Insights from Nine Upfront 2027
Trust Isn't the Finish Line: Turning Influence into Action Through Real-World Ecosystems
5th October, 2026
Ashleigh Thomas
Commercial Director, Publishing Sales
Brands increasingly need partners who understand the forces shaping purchase decisions within their category, not just media channels. The true power of connected media not only connects with Australians in those moments of intent, it transforms passive readers into active consumers.
For decades, the media industry has measured success through attention. We’ve chased eyeballs, optimised for dwell time and built a digital advertising model around the assumption that adjacent placement was the pinnacle of influence. But in an industry oversaturated by the infinite scroll, passive attention is no longer enough. The real opportunity lies in turning trusted relationships into meaningful action. And that requires a fundamental rethink of what a publishing environment is designed to do.
Australians aren’t reading our mastheads to understand the world, but to decide how to live in it. From the suburbs they invest in, to the shares they buy, the restaurants they book and the flights they board, news media is actively shaping Australian culture.
Yet historically, the commercial model hasn’t always reflected the influence publishing has on those decisions. We have largely sold brands access to audiences around our content, rather than creating ways for them to participate in the moments that content inspires. The opportunity now is to close that gap, taking the trust, authority and influence built on the page or screen and extending it into richer experiences that can move people from consideration to action.
Finding Moments of Intent
Today’s audiences move fluidly between platforms, channels, communities and experiences. For marketers, the challenge isn’t finding those audiences anymore. It’s finding moments of intent. We know today’s most effective campaigns are built around passion points: Money, property, food, travel and culture. Because they’re the decision-making categories.
Take travel as the blueprint. By pairing editorial authority with specialised commercial expertise, a brand story can move seamlessly from a weekend print feature into a digital interactive, onto our TODAY show for broadcast amplification, and straight into a consumer’s inbox.
This is the true power of connected media that puts brands alongside Australians, throughout their entire journey through life, and transforms passive readers into active consumers.
Yet even the most sophisticated content ecosystem has limitations. While digital environments excel at building consideration, the moments that most powerfully shape behaviour often happen in the physical world. That is where trust becomes participation, and participation becomes action.
The Power of Real-World Experiences
The challenge for publishers is no longer simply building trusted audiences. It is creating pathways that move people from engagement to participation, and from participation to purchase. The bridge between digital scale and physical experience is where that opportunity exists. And it’s a reflection of how consumers increasingly engage with trusted brands beyond content consumption.
We are seeing this come to life through properties like The Australian Financial Review Ventures portfolio, the Good Food Guide Awards, and the newly announced Melbourne Assembly. This is the physical manifestation of our editorial IP.
For a brand, the difference between advertising next to a restaurant review and integrating into a live culinary event where thousands of engaged consumers are tasting, drinking and purchasing is profound. It shifts the dial from brand awareness to brand experience, wrapped in the credibility of the masthead.
Consider the Financial Review About Time Watch Weekend (ATWW), the AFR Magazine’s annual watch fair where we bring AFR audiences direct to our Watch partners for two weekends in September. By restricting access exclusively to loyal subscribers, the event has curated an exceptionally high-calibre audience. The results challenge conventional performance marketing expectations: Almost 1,000 individuals registered, generating more than 2,600 partner appointments in four days across two cities. Attendees averaged three brand appointments each, demonstrating serious purchase consideration.
Most importantly, the physical ecosystem is known to generate measurable conversion. The 2025 event survey results showed that 26 per cent of repeat attendees had purchased a watch they discovered at an ATWW activation.
But creating these outcomes requires more than audience scale or premium environments alone. It requires a deep understanding of the categories where consumers are making decisions and where brands are seeking growth. The most effective publishing ecosystems are built not just around content, but around category expertise.
Commercial Specialisation is the New Strategic Imperative
As audiences become more fragmented and categories more complex, brands increasingly need partners who understand the forces shaping purchase decisions within their sectors, not just media channels. This is why we are aligning our dedicated commercial teams directly to audience passions and partner growth sectors, expanding beyond traditional media categorisation to create bespoke solutions for Retail, FMCG, Utilities, Services and Travel.
This deep category expertise allows us to move beyond standard media buys and design experiences that genuinely resonate. We see the advantage of this approach when specialised commercial understanding merges with editorial authority.
Our Scenic and Fin! Magazine High Seas launch, hosted at the Aster Bar for 70 guests, provided a tailored platform that drove genuine brand advocacy by placing the partner directly in front of an influential audience. Likewise, an exclusive event with Van Cleef & Arpels gave an influential cohort of readers behind-the-scenes access to a travelling collection of exceptional jewels before anyone else.
The Active Trust Advantage
Recently, there has been much debate about the value of trusted news environments. Trust is undeniably the signal that cuts through the noise. It’s the foundation, but not the final destination.
The future belongs to brands that can convert trust into momentum. By building lifestyle ecosystems, pioneering live brand experiences, and matching editorial authority with deep commercial specialisation, we are offering brands a new way to operate in these spaces.
Attention built the digital media economy. Trust helped to sustain it. The next era will belong to brands that can transform trust into participation, and participation into action.
