BuzzFeed, Inc. Announces Slate of New Initiatives for Advertisers at First-Ever Upfront Event

Rolls Out New Ways for Partners to Work with the Best Brands on the Internet, Across Food, News, and Entertainment

Introduces “Catalyst” Creator Network Of More Than 100 Creators

Launches Exclusive Vertical Video Product “UpShots”

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BuzzFeed, Inc. (NASDAQ: BZFD), a premier digital media company for the most diverse, most online, and most socially engaged generations the world has ever seen, today announced a slate of new products spanning all of its brands at its first-ever Upfront event in Manhattan. BuzzFeed Founder and CEO Jonah Peretti, Chief Revenue Officer Edgar Hernandez, and leaders across BuzzFeed, Inc. discussed a range of new initiatives spanning BuzzFeed Entertainment, BuzzFeed News, HuffPost, Tasty, Complex and First We Feast. Today’s presentation positions BuzzFeed, Inc. as the best all-in-one solution for advertisers seeking to reach and inspire the broadest and most influential Gen Z and Millennial audiences on the Internet.

“Just a few months after going public and acquiring Complex Networks, I’m excited to begin to share BuzzFeed, Inc.’s expanding story with the advertising community: ad solutions for vertical-first platforms like Reels and TikTok, two massive food brands that combine utility and entertainment, world-class news divisions, and unmatched influence and scale,” said BuzzFeed Founder and CEO Jonah Peretti. “We’re beginning to realize the benefits of the strategy we set out to pursue last year, and I’m thrilled to extend those to our advertising partners.”

“The new BuzzFeed, Inc. offers advertisers influence at scale,” said BuzzFeed, Inc. Chief Revenue Officer Edgar Hernandez. “And we’re tackling the challenges everyone is seeing in the market today: leveraging reliable audience data, navigating the world of influencers and creators; and leaning into the platforms and formats our audience is going to next.”

The slate of announcements from BuzzFeed, Inc. today includes:

• Creators: A new, unified Creators network, Catalyst. Some of the biggest careers in media and culture have started at BuzzFeed and Complex Networks, and Catalyst will support and work with creators across every category, including Branded Video, Programmatic, Affiliate Marketing, Editorial, and more. Catalyst will seek to double the size of BuzzFeed, Inc.’s creator network - which now numbers more than 100 - this year.
• Lighthouse: The expansion of Lighthouse, which provides first-party data to any client that works with BuzzFeed, Inc. With the acquisitions of Complex Networks and HuffPost, new and existing clients will now have insights into an audience of more than 150 million*: food lovers, sneakerheads, young parents, luxury shoppers, and more.
• UpShots: A new lightweight ad product called UpShots, designed and shot exclusively for vertical video platforms including TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and more.
• Tasty + First We Feast: The inaugural “Eat Your Feed Festival”—an experiential live event hosted by two of the biggest food brands on the Internet, now under one roof: BuzzFeed's Tasty and Complex Networks' First We Feast. Festival details will be announced in the months ahead.
• HuffPost: The relaunch of HuffPost Voices, a section dedicated to historically marginalized groups that will feature Black, Asian, women, queer, and Latinx writers under one banner.
• BuzzFeed News: The first-ever awards event at BuzzFeed News, called 19 Under 20. The event, hosted by celebrity judges, will celebrate the brightest Gen Z minds in Sustainability, Activism, Innovation, and Business.

*Source: Comscore: Custom Reporting, A13+, Feb 2022 (note: BuzzFeed, Inc. includes all BuzzFeed subsidiaries). Subject to Comscore's restatement of data across all properties pending a methodology update to iOS 15 coverage.

About BuzzFeed, Inc.

BuzzFeed, Inc. is home to the best of the Internet. Across pop culture, entertainment, shopping, food and news, our brands drive conversation and inspire what audiences watch, read, buy, and obsess over next. Born on the Internet in 2006, BuzzFeed is committed to making it better: providing trusted, quality, brand-safe news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people; making content on the Internet more inclusive, empathetic, and creative; and inspiring our audience to live better lives.