Populis
IndustryElectronic publishing
PredecessorGoAdv
FoundedJuly 1, 2004 (2004-07-01) in Rome, Italy
Founder
    • Luca Ascani
    • Salvatore Esposito
Defunct2016[1]
Headquarters
Italy
Key people
Salvatore Esposito, CEO
Revenue€58 million (2010)

Populis, formerly known as GoAdv, was an online publishing company producing content for 550 websites and blogs across eight European languages. It "collapsed" and was put into liquidation in 2016.[1]

During its period of operation, Populis produced over 35,000 articles and videos in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. As of 2011, they reputedly received 26.1 million monthly unique visitors across their websites and blogs.[2] In 2010, they had revenues of 58 million euros. Populis specialized in writing content for different audiences and sectors including women's interests, personal finance, automobile, travel and fashion.

The company was active in several different countries, including Ireland, Italy, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Sweden, US, Australia, Russia and Brazil.[3] Co-founded by Luca Ascani, chairman of the company, and CEO Salvatore Esposito, Populis had offices in Rome, Dublin and Milan.[4] Headquartered in Dublin, as of 2011 the company employed 58 staff.[4] Its website brands included Excite Europe, Better Deals, Nanopublishing, Blogosfere and Blogo.[5]

Early history

GoAdv was launched in Rome on July 1, 2004 by Luca Ascani and Salvatore Esposito. In October 2010, GoAdv rebranded to Populis to reflect the company's increasing focus on the European production of multilingual online content.[6]

Management

Members of the Populis Board of Directors include co-founder and Chairman Luca Ascani, co-founder and CEO Salvatore Esposito and Bernard-Louis Roques at Truffle Capital. Luca Ascani has spoken at the eG8 Forum on issues facing start-ups in the current business climate.[7] In 2000, he launched buycentral.it as an Italian subsidiary of a French shopping comparison site. The company was sold to the German group Lycos in 2004.[8] In 2002, he launched ADVance SRL, subsequently selling it to Netbooster in 2007.[9]

Media Brands and Acquisitions

Populis has acquired several web portals. After adding Better Deals, a European network of shopping guides, to their network in February 2006, ExciteExcite Europe was acquired in October 2007. Nanopublishing was acquired in June 2009, followed by the acquisition of Blogosfere, Italy's largest blog network, in January 2010. Blogo was bought in January 2011.[10]

Revenues

From 2006 to 2010, Populis' revenues grew by an average of 43 percent annually, reaching revenues of 58 million euros in 2010.[11] In June 2010, Populis announced its delisting from the Alternext of NYSE Euronext.[12]

Awards

Populis has won four awards for its growth and revenues, including the 2010 Red Herring Europe 100 award.[13]

In 2010 Populis was announced as the 4th fastest growing larger digital media company in Europe by the 2010 GP Bullhound Media Momentum awards. The Group was also nominated again as one of Europe's top 20 fastest growing digital media companies in the Media Momentum Awards 2011.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 "Google takes multimillion hit from Populis collapse". businesspost.ie. 9 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Satellite Spotlight,"Populis Reports Record Revenues and Audience Figures for 2010 Confirming its Position as European Leader in Content on Demand, Satellite Spotlight, Apl 06, 2011
  3. ↑ TechCrunch,"Populis, Europe’s Demand Media, Reports 2010 Revenues Of $83 Million", TechCrunch, Apr 6, 2011
  4. 1 2 John Kennedy, "Dublin-based Populis one of Europe’s fastest-growing digital media firms",Silicon Republic, May 20, 2011
  5. ↑ TechCrunch,"Populis, the “European Associated Content”, acquires blog network Blogo for €6m", TechCrunch, Jan 17, 2011
  6. ↑ Reuters,"European Leader in Content on Demand GoAdv Announces Group Rebrand to Populis", Reuters, Oct 13, 2011
  7. ↑ eG8 Forum, "Luca Ascani, eG8 Forum" Archived 2011-07-31 at the Wayback Machine May 24, 2011
  8. ↑ TechCrunch, "GoAdv preps European buying spree after €11m financing" Jul 28, 2011
  9. ↑ New Media Age,"GoAdv preps European buying spree after €11m financing" Archived 2012-03-25 at the Wayback Machine, New Media Age, Apl 18, 2011
  10. ↑ Strategy Eye "Thematic blog network Populis acquires Blogo", Jan 18, 2011
  11. ↑ "Populis, Europe’s Demand Media, Reports 2010 Revenues Of $83 Million" Apr 6, 2011
  12. ↑ Robin Wauters "GoADV delists from France’s stock exchange, possibly looking for another exit" Jun 7, 2011
  13. ↑ Red Herring official website "2010 RED HERRING TOP 100 EUROPE WINNERS"
  14. ↑ GP Bullhound Media Momentum awards official website Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
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