Why some UK publishers are investing in events spaces

digiday reporting: The digital era was supposed to mean publishers could shed expensive, pricey physical assets. Yet some publishers are putting big money into brick-and-mortar outposts, whether educational facilities or events spaces, in the hopes of wringing more value from their brands.

...The Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design

Condé Nast College was set up in 2013 to educate those looking to get into the fashion industry. Courses include the Vogue Fashion Certificate cost £8,100 ($12,500) plus tax for 10 weeks’ tuition. The College is situated in a 12,000-square-foot space in the middle of SoHo, London, which comes with a mix of flexible rooms, studios and a roof terrace. The College also doubles as a space for events for Condé Nast U.K.’s magazine brands and is available for private events.

...Guardian Space by Guardian News & Media

Guardian News and Media is renovating the Midlands Good Shed in King’s Cross, London, to launch Guardian Space in 2016. The 30,000-square-foot space will enable the company to run “a huge number” of Guardian Live events and act as a hub for its membership program. But such a large space would be hard for the Guardian to justify for its events alone. With that in mind, the space will also act as a hub for events offered by other cultural and educational organizations including Birkbeck, Central St Martins, Indytute and 5×15.

Its membership, which acts something like a patron plan, offers three tiers of status and access to events at a price range of £15 to £60 ($23 to $92) a month....

http://digiday.com/publishers/uk-publishers-investing-events-spaces/