In Episode 19 of Audience Architect, hosts Bill Levine and Rick Ellis speak with Sondra Hadden, Senior Director of Audience Growth & Retention Marketing at Informa TechTarget, working across the Industry Dive portfolio.

Industry Dive has become one of the most admired audience models in B2B publishing — particularly for its disciplined focus on newsletters, trust with readers, and a clear understanding of what audience products are meant to do.

In this conversation, Sondra shares how her team approaches growth and retention in a media environment where distribution is volatile, search is shifting, and audience data is increasingly fragmented.

The discussion explores:

• Why newsletters remain one of the most durable advantages in B2B publishing

• The difference between meaningful audience KPIs and vanity metrics

• How AI-driven search and platform shifts are changing acquisition strategy

• What behaviors signal a “sticky” reader relationship — and how retention is built intentionally

• How audience leaders work across editorial, product, and revenue teams without breaking trust

• How the audience leadership role has evolved from channel operator to systems builder

For media leaders navigating a more complex distribution landscape, this episode offers a practical look at how audience strategy is evolving — and what it takes to build a durable audience engine across channels, products, and teams.

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