Kates-Boylston Publications

What Kates-Boylston Publications does

Kates-Boylston Publications (legally Kates-Boylston Publications/KB-WIM, LLC) is a privately held US trade media company founded in 1877 and headquartered in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The company publishes three core trade publications serving the funeral and cemetery industry: American Funeral Director, American Cemetery & Cremation, and Funeral Service Insider (FSI). Its audience comprises funeral directors, funeral home owners, cemetery managers, crematory operators, and death care industry suppliers, with operating geographies concentrated in the United States.

The company's product portfolio spans print and digital magazine subscriptions (offered via digital libraries at afd-digital.com and acm-digital.com), four newsletter products, the FSI podcast, a classifieds marketplace for funeral homes and crematory sales, an e-commerce store, and a growing events business including virtual summits (Marketing Summit 2025, Funeral Technology Summit 2025), webinars, roundtables (Cemetery Insider series), and the Momentum women's leadership accelerator. The underlying technology is a digital publishing platform built on the BLOX Content Management System, with no proprietary AI or ML capabilities disclosed.

Revenue is generated through subscription fees for print and digital publications, event registration fees and sponsorships, classified advertising (funeral home sales, job postings, real estate listings), and digital newsletter subscriptions. The company operates without disclosed external funding, maintaining private LLC status with no parent company or subsidiaries. Its go-to-market motion is event-driven, leveraging summits and webinars to engage the professional community and drive subscriptions and advertising revenue.

Name

Kates-Boylston Publications

Legal name

Kates-Boylston Publications/KB-WIM, LLC

Website

https://kates-boylston.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1877

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kates-Boylston Publications is a privately held US trade media company founded in 1877 that publishes American Funeral Director, American Cemetery & Cremation, and Funeral Service Insider for funeral directors, cemetery operators, and crematory professionals. Revenue comes from subscriptions, events, classifieds, and newsletters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Media and Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business, Financial & Trade News Publishers (MPAJADAC)

Keywords

• Trade publishing
• Funeral industry media
• Cemetery publications
• Death care news
• Industry newsletters

Headquarters

HQ city

Township Of Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Print and digital subscriptions to American Funeral Director and American Cemetery & Cremation publications, offered with options to subscribe to individual or multiple publications.
2. Event Registrations: Revenue from virtual and in-person events including summits, webinars, and the Momentum women's leadership accelerator conference.
3. Classified Advertising: Marketplace for funeral homes, crematories for sale; job postings; and real estate listings targeted to the death care industry.
4. Digital Content and Newsletters: FSI newsletter subscriptions and email alert services providing industry news alerts and must-reads.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kates-Boylston Publications is a trade media company that publishes industry magazines and newsletters serving funeral and cemetery professionals. Its core offerings include American Funeral Director, American Cemetery & Cremation, and Funeral Service Insider, delivered in print and digital formats alongside digital issue libraries, podcasts, webinars, virtual and in-person events, and a classifieds marketplace. The company monetizes primarily through subscriptions, event registrations, and classified advertising.

Product overview

Kates-Boylston Publications operates a multi-platform publishing network serving the funeral and cemetery industry since 1877. The core offerings consist of three industry publications: American Funeral Director, American Cemetery & Cremation, and Funeral Service Insider, along with companion digital platforms including FSI: The Podcast, webinar programs, and event programming including Marketing Summit and Funeral Technology Summit. Additional services include an e-commerce store, classified marketplace for funeral homes and crematories, and virtual roundtables. The company also publishes digital issues of its magazines and hosts industry events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• American Funeral Director: A trade publication serving funeral directors with industry news, business advice, education content, and professional development resources.
• American Cemetery & Cremation
• Funeral Service Insider
• FSI: The Podcast

Products and services

• American Funeral Director
• American Cemetery & Cremation

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Homesteaders Life CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor for Marketing Summit 2025 and Funeral Technology Summit 2025. Homesteaders Life Company provides preneed funeral insurance and participated as sponsor for Kates-Boylston's virtual educational events targeting funeral professionals.
• Domani PreneedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor for Marketing Summit 2025. Domani Preneed specializes in digital transformation for funeral homes and was a co-sponsor for Kates-Boylston's marketing-focused virtual summit.
• Lisa Baue (Funeral Women Lead)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured speaker and collaborator for Cemetery Insider: Women Leading the Way virtual roundtable. Lisa Baue founded Funeral Women Lead organization and partnered with Kates-Boylston for content and professional development programming.
• Security National Funeral Homes & CemeteriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMelissa Posey Loose, Senior Vice President of Communications at Security National, featured as speaker for Kates-Boylston's Cemetery Insider virtual roundtable on women in deathcare.
• Historic Oakwood CemeteryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExecutive Director Robin Simonton featured as speaker for Kates-Boylston's Cemetery Insider virtual roundtable discussing leadership in cemetery management.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Informa plc: Global B2B events, publishing, and intelligence company operating trade media across dozens of vertical industries. Comparable to Kates-Boylston in business model (trade publishing + events), though vastly larger and serving many verticals rather than specializing in deathcare.
• MultiView: B2B media company producing digital content, magazines, and custom media for vertical industry associations. Comparable in business model to Kates-Boylston's association-flavored trade publishing approach, though MultiView serves associations rather than directly building its own subscriber base.
• Hanley Wood (Zonda): B2B media and data company serving the residential construction and building products verticals with trade publications, events, and research. Comparable in operating trade media with events in a specialized professional vertical, though in housing rather than deathcare.

Direct peers

• Scranton Gillette Communications: Independent B2B media company publishing trade magazines and producing events in specialized, regulated niches including construction, water/utility, and personal services. Closely aligned with Kates-Boylston's model of serving narrow professional audiences with magazines, digital content, and events.
• North American Media Group: B2B publishing company producing trade magazines, digital content, and events across niche verticals. Operates a similar multi-format trade media model to Kates-Boylston Publications, scaled across multiple specialized industries.
• Trade Press Media Group: Independent B2B publisher of trade magazines, digital media, and industry events serving specialized professional markets. Operates the same core trade publishing-plus-events model as Kates-Boylston, focused on niche verticals rather than mass-market media.

Regional players

• The Director magazine: Long-running funeral service trade publication serving the United Kingdom and Ireland deathcare profession. Direct functional peer to Kates-Boylston's American Funeral Director in the funeral trade publishing category, but operating in a different geography.
• Canadian Funeral News: Canadian funeral service trade magazine covering funeral directing, cremation, and cemetery operations in Canada. Direct vertical peer to Kates-Boylston's American Funeral Director, serving a neighboring but distinct North American market.

Emerging players

• Bedrock Business Media: Independent B2B media company building trade publications and events in specialized professional markets. Comparable in being an independent trade media operator targeting niche industries with a multi-format publishing and events model.
• Bova Funeral Service Group: Digital-first funeral industry marketing and media company producing original content, podcasts, and educational resources for funeral professionals. Emerging competitor to Kates-Boylston in deathcare media, focused on digital channels rather than print magazines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kates_boylston
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCwOLRjtLKxlBbWSRZ1aJmIQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/katesboylston
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kates-boylston-publications
• Instagraminstagram.com/kates_boylston

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kates-Boylston Publications