As this year (and this decade) comes to an end, I’m enjoying people posting their 2009/2019 comparison photos. Everyone, it seems, is looking back at how far we’ve come–and eagerly ahead to what the 2020s holds in store.
For those of us at Q.Digital, we’ve come a long way, creating the groundwork for this remarkable last year of the decade, our best ever.
- Our People – We’re fortunate to work with some of the most creative, hard-working, kind and fun people in the business. This year we added two full-time team members, increased compensation and sped up our payment process for our contributors.
- Our Sites – The quality of our content continues to impress and saw each of our sites lead their category in popularity and engagement several months this year, most importantly during the massive June celebration of World Pride, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion.
- Our Partners – In 2010 I jotted down a list of “dream advertisers” I hoped would advertise in LGBTQ Media one day. This year, a number of them came on board for the first time, including Mercedes Benz, Macy’s, MasterCard, Wells Fargo, Viiv, Nulo Pet Food, and ShaneCo. They join a long list of returning partners such as Lexus, Target, Visit Britain, Gilead, Visit Seattle, San Francisco Travel, Destination Canada, Netflix, Warner Bros., and HBO.
- Our Ownership – From day one we’ve been LGBTQ owned and operated. This year we were formally recognized as a National LGBT Chamber of Commerce “LGBTQ Business Enterprise”
- Our Community – We grew our partnerships with essential organizations like The Trevor Project, SAGE, Family Equality, The LA LGBT Center, It Gets Better, Frameline, and more. Q.Digital staffers connected with our community at conferences like Out & Equal, NGLCC, NLGJA, IGLTA, Ad Week NYC, the International LGBTQ Leaders Conference, Community Marketing (both in NYC and Las Vegas), and Gnetwork360.
- Our Business – Because of these efforts, and more than a decade of learning and experience, our business had its best year ever, growing revenue 30% year-over-year.
2020: The 50th Anniversary of Pride
Q.Digital looks forward – with “2020 vision” 🙂 – to another great year in LGBTQ Media
Just around the corner on February 25 is our annual Queerties Awards – voting opens late January with winners announced at a hugely successful award reception in Los Angeles. The event has become the must-attend LGBTQ event of Hollywood Awards season.
Coming on the heels of the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, we’re looking forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Pride March (June 28, 1970, New York City). The Queerty Pride50 online program – celebrating the 50 people we are proud of in 2020 – culminates in a huge New York City event that’s one of the highlights of the Pride season.
It’s also an election year, and as 2020 approaches the journalists at LGBTQ Nation are focused on explaining the stakes of the most consequential election in recent memory.
Throughout 2020, Q.Digital will continue to delve ever deeper into the stories that really matter, from LGBT History Month, Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Transgender Awareness Week, Newsmaker of the Year, and the popular “Out For Good” coming out profile series.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading and watching our content as much as we enjoy creating it.
From everyone at Q.Digital, thank you for a terrific 2019 and we look forward to a bright 2020.