Evolving Media, Engaging Communities: Tammy Galvin of Greenspring Media

Greenspring Media is the team behind Minnesota Monthly, Midwest Design, custom content for destinations and a robust lineup of consumer events across the Twin Cities. Tammy Galvin, Publisher of Greenspring Media, has helped lead Greenspring's transformation into a multi-platform, content and experience company, blending print, digital and live events to engage audiences in meaningful ways. Tammy discusses her journey, how Greenspring keeps its brands fresh and the growing role events play in connecting communities.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Growing Destinations podcast is brought
to you by Experience Rochester.
Learn more about Minnesota'sthird largest city, which is
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
For publishers.
Today, you have to embrace theidea that content is no longer
bound by format and deliveryisn't bound by a subscriber list
bound by format and deliveryisn't bound by a subscriber list
.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topicsfrom tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Vaughn-Bank.
We're on location at theheadquarters of Greenspring
Media, the team behind MinnesotaMonthly Midwest Design, custom
content for destinations and arobust lineup of consumer events

(00:53):
across the Twin Cities.
Today I'm joined by TammyGelvin, publisher of Greenspring
Media.
Tammy has helped leadGreenspring's transformation
into a multi-platform contentand experience company, blending
print, digital and live eventsto engage audiences in
meaningful ways.
We'll dive into her journey howGreenspring keeps its brands

(01:15):
fresh and the growing roleevents play in connecting
communities.
Tammy Gelvin, welcome to theGrowing Destinations podcast.
Thanks for having me, bill.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Tammy Gelvin welcome to the Growing Destinations
podcast.
Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Bill, you've had quite the career in publishing
25 years in fact.
Tell us about your careerjourney.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
I was first exposed by my dad in the Miami Herald
newsroom years ago.
I was probably about five andthe vibrancy, the energy.
I can still remember Smoke,because you know they used to
smoke in the offices back thenthe smell of ink.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
The smell of ink.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
And these crazy shoots that were like the bank
shoots that carry things totellers Well, that's how copy
used to be transferred from deskto desk, and so I remembered
that really vividly and thatbecame turned into a love for
writing at a pretty early age,and I actually went to school
for journalism.
So, unlike most publishers, Icame up through the editorial

(02:08):
side of the ranks.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
Tell us your journey, then, leading to Greenspring.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, I was fortunate , right out of college, to fall
into what was then known astrade or now more commonly known
as B2B journalism.
And I fell into that right awaywith my first publishing
company.
Out of college, the ripe oldage of 22, was running as an
editorial assistant behind somevery niche publications in the
apparel industry, manufacturingand automotive, restyling,

(02:35):
aftermarket areas very, veryniche.
But what it did was it exposedme to this world.
You know, going throughjournalism school, you hear
about consumer publishing,people Magazine, usa Today,
things like that.
I didn't know that this B2Bworld existed.
I've spent many years there andthen eventually made it to the
dark side of sales and marketing, as they might say, and have

(02:56):
stayed here ever since, but withthat love of journalism at my
heart.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Greenspring Media has been a staple in the publishing
world for over 55 years.
How would you describe thecompany's journey from its early
days to now as a multi-platformcontent powerhouse?

Speaker 2 (03:12):
We began, like most traditional publishers, with a
very strong commitment to localstorytelling.
So, through the pages ofMinnesota Monthly, we did just
that.
Fast forward almost six decades, if you can believe it, and
we're now really a true contentstudio, producing award-winning
work across pretty much everyplatform print, digital, custom
events.

(03:32):
But one thing that has been thethrough line of all that is
that storytelling.
All that has changed is how wenow share it and where we share
it.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
As a publisher.
What does your day-to-day looklike now, and where do you focus
most of your energy?

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Well, no, two days are alike, which is something I
certainly love.
I spend a lot of my time onstrategy, looking ahead and
identifying growth opportunities, new business opportunities,
while making sure that our teamshave what they need to do their
best work.
We're up to about 120 printpublications a year now.
So do the math, it averages outto two annually pretty much

(04:08):
right.
And on top of that we'vedoubled our workforce in the
past three years through twovery large acquisitions, and so
those have kept me very busyonboarding basically half of a
company and trying to assimilatethese new what were distinct
teams into our team.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
How do you approach nurturing talent across
editorial sales creative teams,especially in such a fast-moving
, multi-channel environment?

Speaker 2 (04:36):
You know, I think, like anything, it starts with
trust and communication.
We invest in our people throughmentorship, collaboration,
encouraging cross-departmentallearning.
We are extremely nimble andagile, we experiment, we pivot,
we stay curious, and that cutsacross editorial art sales.
And in order to do that, wereally have to make sure that

(04:58):
people feel like they have avoice.
They can say hey, I need help.
Those are strong, powerfulwords in our environment, not
foreseen as a weakness, becausethat means we can help them,
give them the tools to produceeven better products.

Speaker 1 (05:12):
How has the environment in terms of your
work culture changed post-COVID?

Speaker 2 (05:19):
Coming into COVID.
We had just moved to thisbeautiful space here in central
Bloomington from out fromdowntown Minneapolis and we went
from a kind of you know 10thfloor of the Baker building
downtown to this beautiful opento the roof deck warehouse type
feel.
So our culture, we felt, wasclicking on all cylinders and
then three months later I senteverybody home because the

(05:41):
pandemic hit.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
I can relate.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yes.
Later I sent everybody homebecause the pandemic hit.
I can relate, yes, and what wasinteresting is I honestly
thought when we came back aboutnine months later that we'd just
pick up where we left off.
But the reality is we allchanged as individuals, every
last one of us.
The pandemic did that right.
Our priorities changed.
What was important going intoCOVID versus coming out changed,
and so, therefore, as a company, our culture changed and I

(06:07):
brought together all the headsof the departments and we sat
down and spent a lot of timetalking about who are we now,
what do we do?
How do we go forward?
I think one of the best examplesgoing into COVID, we were a
butts in seats company 24-7.
People came ate, five sat intheir chairs, did their job.
When we came back, we realizedpeople didn't like that anymore.
They wanted the flexibility.

(06:28):
So, rather than being forced tostart an official what people
call hybrid or temporary remotepolicy, ours is an official
work-from-home policy that wewould never have had pre-COVID
and to this day, we still areworking on that culture.
We want to have fun.
We take what we do seriously,but we want to have day.
We still are working on thatculture.
We want to have fun.
We take what we do seriously,but we want to have fun while we
do it.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
What have been some of the biggest changes in the
magazine industry that you'vehad to navigate?

Speaker 2 (06:56):
Here at Greenspring.
I would say it was the digitaldisruption right In my career.
I'd say it was probably back inthe early 2000s when they said
print was going to die and, aswe know, it hasn't.
Has it evolved Absolutely.
Might it continue to diminishin the future and future
generations, perhaps, and that'swhy these extensions of the
print brand are so veryimportant.
So I think, digital disruptionfirst and foremost.

(07:17):
We embraced that early on bystarting a digital marketing
studio.
Another shift, I guess I wouldsay, is the changing audience
expectations.
Today's reader wants morepersonalization, more
interactivity and content thatmeets them where they're at.

Speaker 1 (07:34):
And you can get them still in a dentist's office with
the magazine to something theyget emailed to them during the
course of the day or somethingfed to them on their phone.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
Exactly For publishers.
Today, you have to embrace theidea that content is no longer
bound by format and deliveryisn't bound by a subscriber list
.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
I've read Minnesota Monthly for years, so let's take
a look at that.
How do you keep a publicationlike that that has been around
fresh and you still havecompetition for the reader, both
online and print?
But from a print perspective,how do you keep Minnesota
Monthly still viable?

Speaker 2 (08:14):
Well, the last six decades really.
It comes down to two things youreally have to be in touch with
your audience.
You have to understand thecommunities that they live and
breathe in, both from aprofessional and a personal
standpoint.
We do that with research.
We do that with annual auditsof our audience.
We also use what back in theday were called brand extensions

(08:35):
ie events to really understandthem and get to know them even
better, bringing that theadvertiser who wishes to reach
the print subscriber into aface-to-face environment and
having an opportunity for activedialogue.
What is it you want to see moreof?
What do you want to see less of?
I think the greatest advent ofsocial media for publishers is

(08:55):
that it has created a heightenedengagement ability for that
communication.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
Well, you mentioned events, so let's talk a little
bit more about that.
How do events complement yourmedia in content strategy?

Speaker 2 (09:09):
In two ways, I guess.
The first would be that, like Isaid, it is taking our core
advertisers in some cases andbringing our reader to them in
an interactive, immersive way,which is exactly what we're
doing with print, where thefocal point might be at the
printed word.
In the event it's an activationor it's a sampling event where
they get to sample the latestproduct or service or food from

(09:33):
one of our clients, ourexhibitors.
The other way that we do thatis we look at it via audience
extensions and less so.
Much about brand extensions.
So, while Minnesota Monthly,obviously, we have the food and
wine experience, we haveMinnesota Monthly Grill Fest,
minnesota Monthly Fine SpiritsClassic.
You see a pattern here.
We brand them, of course, withMinnesota Monthly, on the

(09:53):
Midwest design side, we have aluxury home tour and what we do
with those is we take a look atthe core audience and then go
hmm, how can we expand thataudience?
So you've been to Food and Wine.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
I have many years.
It's amazing.

Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, we just had our 30th at the Omni and that is
very much our core sweet spot ofthe Minnesota Monthly Reader.
Right, if you go to Grill Fest,that is an absolute, blatant
attempt to go after a youngerdemographic.
So as our aging MinnesotaMonthly Reader is coming off of

(10:26):
the market, we have a constantpipeline coming back in.
So Grill Fest skews a bityounger.
Then let's talk about CannaFest for a moment.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah, brand new, or fairly new, for you, right.

Speaker 2 (10:37):
Fairly new.
This will be our third year andthat is a completely divergent
audience and demographic thanthe two that I just mentioned.
So now we're seeing whereevents back in the day were
simple brand extensions, wherethe audience, the exhibitors,
the sponsors mirrored those thatyou found in print.
Now we're really using it morestrategically to expand the

(10:58):
total audience reach.

Speaker 1 (11:00):
In addition to your own publications, you also
produce custom content for manyclients, including tourism
organizations.
Can you share a few examples ofdestination marketing projects
that you feel especially proudof?

Speaker 2 (11:14):
I sure can Do.
You know, the first one's goingto be.

Speaker 1 (11:16):
Is it in Rochester Minnesota?
It is in Rochester Minnesota.

Speaker 2 (11:20):
We've been fortunate to produce that guide since 2018
.
It is one of our favorites.
And I think it's one of ourfavorites because not only does
it reach that very importanttourism market, but also has to
serve a utilitarian market,while you have so many people
that have to go to Mayo for notthe greatest of reasons, right,
and I think your organizationdoes just a spectacular job of

(11:44):
walking that line and trulyshowcasing the destination that
Rochester is, so that one isnear and dear to our heart.
Even if you weren't sittinghere, I would say that that one
is near and dear to our heart.
Even if you weren't sitting here, I would say that.
Another one I would have to sayis probably Bloomington,
minnesota Travel and Tourism,and it's co-branded with the
Mall of America.
Greenspring has produced thatfor almost 30 years almost all

(12:04):
the years that the mall has beenhere.
We have done that publicationMore recently.
As I mentioned the acquisitionswe've made in the B2B realm,
both in group tourism and themeeting and event space.
We now are expanding our customcontent there.
So we have produced grouptourism guides for Ohio, has it
for Circle Michigan.

(12:25):
On the meeting and event side,we've created products for
Michigan Association ofConvention and Visitors bureaus,
meet Texas.
Just it's really taken what wasour kind of niche Midwestern
market and expanded nationwide.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
I would say, and did you say earlier, 120?

Speaker 2 (12:42):
Over 120,.
Yes, a year.

Speaker 1 (12:44):
Incredible, and also for some Fortune 500 companies
too.

Speaker 2 (12:48):
Absolutely.
We've done quite a few custompublications over the years from
everyone from US Bank to in thefinancial sector, REMAX and the
realtor side of the business.
Quite a few, quite a diversegroup.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
The publishing industry has seen dramatic
shifts over the past decade,from the digital disruption
which you mentioned to changingconsumer habits.
What do you see as the biggestchallenges facing publishers
today?

Speaker 2 (13:14):
Well, certainly costs .
Back in the day, print was thecalling card and it was also the
profit center.
And with certain hard coststhat are going to go up every
single year, obviously it's notjust the paper but it's also
postage we're having yet anotherone in July, the United States
Postal Service just announcedyesterday and so those rising
costs are really changing thedynamic.

(13:34):
And so, while what costs arereally changing the dynamic, and
so while those what I wouldcall the backbone brands are so
important and will remain thecalling cards, the growth for
most publishing companies todaywill be in all the other areas
that we've mentioned.
The print products won't goanywhere, but they will become
more of that calling card, thatextent, the kind of you know me,
my Minnesota Month, monthly.

(13:54):
But here's this entirerepertoire of products and
services that we can now offeryou.

Speaker 1 (13:59):
How about digital?
Do you just see more digitalopportunities?

Speaker 2 (14:04):
Definitely we're using digitally.
We're using digital our owndigital marketing services to
extend our audiences and, as youknow, as a consumer, the things
you can do with digitalnowadays can be downright scary.
Right with Big Brother watching.
We do quite a bit ofprogrammatic advertising that we
sell to our clients SEO, SEM.

(14:24):
We also produce on the contentside, just digital content for
clients like Twin Cities Gateway.
We've done quite a bit ofdigital content for Bloomington
Travel and Tourism, and sothat's just going to continue to
grow.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
And one of the growing trends in tourism are
live events, and so will you seegrowth there too.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
Absolutely.
In fact, we see it in two ways.
We're known for the large scaleevents.
We do a spectacular job.
Food and Wine will bring in5,000 to 6,000 people over a
weekend.
Grill Fest will do about 4,000people.
Where we're really looking atgrowing is having more frequent
smaller boutique events andexpanding our footprint.
We're looking at Rochester, aswe did hold a Fine Spirits

(15:06):
Classic pre-COVID down inRochester.
That was very successful, hadalmost 92%, I think, ticket
redemption rate.
Wow, yeah, which is enormous fora first year event.
We're looking at Duluth and acouple of other cities as well
to take our sampling events to.

Speaker 1 (15:21):
Very interesting and, in terms of Greenspring as a
company, what does the futurelook like for you?

Speaker 2 (15:26):
I'd like to say very bright.
You know this is a tough year.
It's a tough year for everyone,just because of any time
there's an administration change.
There's an administrationchange.
There's a tough year this yearand a lot of the uncertainties
that are happening is making ita little bit difficult, but we
are very, quite bullish on themarket, not just print, but
digital events.
Last year was probably I wouldsay, at least in the 12 or so

(15:50):
years I've been here our mostsuccessful year yet on all
measures, and so that has reallypositioned us well for the
future.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
This has been a great conversation, Tammy Galvin,
learning more about you,learning more about Greenspring
Media and some of your successesand the road ahead.
So thank you for being ourguest.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
Absolutely Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
Appreciate you.
Thank you for tuning in to theGrowing Destinations podcast and
don't forget to subscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,Minnesota, and its growing arts
and culture scene, itsinternational culinary flavors
and award-winning craft beer byvisiting

(16:28):
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