An analysis of the Forbes 30 Under 30 marketing scheme

Here are the top 10 insights I found when I researched the Forbes 30 Under 30 as a marketing engine, including 4) how you could replicate the 30 under 30 with a five-step framework I identified, 3) how the Forbes Under 30 grew into Forbes's top revenue generator and brings the outlet 6 million extra visitors per year, 2) conclusions I drew from all 6,000 of the US honorees, including how the acceptance rate compares to Stanford and Harvard, how the richest Under 30 is worth $26 billion and the youngest ever nominated is only 14, and 1) the origins of the 30 Under 30 and why this all lead to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in the first place.

1. Forbes launched the 30 Under 30 list in 2011 as both a response to Fortune's 40 Under 40 list, the rise of Business Insider, and that for the first time in history, "being young" was "actually an advantage for most fields."

2. The Under 30 brand currently reaches 26 million 13-to-34-year-olds through its year-long marketing growth engine and cross-platform ad campaign with digital media content and live events.

3. The name "30" under 30 is actually a misnomer. The US list recognizes a total of 600 people per year, with 30 individuals selected across 20 different industries, and there are over 30 countries and regions that all have their own lists.

4. After running the 30 Under 30 program for ten years, Forbes has said there have been 100,000 nominees, with 20,000 nominations per year in the US alone.

5. With 600 spots available per year, there are about 30 applications for every spot, equivalent to a 2 to 3% acceptance rate. Forbes says it's harder to get onto the Under 30 list than to get into Stanford (4.8%) or Harvard (5.2%).

6. The 2022 US honorees collectively raised over $1 billion in funding, nearly 50% identify as a person of color, with 61% male and 38% female, and 24% immigrants from 58 different countries as wide as Albania to the Bahamas to Syria.

7. Forbes has three kinds of revenue: advertising, subscriptions, and brand extensions, like conferences and brand licensing deals. The company expects its subscription revenue to decelerate over the next few years but expects its brand extensions and advertising revenue to accelerate because of the Under 30 brand.

8. The 30 Under 30 is currently the top revenue generator for Forbes due to 1) its year-long digital media campaign that drives upwards of 6 million extra web visitors per year and 2) its 10,000-strong exclusive "nominee" community, which allows Forbes to bag multi-year advertisement deals with sponsors and charge up to $9000 per ticket for the four day, in-person "Under 30" Summit events.

9. Advertisers who sign up for the 30 Under 30 do so to reach young audiences whose finances will grow as they age, so they sign multi-year franchise campaigns. The key selling point to advertisers is the community of over 10,000 entrepreneurs and celebrities who join, promote, and amplify the brand year after year. Critically, everyone that has ever won are nearly all still under the age of 40.

10. A five-step framework to replicate Forbes's success is: 1) Build a target audience of ideal customer persona influencers, 2) attract these "influencers" with a prize they genuinely value, 3) include a viral growth engine built into your competition, 4) make sure the community around your awards can be scaled, and 5) tailor your content marketing strategy around exclusivity.

Interested to read if anyone has any additional insights to add.