The Boston Globe, Literally Media, and The Daily Beast. The discussion, titled “Portfolio Under Pressure: Managing Revenue Streams in 2025 and Beyond,” centered on how publishers are adapting to today’s challenging ad and consumer revenue environment.
Key Takeaways from the Panel
- Revenue Diversification Is Essential
Executives emphasized that with ad budgets flat and e-commerce/subscription growth stalling, sustainable revenue now depends on a balanced portfolio. Garrett highlighted an array of channels—direct sales, tentpole campaigns, creative services, licensing, subscriptions, events, podcasts, syndication, and e-commerce—as critical components of today’s media mix. - Tentpoles and Sponsored Event Programming
High-impact, brand-aligned events can cut through market noise and drive premium monetization. Q.Digital, for example, integrates editorial tentpoles like Pride50 and Native Son into custom advertiser experiences. - New Media Assets—Podcasts & Creative Services
Launching diverse content formats—such as podcasts or creative agency arms—is a direct path to attracting new sponsorship dollars and building deeper brand-to-audience engagement. - Licensing, Syndication, and Affiliate Commerce
Licensing content to third parties, syndicating branded pieces via partner networks, and embedding affiliate commerce elements within editorial offerings all emerged as lower-cost, high-margin revenue extensions. - Future Outlook: Resilience in Uncertainty
While challenges persist through 2025, panelists projected steady recovery and portfolio recalibration into 2026–2028 by doubling down on audience trust and diversifying revenue across channels.
“With so much uncertainty in today’s ad current market, revenue diversification was a primary topic with each publisher identifying direct sales, tentpoles, creative services, licensing, subscriptions, events, podcasts, syndication and e-commerce, as part of the current revenue mix.”
Justin Garrett
Why This Matters for Brands and Marketers
For marketing professionals and media buyers, this panel reinforces a clear trend: publishers capable of offering multi-channel activation—including editorial, experiential, audio, and commerce—are best positioned to deliver both reach and ROI. Aligning with diversified platforms enables brands to tap into trusted environments while maximizing campaign resilience and performance.
Watch the Full Panel
Want to explore the complete 45-minute conversation and deepen your insight into modern media monetization?
Watch the full MediaPost panel →
Reach out to Justin Garrett at [email protected] to learn how Q.Digital’s diversified revenue programs can support your brand’s 2025 media strategy.