Urbania turns 20 these days. Contrary to Vice or at BuzzFeed, the digital magazine tailor-made for millennials has resisted the media crisis, even if it lost its paper format along the way. His recipe? Stay independent, diversify your sources of income and develop an audience away from social networks.
“Honestly, it’s fine […] I’m not claiming that we’ve found the miracle recipe, everything remains precarious in our universe, but [notre modèle] allowed us to navigate through the vagaries of the media world”, launches, optimistic, Philippe Lamarre, co-founder and president ofUrbania.
Mainly digital in 2020, Urbania is one of the few online platforms – combining information and entertainment – to hold its own, without too many scratches. Last month, Vice went bankrupt and BuzzFeed closed its newsroom.
“The problem is that they made promises of growth to their investors, without being able to keep them. We have remained 100% independent and free in our actions, ”he argues.
Urbania has instead focused on diversifying its sources of revenue by creating sub-brands — addressing niche audiences — which are supported by advertisements and content sponsored by partners. This is the case of Quatre95, specializing in personal finance, Dehors, devoted to outdoor activities, and the University Guide, which is aimed at students. The outlet is now gearing up to launch a brand for families.
And to “bring water to the mill”, Urbania also does audiovisual production. “We are able to sell a fiction program to Télé-Québec, produce It’s just TV for ICI Artv, or making documentaries for Crave”, enumerates Philippe Lamarre.
Get away from social media
The president ofUrbania raises another error, according to him, from the media “ pure players » : their dependence on social networks. Meta algorithms (Facebook and Instagram) are putting less and less emphasis on the content of news sites, in addition to stealing most of their advertising revenue. “With social networks, we are tenants of our audience and not owners,” he points out. We just want to get away from that. »
He gives the example of “Micromag”, a format launched by his media last year. This is a digital magazine specially designed to be consulted on cell phones, the medium most used by consumers inUrbania. The Micromag thus offers multimedia content vertically, divided into several screens, much like stories Instagram and Snapchat, from which his team was openly inspired to develop its own format internally.
But to consult the Micromag, no need to go through social networks or an application. An Internet link is sent free of charge to subscribers by text or email. “We are developing our own subscriber base to have a direct link with our audience. […] We do not rule out having paid subscriptions one day. »
The magazine spirit
The creation of Micromag was also a way of rediscovering the creative spirit of a magazine. “We are bringing back this principle of appointments – this time weekly – with a hierarchy of information selected by a human and not by an algorithm, without forgetting all the fun visual work around the front page that we haven’t done since the end of the paper, in 2020. “
Philippe Lamarre had been thinking about it for some time, without succeeding in taking action. However, the pandemic brought its share of additional difficulties and convinced the team that it was time to stop publishing.
“It was a difficult decision. I really had a strong attachment to paper. Urbaniaat the start, it was the project of a group of friends who wanted to do a creative project, produce a beautiful object, different from what we find elsewhere, he recalls. […] But at some point, it no longer made financial sense to continue. »
Three years later, his mourning is not yet done. Philippe Lamarre dreams of reviving his paper magazine, for “a few special editions, once in a while”. “We would have to find a business model. The prices of paper and printing have exploded, distribution has become complicated. You really have to swim against the tide today to publish paper, ”he drops, skeptical at the idea of being able to fulfill this desire.
For the next few years, its energy will instead be invested in consolidating its brand in France. This branch ofUrbania established in Paris has had some success in three years, including the investigation of the youtubeur “Norman makes videos”, “but it is not yet a commercial success”, according to Philippe Lamarre.
“And once we have really conquered France, we will go to Belgium, Switzerland, Africa. It’s part of my megalomaniacal ambitions, ”he adds.