OUR STORY

The idea for Twenty-First Digital as an audience development agency, serving publishers, media companies, and niche brands really came about by accident. After spending 5+ years at D Magazine and a total of 12+ years in regional and niche publishing, Melissa Chowning realized that publishers were being left behind in their efforts to grow and sustain a meaningful relationship with their audiences. And at the same time, the tried and true audience development efforts that had been staples of the industry were beginning to lose their luster. Direct mail, newsstand sales, and even social media exposure became expensive, elusive, and consistently plagued by factors beyond the publisher’s control.

Around 2013, Melissa started believing that publishers had no choice but drastically evolve their audience development strategies in order to stay relevant and thrive. Her time at D Magazine provided a fantastic playground to experiment with different areas of that evolution. During her time at D, she launched the company’s first universal audience database, including audiences from the website, newsletters, print subscriptions, contests, award programs, and even active sales relationships. Up on the 21st floor of a building emblazoned with the D brand logo, overlooking downtown and uptown Dallas, Melissa took these beliefs and incorporated them into all areas of the business. And she saw results. Cost per acquisition decreased, subscriptions increased, web traffic increased, newsletter lists grew and event attendance soared. She knew right away that she was on to something with her approach.

In 2017, Melissa left D Magazine. Her commute was long, she had become a mother during her time at D and her children were hitting that age where it’s not always convenient (or desirable) to get home at 6:30 p.m. each night. And she thought she might be able to keep making ends meet with some freelance work. But, as she started to articulate the vision she had in her head for publishers and media companies to put audience development at the center and forefront of their organization, Melissa was met with a surprising amount of interest and demand from publishers all over the country.

Unable to do it alone, Melissa tapped her former partner-in-crime up on the 21st floor of D Magazine, Asher Considine, and one of her favorite jack-of-all-trades Lauren Frappier and Twenty-First Digital was born in January 2018. With a name that gave nod to the 21st floor in downtown Dallas where the forward-thinking and never-satisfied-with-the-status-quo leadership of D Magazine had allowed Ashley and Melissa to thrive, re-invent, and experiment with new tools, technologies, and approaches to audience development.

Now, our mission is the same but the strategies continue to evolve. In August 2018 we hired Natalie Paschall, a biology major with a passion for digital marketing whose infectious spirit and curiosity made her the perfect fit for the team. And most recently, we hired Andrea Wheelon, a digital ad campaign wizard with agency experience. We’ve also amassed a team of contributors with deep experience in publishing, circulation, SEO, and development to round out our offerings.

Email marketing, paid search, social media, and search engine optimization all make up the base of our ecosystem... but we’re not done yet. The beautiful thing about growing your audience is that no area of the business is immune. Content, UX, design, event marketing, and branding all go hand-in-hand with discoverability and growth. And that’s why we consider the job of the audience developer to never be complete.