The digital publishing and advertising ecosystem continues to evolve rapidly, with partnerships increasingly focused on data, discovery, and user experience. One such development is the partnership between Taboola and Are Media, a collaboration that highlights the growing importance of native advertising, content recommendation engines, and first-party audience insights across premium publisher environments.
At first glance, this partnership may appear to be another technology integration between an ad platform and a publisher. In reality, it represents a broader shift in how content is distributed, how audiences engage with media, and how advertisers can access more meaningful performance signals in a fragmented digital landscape.
Who Is Are Media?
Are Media, formerly known as Bauer Media Australia, is one of the largest and most influential publishers in the ANZ region. The company owns and operates a portfolio of highly recognisable and trusted brands, many of which have been part of Australian media culture for decades.
These titles include The Australian Women's Weekly, Woman's Day, Marie Claire, ELLE, Better Homes and Gardens, and a wide range of digital extensions that reach millions of users each month. Are Media's content primarily targets women, spanning lifestyle, fashion, health, food, entertainment, and current affairs.
What sets Are Media apart is not just scale, but depth of engagement. Its audiences are highly invested in long-form editorial, premium storytelling, and trusted recommendations. In an era where attention is increasingly scarce, publishers that maintain strong reader relationships hold a significant advantage, both editorially and commercially.
Who Is Taboola?
Taboola is a New York–based advertising technology company best known for its native discovery platform. While many users recognise Taboola through the "Recommended for You" modules placed at the end of articles, the company has evolved well beyond basic content widgets.
Today, Taboola positions itself as a performance-driven discovery engine, helping users find relevant content while enabling advertisers to distribute messages across the open web in a native, non-disruptive format. Taboola placements appear across premium publisher environments, offering scale beyond walled gardens such as social media platforms.
For advertisers, Taboola provides access to native formats across display, video, and increasingly commerce-driven experiences. For publishers, it offers monetisation, audience insights, and content optimisation tools that can improve both engagement and revenue outcomes.
What Does the Partnership Mean?
Through this partnership, Are Media's websites will integrate the Taboola Feed, embedding Taboola's recommendation technology directly into their digital properties.
This integration allows Are Media to display personalised content recommendations and referrals to users, both from its own editorial ecosystem and from external advertisers using Taboola's platform. Rather than interrupting the reading experience, these placements are designed to complement editorial content, encouraging deeper exploration and longer session durations.
From Are Media's perspective, the partnership is not just about monetisation. It is also about access to richer data and insights around content consumption, engagement behaviour, and audience preferences at scale.
As Asa Rossier, Head of Product at Are Media, explains:
"Partnering with Taboola gives us access to their powerful recommendation engine that provides us with even more valuable data and insights on the content interests and behaviours of our users."
This quote underscores a critical shift: publishers are increasingly prioritising data intelligence and audience understanding, not just ad yield.
Why This Matters in the Current Media Landscape
The timing of this partnership is significant. As third-party cookies decline and privacy regulations tighten, publishers and advertisers alike are rethinking how they understand and reach audiences.
Premium publishers such as Are Media sit on a wealth of first-party data, derived from direct relationships with readers. When paired with a sophisticated discovery platform like Taboola, that data becomes even more actionable.
Instead of relying solely on impressions or clicks, advertisers gain access to real engagement signals, how users interact with content, how long they spend on pages, and what topics drive deeper interest.
At the same time, publishers benefit from improved content distribution, smarter recommendations, and additional revenue streams that do not compromise editorial integrity.
How Can Advertisers Use This Partnership?
For advertisers, the Taboola–Are Media partnership opens the door to more transparent and measurable native advertising opportunities within premium Australian publisher environments.
Advertisers running campaigns through Taboola can now access insights and performance data for content hosted on Are Media's sites. This includes:
- Page views
- Engagement metrics
- Real-time performance monitoring
- Content interaction signals
Unlike traditional display formats, native advertising through platforms like Taboola allows brands to tell richer stories, drive consideration, and guide users further down the funnel.
Crucially, advertisers are not limited to awareness-based outcomes. With the right strategy, native placements can support mid- and lower-funnel objectives such as lead generation, site visits, and even commerce-driven actions.
Strategic Implications for Native Advertising
This partnership reinforces a key trend we see across the digital ecosystem: native advertising is maturing.
Once considered a top-of-funnel tactic, native has evolved into a performance-driven channel that can be measured, optimised, and scaled when used correctly. The integration of Taboola's feed into Are Media's premium inventory gives advertisers access to engaged audiences in brand-safe, contextually relevant environments.
For media planners and performance teams, this means native should no longer sit in isolation. Instead, it should be considered as part of a holistic channel mix, working alongside paid search, social, video, and programmatic display.
What Should Brands Do Next?
For brands and marketers, the key takeaway is clear: opportunities like this require strategy, not just spend.
Success in native advertising depends on:
- Strong content alignment with audience interests
- Clear measurement frameworks beyond clicks
- Continuous creative testing and optimisation
- Integration with broader performance goals
Working with premium publishers through platforms like Taboola allows advertisers to move beyond commoditised inventory and focus on quality engagement at scale.
The partnership between Taboola and Are Media is more than a technical integration, it reflects where digital advertising is heading. Data-driven discovery, premium content environments, and user-centric experiences are becoming the foundation of sustainable advertising strategies.
For advertisers willing to invest in native with intention, this partnership offers a compelling opportunity to reach highly engaged Australian audiences in meaningful, measurable ways.
If you would like to explore how native advertising and premium publisher partnerships can support your next campaign, reach out to the team at ADMATIC. We help brands navigate emerging opportunities with clarity, strategy, and performance in mind.