Adweek consolidates with Social Media Week
American-based global advertising publication Adweek has announced the acquisition of Social Media Week (SMW), the 11-year-old events and content company that provides deep insights and data for brand marketers, media and technology companies. The latest acquisition is another bold step of the leading global publication to consolidate its brand equity.
Commenting on the acquisition on its webpage, Adweek said: “The SMW acquisition is an important step forward in deepening our connection with these influential and rising marketers.”
The statement noted that Adweek will acquire Social Media Week (SMW) and its flagship properties, including Social Media Week Conferences, SMW News & Insights and its recently launched streaming platform SMW+. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Also commenting, Adweek CEO Jeff Litvack, said: “Social media has always been a critical way for brands to reach and interact with their consumers, and 2020 has further thrust it into the spotlight.”
Toby Daniels, who founded Social Media Week in 2009, will join Adweek as chief innovation officer, overseeing the SMW business. “Joining forces with Adweek represents an opportunity to work with a world-class team, accessing a full spectrum of capabilities which will not only help to extend the Social Media Week brand and offering, but also help us better serve our community and our partners,” said Daniels in a statement.
Social Media Week hosts in-person events across six continents with nearly 100,000 attendees. Like most events companies, SMW went virtual in 2020 and held its first online-only conference in May 2020 with more than 10,000 attendees and 175 hours of content.
“In 2020, the pandemic, the rise of Black Lives Matter and a socially distanced world reinforced the demand for real-time social engagement and the criticality of social media as a marketing platform,” added Adweek’s chief content officer, Lisa Granatstein. “We’re excited to supersize our social media programming with next-level insights and best practices to help our audience continue to capitalize on this seismic consumer and marketing trends.”
Adweek’s social media coverage currently includes industry-leading site Social Pro Daily in addition to coverage of platforms and publishers as part of our expanding Media desk.
Under Adweek, SMW’s first show will happen, virtually, in early May 2021.
Adweek’s acquisition of SMW is the company’s third purchase in the last six months. Previous acquisitions include the FUSE Media summit, which hosted its first event, Elevate: Publishing, in December; Publishing Executive, now known as Publishing Insights; and Target Marketing, part of Adweek’s new Performance Marketing vertical.
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