News Australia tears up the upfront playbook with Beyond’27

News Australia is changing its upfront approach with Beyond’27, a five-session series designed to give marketers category-specific consumer insights and commercial propositions.

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The series begins this week and will cover advocacy and impact, health, wellness and beauty, sport and entertainment, travel, and finance and essential services. Each session will focus on consumer behaviour and the issues affecting brands within that category.

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said the format was designed to move away from a single market-wide outlook.

“The forces reshaping consumer behaviour are not moving at the same pace or in the same direction across every category. Marketers deserve more than a one-size-fits-all view of what is coming. Beyond’27 is our commitment to going deeper by bringing the intelligence, the evidence and the thinking that helps our partners make better decisions in an uncertain market.”

Five categories in focus

The first session, Advocacy & Impact, will be held on September 2 and examine misinformation, brand reputation and the growing role of advocacy.

Health, Wellness & Beauty follows on September 3, looking at conflicting online advice and the shift from selling transformation towards providing daily support.

Sport & Entertainment will be held on September 8 and examine how fandom now extends beyond live events into surrounding stories, rituals and communities.

The Travel session on September 9 will focus on how AI is changing the consumer journey and the role of trust as a competitive advantage.

The series concludes with Finance & Essential Services on September 10, examining price-led retention, consumer complexity and the role of trust before customers begin comparing providers.

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News Australia pitches category-specific growth

News Australia chief revenue officer Lou Barrett said each session would focus on what marketers in the category need to know to drive growth.

“Every one of our Beyond’27 sessions is built around a single question: what do marketers in this category need to know right now to grow? We are not here to tell people what they want to hear. We’re going to give them the sharpest possible read on where their consumer is heading and to show them exactly how News Australia's audience, data and content capabilities can help them get there.”

The five Beyond’27 sessions will be held at News Australia’s Sydney headquarters, with networking drinks and dinners following each event.