PopSugar is bringing its annual festival Play/Ground back for a third year, and the business of the event is starting to take shape.
The women-focused media brand, recently acquired in an all-stock deal by Group Nine, started the weekend event in 2017, inspired by having its own brand activations at popular music festival Coachella. Lisa Sugar, cofounder and president of PopSugar, admitted it was a “big risk and a big investment” but said attendees see value in it and brands are increasingly interested in getting involved.
Revenue from sponsorships and brand activations at the event, which includes activities and a number of celebrity speakers (none of which have been revealed yet), have doubled year-over-year, with roughly 200 brands and advertisers participating last year. The momentum is expected to continue this year when the event goes live in June with at least 15,000 attendees expected.
“The first year was definitely an investment,” Sugar said. “Year two was a break-even and this year we feel like we’ll be making great money from it.”
PopSugar also hosts, or is involved in, other smaller events throughout the year, but Sugar said overall, the experiential part of the company’s business makes up about 15 percent of total revenue. The
The women-focused media brand, recently acquired in an all-stock deal by Group Nine, started the weekend event in 2017, inspired by having its own brand activations at popular music festival Coachella. Lisa Sugar, cofounder and president of PopSugar, admitted it was a “big risk and a big investment” but said attendees see value in it and brands are increasingly interested in getting involved.
Revenue from sponsorships and brand activations at the event, which includes activities and a number of celebrity speakers (none of which have been revealed yet), have doubled year-over-year, with roughly 200 brands and advertisers participating last year. The momentum is expected to continue this year when the event goes live in June with at least 15,000 attendees expected.
“The first year was definitely an investment,” Sugar said. “Year two was a break-even and this year we feel like we’ll be making great money from it.”
PopSugar also hosts, or is involved in, other smaller events throughout the year, but Sugar said overall, the experiential part of the company’s business makes up about 15 percent of total revenue. The
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