Vivace: Editorial content system
Building the editorial system behind Spark — an open, contributor-led newsletter that outperformed B2B newsletter benchmarks by 80%.
Client:
Vivace
Category:
Agency, Content Ops, Editorial
My Role:
Head of Media (Fractional)
Vivace, an independent B2B marketing agency, needed a way to produce genuine thought-leadership-calibre content without an in-house editorial team. The answer was Spark: a fortnightly newsletter built entirely on outside contribution, curated and shaped into a consistent voice and cadence.
The Story
My role was building and running the publication as Editor. Intake and suggestions were open to any potential contributor or idea. Once submitted, I applied a more rigorous framework: advising on which idea would land with our audience, then working hands-on with each contributor to edit, tweak or reframe it before publication.
I also developed and wrote the Spark Contributor's guide, which was updated annually, to formalised and codify the process.
We tapped into the extensive networks of the core Vivace team, drawing contributors from clients past, present and potential, providing a valuable touchpoint for client relationship building, as well as collaborators and partners in the wider Vivace community.
At the time of my departure from the role, Spark had featured writing or thinking from Senior marketing and communications leaders from LSEG, CDP, S&P Global, Broadridge and IBM's own Chief Speechwriter. I introduced a standing "close the loop" process and asked every contributor to introduce another, alongside explicit DEI targets tracked per issue (consistently around half of editions written by or featuring women).
54% Average Open RAte — 80% above the threshold for a 'strong' B2B newsletter
Spark grew from around 30 recipients at launch to over 220 two years on, sustaining open rates of 54–64% throughout, against an industry benchmark where 20–28% is considered average and above 30% is considered strong for a B2B newsletter.
