Nat Harvey recently received a snapshot of a client’s whiteboard showing Mamamia at the centre of a media buying plan.
“It wouldn't have been that long ago when we would have just been one on the periphery,” she told AdNews.
“We've been able to really position ourselves as a strategic partner that delivers growth, not just brand.”
Harvey, who began her career at Seven as an office assistant, moved to Mamamia in 2023 from Seven where she was Network sales director. She started as chief revenue officer and became CEO in May last year.
She’s heard talk of a short advertising market but says that isn’t what’s happening at Mamamia.
“Our forwards are really strong and that's because of the content ecosystems that we've laid down and the long term partnerships,” she said.
“We've built a really strong base. Over the last 24 months, we've been a lot more active than we had been.
“We've been able to really position ourselves as a strategic partner that delivers growth, not just brand.”
Harvey, in talking to clients, sees enormous pressure.
“Sometimes the ad market cries poor without realising or acknowledging the pressure that clients are under,” she said.
“And sometimes publishers will punish advertisers for not having the same ad spend they used to have. And that's very short sighted.
“If you can support a client through their tough times, they'll come back and support you when things turn around.
“What I'm hearing from clients is everybody's hurting a bit …and they ask: how can you help?
“The ones who are doing really well want to invest … have increased marketing budgets, want to do bigger partnerships, and they want to go a bit deeper, and they want to smash their competitors.
“Everyone's in a bit of a tough situation at the moment, and everyone's very confused about AI … how do we use it? What do we do? How does it impact consumer journeys?
“I think media is going to take a back seat for most clients. Anyone that has a CMO, that has any sort of martech in their remit, is very focused on other things rather than the media side.
“I'm not silly enough to think that a client thinks more than an hour a week about us at most. That might even be wishful thinking, because they've got so much in their remit now.”
At Mamamia, the publisher has just completed its third State of Women survey.
One metric pressed to media buyers at the Mamamia upfront event was that one woman’s influence on household spend is equal that of four men.
With 7.5 million women engaging with Mamamia content each month, that’s a big multiplier.
“It's really compelling in that you can see trends that are starting to play out across generations,” Harvey said.
And the data also informs decisions on content, adding more understanding to what editors and podcast hosts and writers see as being the cultural themes that you can't get from data.
The survey, which polled 1,500 Australian women aged 16–60, revealed key needs and shifting priorities that have directly shaped the content slate.
There has been a seismic shift in women's happiness in their relationships dropping more than 10% across all demographics.
Mamamia is launching two new brands This is Why We Fight, hosted by clinical psychotherapist Sarah Bays, and Parenting Out Loud, a spinoff from Mamamia Out Loud.
Gen X women over 40 are cashed up, unleashed from responsibilities and ready to be the main character. Unleashed by Mamamia is in pre-production with casting soon to be announced. Launching early 2026.
And Retreat and Eats by Mamamia will be video first and published across app, site, socials and newsletters.
Retreat is focused on helping women plan the holidays they actually want to take. Launching February 2026.
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