When Jovem Nerd announced that it was acquired by retail giant Magazine Luiza, two issues emerged: the importance of content in the business strategy of major retailers and the maintenance of the editorial independence of the geek content platform.
In an interview with LABS, Deive Pazos, co-founder of Jovem Nerd alongside Alexandre Ottoni, made it clear that the union with Magalu aims to expand the platform’s business. Editorial independence will remain intact.
The first undertaking will be the expansion of the RPG Nerdcast, which will have three versions in 2021. The podcast has a captive audience: to get an idea, the success of the last edition resulted in a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than 8 million, the largest funding of its kind in Latin America.
“We are going to expand the products that already exist, such as RPG Nerdcast. Without Magalu, we could only make one per year”, reveals Pazos.
The investment in new editions of the RPG Nerdcast indicates Magalu‘s interest in the podcast format. Jovem Nerd has been a leader in podcasts in Brazil for years: Nerdcast is one of the few programs in the world to hit the mark of a billion downloads – and it has remained at the forefront of podcasts even in the face of a dizzying growth of the sector in Brazil during 2020 According to Spotify, podcast production increased by 240% last year alone.
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Pazos says that new editions and audio formats will be created in the future, but only one of them, besides RPG, is guaranteed immediately: the program in partnership with Ágatha and Andreia, the wives of the Jovem Nerd co-founders.
“Our audience has been asking for this program for years, we already have some ready and very soon it will be launched. The audience will also be able to choose the name of the new program.”
Expansion and content for retail
Deive made it clear that in the coming months the audience will see the first effects of the acquisition, such as the inclusion of Jovem Nerd‘s content in the Magalu superapp. In addition to podcasts, other formats such as NerdPlayer, a videocast focused on games and published on YouTube, will win more weekly editions and benefit from the union.
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The real goal is to expand all products developed in recent years. “Our idea is to take all of our creations to other platforms, as happened with Ozob (a character that appeared in a Nerdcast RPG), which came to life in Cyberpunk 2077 game”, says Deive, without forgetting the controversy of the title launch.
“The game was unfortunately not ready when it was released and complaints arose. Ozob’s reception, however, was very positive. Therefore, we aim to take creations like him, like Ruff Ghanor and RPG Cthulhu, to new platforms and others countries too. “
Regarding e-commerce businesses, Magalu’s main focus, Deive confirms that Jovem Nerd should get involved in special dates and future projects, but the platform’s focus remains 100% on authorial content production.
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“The idea is that we also make podcasts for Magalu himself, talking about technology, marketplaces and expanding what we have already done with brands like WiseUp, Alura and MeuSucesso.com. We have a lot to grow as a content producer in general”, says Deive.
The acquisition follows the common path of gathering content and retail: intact editorial freedom and use of creative content by buyers. Magalu did the same with CanalTech and Steal The Look, and it couldn’t be different with the new partners, who cherish freedom and, especially, the possibilities of exploring new platforms with their original characters and stories.
