Recession be damned, RGM Group launches online media firm for the affluent

RGM Group is launching an online media network for luxury brands today by pooling together four existing divisions.

While it seems like a silly idea in this economic environment, the company claims its first-quarter revenues were up 35 percent from a year ago and that growth continues because its web-focused advertising options can deliver measurable, targeted results compared to other forms of media.

The Venice, Calif.-based company enables advertisers to zero in on people who make more than $100,000 a year. It works with advertisers such as American Express, Gucci, Jaguar, Neiman Marcus, Ritz Carlton and 800 other high-end brands to create targeted campaigns on web sites that reach 35 million users a month.

The affluent demographic is a highly fragmented market, but the company has built a network of publishers who reach the wealthy. The company’s Razavi Global Media division provides publishers such as LuxuryRealEstate.com with various custom advertising vehicles that can be sold to advertisers. That includes integrated sponsorships, podcasts, widgets, sweepstakes, co-branded sites and other vehicles.

Another division, InterLuxe Media, is a network of advertisers and publishers organized along channels such as luxury lifestyle, travel, fashion, food/wine etc. InterLuxe Media provides marketers at places such as Frommers.com with ways to reach the audiences with sector-specific pitches.

The third division is JustLuxe, a web site that caters to the affluent and draws two million unique visitors a month. The site includes a travel-booking service with more than 1,000 participating hotels. The fourth division is LuxeCreative, a creative arm that partners with ad agencies and corporate clients to create ad campaigns. Partners include Razorfish, MEC Global, Beyond Interaction, KLS Media, Moses Anshell, and Morpheus Media.

The Venice, Calif.-based company is the brainchild of Kamran Razavi, a 30-year-old entrepreneur who started the company in 2004. It has 25 employees but has never raised any money. Razavi, who started the company at age 25, says the company was profitable in its first month. Since that time, it has orchestrated more than 2,000 campaigns on behalf of its clients.

RGM competes with traditional print media, such as Forbes, Conde Naste, CNN Money and the New York Times.