ACM integrates Explore brand into digital offering
ACM has expanded its travel brand Explore, with a large-scale digital integration across 85 regional news websites and increased magazine footprint.
Explore first launched in 2019, published across ACM’s 14 daily mastheads. The liftout was, at the time, produced by Big Splash Media and led by publisher and editor-in-chief, Peter Lynch. In 2022, it was brought in-house and relaunched, with expanded content across ACM’s entire network and a new website.
According to ACM’s website, Explore currently reaches a weekly print audience of over 311,000 and monthly digital audience of nearly 89,000. Overall, ACM has a monthly reach of 3.5 million, according to Roy Morgan data.
Explore has now digitised with an integration across 85 regional news websites.
Explore’s content will feature prominently on the main navigation of all ACM news websites to provide easy access for travellers.
It has a mobile-first approach to ensure a “premium” user experience, with a “magazine-style” web experience, which includes interactive surveys, quizzes, and direct engagement with travel writers.
Explore will now also be a part of ACM’s Weekend Collection, expanding its physical footprint to 28 mastheads, including the Newcastle Herald, The Daily Advertiser, The Canberra Times, The Courier, The Border Mail, and more.
In line with the digital expansion, the Saturday liftout will receive a “facelift”, with new sections and “must-read” columns. This includes a larger lifestyle section and various quizzes, crosswords, and local guides.
Kate Cox, head of content at ACM, said the larger offering reflects the publisher’s ongoing investment into content.
She claimed that 71% of Explore’s readers are exclusive, they don’t engage with major metro travel sections, and as a result, ACM is “focused on delivering a premium experience tailored to regional Australians”.
She said in a media release on Monday: “Explore is designed to connect and engage those regional Australians who are constantly travelling, particularly the majority of our readers who love to indulge in travel planning.
“The enhanced digital and print offering is part of our vision to publish regional Australia’s best travel content, delivering a better experience for our audience,” she said.
Explore’s expansion comes at a turbulent time for the publisher. In January, ACM made nine staff redundant in the print production team, following dozens of job cuts late last year when several newspapers were shut down.
The redundancies followed the announcement of a new publishing model for three regional mastheads that moved away from print editions to digital.
At the time, ACM’s managing director Tony Kendall attributed the cuts to the “loss of federal government advertising revenue and the loss of payments from Meta” and “reduced revenue from display and classifieds advertising and print circulation”.
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Lauren McNamara is the associate editor at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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