'Relevance isn’t optional': Mamamia upfronts mark shift to house of brands and shoppable future

Mamamia has used its 2026 upfronts to announce a major evolution of its content and commercial strategy, unveiling a “house of brands” approach, new vertical launches, a deeper push into vodcasting and shoppable ads, and a influencer marketing partnership with Fabulate.

The shift is underpinned by strong audience growth, with Mamamia now reaching 7.5 million Australian women and 2 million men every month, while its global audience footprint has expanded to 73 million. Australian podcast listeners are up 5% year on year, social impressions have jumped by 1.8 billion, and newsletter engagement is exceeding industry benchmarks by up to three times.

Chief content officer Zara Curtis (pictured) positioned the strategy as a response to both shifting audience behaviours and the erosion of trust in media.

“Today, in the battle for attention against the backdrop of an audience trust crisis, being relevant and trusted is a critical driver of our growth, and audience loyalty is the ultimate result of being relevant,” she said. “At Mamamia, our publishing sweet spot is where audience need meets the zeitgeist. We move at the speed of women with the content we create, delivering deep engagement every day with the most influential of audiences - Australian women.”

Mamamia will move from a “branded house” to a “house of brands,” expanding into verticals including relationships, parenting, Gen X, food and travel.

New launches include This Is Why We Fight, billed as Australia’s first therapy-based podcast, and Parenting Out Loud, a spin-off of flagship Mamamia Out Loud featuring returning host Monique Bowley.

For Gen X women, Mamamia is preparing Unleashed, while food and travel will be reimagined around mood and need through Retreat and Eats by Mamamia. Curtis said the strategy was about meeting women where they are and creating more targeted pathways for brands.

Fabulate partnership expands creator play

On the commercial front, Mamamia has announced a strategic partnership with Fabulate, the AI-powered influencer marketing platform, to expand its role in the creator economy.

The collaboration gives Mamamia’s brand partners access to Fabulate’s technology and creator network, combining audience trust with enhanced targeting and campaign measurement.

“Mamamia has always been at the vanguard of connecting brands with female audiences in authentic, creative and impactful ways. We were pioneers in the creator economy with deep roots cultivated over the last 18 years,” said Georgie Nichols, chief revenue officer.

“We are thrilled to supercharge our offering to brands by partnering with Fabulate, leveraging their cutting-edge AI technology and expansive network of new creators. No matter the brand brief, we can deliver greater precision and performance for our advertising partners.”

Shoppable ads and vodcasting

Mamamia also unveiled a new suite of shoppable ad formats through a partnership with commerce media platform Vudoo. These include shoppable video, in-platform overlays and run-of-site options designed to shorten the path to purchase.

At the same time, Mamamia is accelerating its vodcasting strategy, with eight of its biggest podcasts, including Mamamia Out Loud, No Filter, The Spill and True Crime Conversations, to be available in full-length video by the end of 2025.

Curtis said video expansion was a mid-term strategic bet.

“It’s early days for audience discovery, though we can already see it’s positively reshaping our audience profiles in terms of solid organic growth week on week. We predict exponential growth as our video strategy rolls out,” she said.

Audience multiplier

CEO Nat Harvey said the changes were all part of building what she called “the Mamamia multiplier.”

“When brands work with Mamamia, they don’t just get our formula for growth in the content we create - they get the Mamamia multiplier for effectiveness and brand salience with women, which is trust,” Harvey said.

“Relevance cuts through and trust drives action. At Mamamia, we have that audience trust in spades.”