February 9, 2021
Justin B. Smith sent the following memo to Bloomberg Media employees:
Dear Colleagues,
As we continue to reflect on the year gone by, it’s clear that our newsroom remains a critical, trustworthy global resource, chronicling seismic transformations across every industry. As a result of your dedication and collaboration, we saw record traffic numbers, resulting in a 47% increase in average monthly unique visitors across our owned and operated platforms in 2020. There was no better place than Bloomberg, for people to understand such a complicated year, and seek clarity in what has often been a divided landscape. We also surpassed 250,000 active subscribers in 2.5 years, a big milestone achieved through our journalism and a growing integrated consumer marketing strategy. We see a clear path toward making subscriptions a nine-figure business in 2021, following a 135% revenue increase in 2020.
Despite significant global headwinds, we increased digital ad revenue by 15% in 2020 and 44% in Q4 year-over-year. This is a tremendous feat, and further proof that brands continue to see Bloomberg Media as a valued partner during this critical time. By leveraging industry-leading proprietary data tools like AiQ, our Brand Health System and innovative ad products, we have a unique ability to help brands solve their marketing challenges.
These results show true value and utility in the products we deliver, arming our audience and brands with the information and insights they need to accelerate their ambition and business results.
We now have the wind at our backs to reach even more milestones this year, and we’ll do it with the same invention-led mindset that delivered initiatives like Bloomberg Wealth. Built in response to our audience’s ask for personal finance guidance, and born out of our internal SPIN <GO> initiative, this three-month-old vertical garnered five million views in December alone, up 80% from November.
Video and Quicktake are huge 2021 growth opportunities to reach new audiences. For Quicktake, we’ll be aggressively pursuing new creative programming and talent as streaming video continues to redefine the marketplace at an increasingly rapid pace. Quicktake had its best quarter ever in revenue in Q4 of 2020, with the launch of the streaming network and some of the biggest months ever on Twitter. We’ll continue to invest in our video properties, including a wider distribution of both BTV+ and Quicktake on streaming services around the world.
As we look further down the line, the New Economy Forum is set for a breakthrough year, elevating the global issues fueling our economic future in a way that no one else can — even the most established competitive global forums. Bloomberg Live will continue to deliver successful events, virtually for now, with this week’s “The Year Ahead” and our upcoming annual Bloomberg Equality event leading the way in Q1.
Bloomberg Media’s mission is to empower global business leaders and innovators by continuously inventing the solutions, knowledge and connections they need to confidently rise above the crowd, see the opportunities ahead and make an impact on tomorrow. We have so much exciting work to do together in 2021 to continue making this mission a reality.
Thank you again for all that you do.
Best,
Justin