Media Release July 2008
Get Frank Absorbs Rival Men’s Website And Expands Into The Lucky Country
In a one-two punch, New Zealand’s largest male-specific website, www.getfrank.co.nz, has capitalized on a record growth
period by knocking out its competition, purchasing rival website www.bigfella.co.nz, and expanding into the bigger,
richer Australian market with a soft launch this week of the site across the ditch.
The buy-out and launch are strategic moves to further strengthen Get Frank’s market position, says founder Rich Henry.
“We’ve grown nearly 300 percent in unique browsers since the beginning of 2008. The Big Fella acquisition enables us to
add a strong back catalogue and make a unique agency / client offering as New Zealand’s only online men’s magazine. It
signals our intention to be the single biggest portal for reaching the men of New Zealand as a specific web audience.
“The expansion into Australia is just smart business, plain and simple. Marketers have caught on to online advertising
faster there – the percentage of ad spend online is more than 10 percent compared with about six percent here – and when
75 percent of our content crosses over to a market many times the size of New Zealand’s, it’s pretty easy to do the math
on profit potential versus cost.”
Now hosting more than 50,000 visitors a month, with 10,000 subscribers, the absorption by Get Frank of Big Fella’s
content doesn’t alter the established editorial directive, and Mr Henry vows to continue to strengthen the content and
value offering to consumers and advertisers.
Currently the site uploads at least 35 new stories a week across sections including health, lifestyle, investment and
competitions, and Mr Henry points to a new subsection in the site’s love and lust category, profiling international
models, as an example of Get Frank’s constant expansion.
Advertisers have been quick to notice Get Frank’s appeal to a high-value audience of influential men with above-average
disposable income levels. Continental Car Services is the latest addition to a first-class stable of long-term partner
brands that includes Amstel Premium and Russian Standard vodka. Lancôme Men, in a clever bid for the site’s metrosexual
visitors, recently provided Get Frank with $15,000 worth of subscription incentives.
“There is a wide range of high-end brands that would be a great addition to the family,” Mr Henry says, “and our goal is
always to attract and work only with the best. Like any magazine, we’re constantly working to provide effective ways for
our advertising partners to connect with our readership.”
ENDS
About Get Frank
Get Frank was founded in 2006 by then-student Rich Henry. He subsequently worked as an auditor at
PricewaterhouseCoopers, leaving to run getfrank.co.nz, New Zealand’s online men’s magazine, after receiving angel
investment from web entrepreneur Shane Bradley. The site publishes more than 35 articles each week free to air, with
contributions from Real Groove, SkySport, About Town, the NZ Comedy Guild and a collection of other high-profile leaders
in the New Zealand marketplace. Key partners include Continental Cars, Amstel Premium, Russian Standard and Ernst & Young. Get Frank currently receives 50,000 visitors a month, and has 10,000 subscribers.