WhatTheyThink
WhatTheyThink is a member-driven B2B media platform serving the global printing and sign industries with daily news, analysis, industry data, webinars, video, and a quarterly journal, monetized via freemium subscriptions and advertising.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersLexington, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What WhatTheyThink does
WhatTheyThink is a privately held, member-driven B2B media organization founded in 2000 and headquartered in Lexington, United States, that serves as the principal information source for the global printing and sign industries. Its core product is a multi-format content platform centered on WhatTheyThink.com, delivering daily news, commentary and analysis, industry data (PrintStats, supported by Keypoint Intelligence), video, webinars, and both a digital/print magazine and a Quarterly Journal. The content library exceeds 13,900 articles and is organized by vertical section — Wide-Format & Signage, Packaging, Software, Finishing & Embellishment, Digital & Inkjet, Textiles & Apparel, and Offset — covering commercial printers, in-plant operations, sign/display companies, mailing services, and software/workflow vendors.
The platform is built on a freemium model: a free Basic membership providing newsletter access and limited content, a paid Individual Premium membership priced at $199/year unlocking full commentary, industry data, and special reports, and a Corporate Membership tier with discounted team-wide pricing distributed through a direct-sales motion. A separate advertising and custom-content revenue stream includes media planning, lead generation, custom content development, and video production sold to print-industry advertisers.
WhatTheyThink operates with a small team (1–10 employees), is privately held with no disclosed funding or parent company, and reports no enterprise customers, M&A activity, or leadership changes in the available data. Its competitive positioning rests on incumbency in a niche vertical — a multi-decade content archive, multi-channel daily distribution (newsletter, web, video, webinars, print), and an exclusive data partnership with Keypoint Intelligence — rather than on technology differentiation, AI capability, or scale advantages.
WhatTheyThink firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- WhatTheyThink
- Legal name
- WhatTheyThink
- Website
- https://whattheythink.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- WhatTheyThink is a member-driven B2B media platform serving the global printing and sign industries with daily news, analysis, industry data, webinars, video, and a quarterly journal, monetized via freemium subscriptions and advertising.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
WhatTheyThink industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Trade Media and Market Intelligence for the Printing Industry
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290), Media Representatives (541840)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- News & Content Aggregation Portals (BPAMAAAI)
Keywords
Where WhatTheyThink is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lexington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
WhatTheyThink business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Premium Membership Subscriptions: Individual premium membership at $199/year provides full access to all commentary, industry data, economic trends, special reports, webinar archives, and white papers.
- Corporate Memberships: Team/organization memberships providing premium access for entire teams at discounted pricing, including webinar archives and white papers.
- Basic Free Membership: Free tier includes email newsletter and limited access to drive user acquisition and engagement before conversion to paid memberships.
- Advertising and Marketing Programs: The platform offers advertising, media planning, lead generation, custom content development, and video production services to reach the printing industry audience.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free membership with basic access to email newsletter, limited content, webinars, and white papers. |
| Subscription | Annual | Full access individual premium membership for industry executives seeking comprehensive market intelligence. |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium membership for entire teams or organizations at discounted pricing. |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
WhatTheyThink product offering
Product offeringCore offering
WhatTheyThink runs a member-driven digital media platform that delivers news, commentary, analysis, video, webinars, a quarterly journal, and a magazine to the global printing and sign industries. Members access content through tiered memberships (Basic free, Individual Premium at $199/year, and Corporate), with premium tiers unlocking full content, PrintStats industry data, special reports, and webinar archives. Advertising and custom content services provide complementary revenue from advertisers seeking access to the printing industry audience.
Product overview
WhatTheyThink is a member-driven media platform offering a unified content ecosystem for the global printing industry. The core offering consists of WhatTheyThink.com (news, commentary, and analysis), the WhatTheyThink Quarterly Journal (quarterly deep-dive publications), PrintStats (industry data program), the Video Center (executive interviews and industry features), Webinars (educational content), and the WhatTheyThink Magazine. The platform is accessible through tiered membership levels: Basic (free with limited access), Individual Premium ($199/year for full content access), and Corporate Membership (team pricing). Content spans commercial, in-plant, mailing, finishing, sign, display, textile, industrial, labels, packaging, marketing technology, software, and workflow sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- WhatTheyThink Quarterly: Quarterly journal providing in-depth commentary and analysis on printing industry trends
- PrintStats
- WhatTheyThink Email Newsletters
- WhatTheyThink Magazine
Products and services
- WhatTheyThink.com The main online platform providing industry news, commentary, analysis, and data for the printing and sign industries.
- WhatTheyThink Email Newsletters Daily morning newsletter delivering industry-leading news and analysis to subscribers.
- WhatTheyThink Quarterly Journal Quarterly in-depth journal providing comprehensive commentary and analysis on printing industry trends, taking deep dives into single topics each quarter.
- PrintStats (Industry Data) Industry data program analyzing structural change in the printing industry, providing access to economic data, industry trends, and strategic planning information supported by Keypoint Intelligence.
- Video Center Video platform featuring interviews with industry executives, commentary and analysis from contributors, and other video features covering the printing industry.
- Webinars Ongoing educational webinars and full archive of past webinar content for industry professionals.
- WhatTheyThink Magazine Print and digital magazine covering trends, technologies, operations, and events in the printing and sign industries.
- Basic Membership Free membership tier providing email newsletter and limited access to select Commentary and Analysis content.
- Individual Premium Membership $199/year membership providing full access to all Commentary and Analysis, Industry Data, and exclusive special reports on emerging trends.
- Corporate Membership Discounted team or organization-wide Premium Membership with access to webinars, white papers, and case studies.
- Advertising and Marketing Programs Advertising, media planning, lead generation, custom content development, and video production services to reach the printing industry audience.
Companies that use WhatTheyThink
Customer profileSegments10 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
WhatTheyThink technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
WhatTheyThink partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Keypoint IntelligencecoreKeypoint Intelligence supports WhatTheyThink's Industry Data program, providing industry data analysis and research. The partnership enables access to economic, industry trends, and strategic planning data valuable to industry executives for research purposes.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
WhatTheyThink competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Printing Impressions: Long-running trade publication covering the commercial printing, packaging, and in-plant segments in North America. Directly comparable as a print-industry news, analysis, and community platform targeting overlapping advertising and subscriber audiences.
- Ink World Magazine: Trade media brand covering ink, coatings, and printing technology with a recurring content cadence. Comparable as a print-supply-chain-focused publication using advertising, newsletters, and digital content to reach printing professionals.
- American Printer: Established print-industry magazine and website covering commercial printing operations and technology. Directly comparable as a multi-format trade publisher targeting the same commercial and in-plant printing readership.
- PrintWeek: UK-headquartered print industry news brand with a strong global readership. Comparable as a digital-first, news-driven print-industry publisher offering articles, webinars, and awards, though primarily serving a UK/European audience.
- Labels & Labeling: Trade media brand covering the labels and narrow-web printing sector globally. Comparable as a vertical trade publisher using digital content, magazines, events, and industry data to serve converters and brand owners.
Broad incumbents
- Keypoint Intelligence: Independent research and analyst firm covering the digital imaging, printing, and document management industries. Comparable both as WhatTheyThink's data partner and as a higher-end research provider competing for the same industry intelligence budget.
- Industry Dive: B2B trade publishing platform operating dozens of industry-specific newsletters and websites with a content-plus-advertising model. Comparable as a successful template for niche-vertical B2B digital media with subscription and sponsorship monetization.
Emerging players
- Smithers: Specialist consultancy and market research provider serving packaging, paper, and printing industries with data-driven reports. Comparable as a premium data/research supplier addressing similar strategic-planning use cases from print executives.
Regional players
- drupa: Flagship international print trade fair and associated media channels for the printing and graphical industries. Comparable as a global industry touchpoint that, like WhatTheyThink, anchors discussion of print trends, vendors, and technology to a specialized audience.
- Print21: Australia and Asia-Pacific print industry news brand covering commercial print, packaging, and wide-format. Comparable as a regional peer using digital publishing, newsletters, and events to serve printers, though primarily outside North America.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
WhatTheyThink social profiles
Digital presenceWhatTheyThink financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
WhatTheyThink leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
WhatTheyThink funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
WhatTheyThink M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about WhatTheyThink
What does WhatTheyThink do?
WhatTheyThink runs a member-driven digital media platform that delivers news, commentary, analysis, video, webinars, a quarterly journal, and a magazine to the global printing and sign industries. Members access content through tiered memberships (Basic free, Individual Premium at $199/year, and Corporate), with premium tiers unlocking full content, PrintStats industry data, special reports, and webinar archives. Advertising and custom content services provide complementary revenue from advertisers seeking access to the printing industry audience.
Is WhatTheyThink a public or private company?
WhatTheyThink is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was WhatTheyThink founded?
WhatTheyThink was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is WhatTheyThink based?
WhatTheyThink is headquartered in Lexington, United States, in the North America region.
How does WhatTheyThink make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Premium Membership Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are corporate Memberships, basic Free Membership and advertising and Marketing Programs.
Who are WhatTheyThink's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Printing Impressions, Ink World Magazine, American Printer, PrintWeek and Labels & Labeling. Broad incumbents are Keypoint Intelligence and Industry Dive. Smithers is listed as an emerging player. Regional players are drupa and Print21.
Does WhatTheyThink have an API?
No public API is recorded for WhatTheyThink.
What industry is WhatTheyThink in?
WhatTheyThink's product category is Trade Media and Market Intelligence for the Printing Industry. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAAAI, News & Content Aggregation Portals. Its NAICS code is 5192 and its SIC code is 2711.