Financial Times strengthens B2B marketing and thought leadership expertise with full acquisition of FT Longitude

23 June 2022 – The Financial Times has announced the completion of its full acquisition of Longitude, a specialist provider of thought leadership and content marketing services to a multinational corporate and institutional client base.

Following the purchase of a majority stake in Longitude in 2018, the thought leadership and content marketing business is now a fully-owned subsidiary of the FT, solidifying its position as a trusted partner for brands globally and further strengthening the FT’s commercial proposition to provide a wider set of integrated B2B marketing services.

As part of the transition, Longitude will become FT Longitude effective immediately.

FT Longitude Chair and FT Management Board Director, Angela Mackay said: “The product offering from Longitude fits very naturally into the FT portfolio and the FT readership. Having the power of a global brand like the FT behind Longitude is a calling card that says this company is part of a five star, gold standard, international media group.”

FT Longitude CEO Rob Mitchell said: “FT Longitude combines the power and reach of the FT brand and its unrivalled audience, with Longitude’s deep expertise in B2B thought leadership and content marketing. This is an exciting development both for Longitude and our global client base.

The FT Group has a wide range of capabilities and expertise that can be applied to solve our clients’ marketing challenges. By bringing those together in new and innovative ways, we can offer really powerful end-to-end marketing solutions for our clients.”

The news is announced just as new research from FT Longitude is released, exploring how businesses evaluate and select partners for strategic transformation programmes. 

Among other findings, the survey of 800 senior executives revealed that ideas and expertise matter most when it comes to selecting a provider for strategic initiatives. 90% of executives in the survey point to the value of innovative ideas as one of the most important factors. This highlights the value of thought leadership in communicating a message and helping audiences get to grips with the complexities of choosing partners for key transformation programmes.

For more information on the research, click below.