Actual Media
Actual Media is a Toronto-based B2B media company, marketing agency, and events consultancy serving Canada's water, environment, infrastructure, and waste/recycling industries through five trade publications, 25+ annual industry events, and custom agency services. Effective January 2026, it merged with SiteNews to form SiteMedia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersToronto, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Actual Media does
Actual Media Inc. is a Toronto-based, privately held B2B media company founded in 2005 by Todd Latham that operates as a full-service marketing agency, events consultancy, and trade publisher serving Canada's water, environment, infrastructure, and waste/recycling industries. The company runs five publication brands — ReNew Canada, Water Canada, Environment Journal, Waste & Recycling, and HAZMAT Management Magazine — collectively reaching more than 35,000 professionals in print and online, and produces over 25 annual industry events including the Brownie Awards (25-year program), the Canadian Water Summit, the Excess Soils Symposium, and the Top100 Projects Leadership Forum.
The company's underlying technology is a multi-platform publishing and event-production stack spanning print, digital, and experiential formats, with distribution through owned websites, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, YouTube, and Vimeo channels. Agency service modules cover strategy, communications, website design, social media management, advertising and lead generation, brand and creative, video production, and custom publishing. The platform integrates editorial content, event IP, and direct sales pipelines into a single B2B audience-development infrastructure for industrial-sector advertisers and associations.
Actual Media generates revenue across three streams: publishing and advertising (subscriptions, ad sales, sponsored content), event management services (ticket sales and sponsorship packages for B2B conferences, awards galas, and symposia), and custom-quoted marketing agency services (multi-year contracts with associations and corporate clients). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; agency engagements are scope-based, magazine subscriptions are annual, and event tickets are unit-priced (e.g., $55 individual, $149 leadership forum, $995 virtual table of eight). The customer base skews to industry associations and event sponsors across Canadian water, infrastructure, environmental, and waste sectors, with named relationships including CWWA, OGCA, OPWA, Canadian Biogas Association, and Ingenium. Effective January 2, 2026, Actual Media merged with SiteNews to form SiteMedia, becoming Canada's largest B2B media company dedicated exclusively to industrial markets.
Actual Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Actual Media
- Legal name
- Actual Media Inc.
- Website
- https://actualmedia.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Actual Media is a Toronto-based B2B media company, marketing agency, and events consultancy serving Canada's water, environment, infrastructure, and waste/recycling industries through five trade publications, 25+ annual industry events, and custom agency services. Effective January 2026, it merged with SiteNews to form SiteMedia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Actual Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- B2B Media and Marketing Services
- NAICS
- Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121), Public Relations Agencies (54182)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Science, Technology & Gaming Magazines (MPAJAEAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Institutional & Custom Publishing (Coursepacks, Campus/Corporate Training) (MPAJABAL)
Keywords
Where Actual Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Toronto
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Actual Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Publishing & Advertising: Revenue from magazine subscriptions, advertising sales, and sponsored content across 5 industry publications serving water, environment, infrastructure, and waste/recycling sectors
- Event Management Services: Revenue from organizing and hosting industry conferences, awards galas, symposia, and networking events for B2B audiences in target sectors
- Marketing Agency Services: Full-service B2B marketing including strategy, content creation, design, video production, custom publishing, and website services for associations and corporations
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | B2B marketing agency services - custom quote-based |
| Subscription | Annual | Magazine subscriptions |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Event tickets - Brownie Awards e-gala |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Top100 Projects Leadership Forum tickets |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Actual Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Actual Media is a full-service marketing agency, events consultancy, and B2B media authority producing five industry trade publications (ReNew Canada, Water Canada, Environment Journal, Waste & Recycling, HAZMAT Management Magazine), hosting 25+ annual industry conferences and awards programs, and providing custom marketing agency services including strategy, communications, web design, social media, advertising, brand/creative, video production, and custom publishing. Output is delivered to advertisers, sponsors, associations, and corporate clients operating in Canada's water, environment, infrastructure, and waste/recycling sectors.
Product overview
Actual Media operates as a full-service marketing agency, events consultancy, and media authority for Canada's water, environment, infrastructure and waste and recycling industries. The company offers a portfolio of six standalone publications (ReNew Canada, Water Canada, Environment Journal, Waste & Recycling, HAZMAT Management Magazine, and additional brands from the SiteNews merger), hosts over 25 industry events annually (including Top100 Projects Leadership Forum, Canadian Water Summit, Excess Soils Symposium, Brownie Awards, and Water Canada Awards), and provides comprehensive agency services spanning strategy, communications, website design, social media, advertising, brand & creative, video production, and custom publishing. The company recently merged with SiteNews to form SiteMedia effective January 2026, creating Canada's largest B2B media company dedicated exclusively to the industrial market.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ReNew Canada: The only national magazine dedicated to public sector infrastructure in Canada, published six times a year. Covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure assets from preliminary design to deconstruction.
- Water Canada
- Environment Journal
- Waste & Recycling
- HAZMAT Management Magazine
Products and services
- ReNew Canada The only national magazine dedicated to public sector infrastructure in Canada, published six times a year. Covers the entire life cycle of infrastructure assets from preliminary design to deconstruction; reaches project owners and project delivery teams in the public sector.
- Water Canada Publication covering projects, policy, and innovation in Canada's water sector, from source to tap and back again. Trusted source for more than 35,000 water sector professionals in print and online.
- Environment Journal Quarterly publication reaching stakeholders in Canada's green economy including engineers, consultants, innovators, investors, researchers, and public officials. Covers the breadth of Canada's environmental sector.
- Waste & Recycling Magazine Publication serving Canada's collection, hauling, processing, and disposal industries. Covers regulated waste, circular economy, clean energy, plastics, blue boxes, recycling, waste processing, equipment, fuel alternatives, and battery disposal.
- HAZMAT Management Magazine Canada's leading source of news and insight for hazardous materials, waste, and environmental management professionals. Founded in 1989, covers spill response, contaminated sites, dangerous goods transportation, and emerging industry technologies.
- Top100 Projects Report Annual report showcasing the 100 largest public sector infrastructure projects under development across Canada, driving investment and opportunity analysis.
- Top100 Projects Leadership Forum Annual event featuring keynote presentations and senior discussions on key issues impacting infrastructure development in Canada, including private investment, early stage development, and the megaproject landscape. Individual tickets at $149 plus HST or $995 for a virtual table of eight.
- Canadian Water Summit Annual summit focused on Canada's water sector, bringing together industry professionals, innovators, and stakeholders for knowledge sharing and networking.
- Excess Soils Symposium Premier provincial forum for sharing knowledge on the business of excess soils and new regulations impacting construction and cleanup projects. The 8th annual symposium drew over 350 attendees.
- Brownie Awards Annual awards gala celebrating outstanding achievement in cleaning up and redeveloping contaminated, urban, or underutilized sites across Canada. Presented in partnership with the Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN). 2020 tickets were $55 each (including HST).
- Water Canada Awards (Water's Next) Annual awards recognizing excellence in Canada's water industry, celebrating outstanding projects and achievements in the sector.
- Actual Agency - Marketing Agency Services Comprehensive set of B2B marketing agency services for associations and corporate clients, including integrated marketing & communications strategy, brand strategy & positioning, market research, content strategy, digital transformation consulting, public relations, media outreach, thought leadership positioning, website design & development, SEO, hosting, social media management, paid media campaigns, lead generation, marketing automation via HubSpot/Marketo/Pardot, brand identity development, graphic design, data visualization, sales enablement, full-service video production, and custom publishing (magazines, annual reports, CSR reports, white papers, e-books).
- History of the Environment in Canada (Interactive Timeline) Interactive online timeline chronicling over 170 key moments in Canada's environmental industry from 1815 to the present, published by Environment Journal.
- EnviroExchange Webinar Series Webinar and virtual event series produced by Environment Journal covering industry topics, including Soil Rules Roundup episodes and panel discussions on environmental policy. Recognized with a 2023 Gold Award (COPAs) for Best Virtual Event/Webinar.
Quantifiable outcome
- Water Canada reaches 35,000+ professionals in print and online
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Actual Media
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Actual Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Actual Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA)coreOfficial media agency partnership where Actual Media provides top-tier industry publications, content, and marketing expertise to support OGCA's mission to serve and advocate for Ontario's general contractors
- Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA)coreOver 10-year relationship as media sponsor and full event partner managing the annual Window on Ottawa Event and online webinar series throughout COVID
- Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN)coreCo-presenter of the Brownie Awards, celebrating the greatest achievements in Canadian brownfield rehabilitation and remediation. Partnership spanning 25 years of awards programming
- IngeniumminorPartnership for 2024 Innovation Challenge aimed at harnessing young Canadians' ingenuity to address clean water and sanitation, plus downstream networking event
- Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA)minorAutomated OPWA's award submission process and designed/produced the Annual Awards Luncheon booklet
- Radicle and SussexminorEvent sponsors for The Shifting Landscape of Carbon Pricing discussion focused on Ontario's Environmental Performance Standard (EPS)
- Global Public AffairsminorSupported ReNew Canada presentation on U.S. election impact on Canadian infrastructure development
- Environmental Services Association of Alberta (ESAA)minorSupported Environment Journal's free webinar on Soil Rules Roundup in Western Canada covering excess soils regulations
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Actual Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EnsembleIQ: North American B2B media company operating trade publications, events, and research across retail, technology, and industrial verticals — comparable in multi-platform B2B media monetization (publishing + events + custom research).
- Annex Business Media: Canadian B2B media company publishing trade magazines, producing events, and offering digital media across multiple industrial and professional verticals — directly comparable in product mix (publications + events + custom media) and customer profile (B2B advertisers in niche verticals).
- Glacier Media: Canadian media company with a diversified portfolio of B2B trade publications, community newspapers, and digital media — comparable in multi-brand trade publishing strategy, though operates at significantly larger scale.
- SiteNews: Canadian B2B media company covering construction, infrastructure, and industrial sectors with publications and events — now merged into SiteMedia but historically a direct peer operating adjacent verticals.
- Newcom Media: Toronto-based Canadian B2B media company operating trade publications and industry events across sectors including design, construction, and industrial markets — closely comparable scale, geography, and operating model.
- Brunico Communications: Canadian B2B media company focused on marketing, media, and entertainment trade publications and events — comparable in producing niche vertical B2B media with high-margin events and association partnerships.
- Hazmat Management Magazine (now part of Actual Media/SiteMedia): Recently acquired by Actual Media — historically a direct peer trade publication in the same hazardous-materials vertical before integration into SiteMedia's portfolio.
Broad incumbents
- Informa Markets: Global B2B events and media giant operating large-scale trade shows and publications across industrial sectors including infrastructure and environment — overlaps in event-based B2B media but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
- RELX (formerly Reed Elsevier): Global information and analytics business operating B2B media brands including LexisNexis Risk Solutions and industry-specific information services — adjacent incumbent demonstrating scaled B2B information services economics.
Emerging players
- Convergent Communication: Smaller Canadian B2B agency serving industrial and infrastructure clients with marketing and communications services — partial overlap with Actual Media's agency services arm in the same verticals.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Actual Media social profiles
Digital presenceActual Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Actual Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Actual Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Actual Media 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 Actual Media
What does Actual Media do?
Actual Media is a full-service marketing agency, events consultancy, and B2B media authority producing five industry trade publications (ReNew Canada, Water Canada, Environment Journal, Waste & Recycling, HAZMAT Management Magazine), hosting 25+ annual industry conferences and awards programs, and providing custom marketing agency services including strategy, communications, web design, social media, advertising, brand/creative, video production, and custom publishing. Output is delivered to advertisers, sponsors, associations, and corporate clients operating in Canada's water, environment, infrastructure, and waste/recycling sectors.
Is Actual Media a public or private company?
Actual Media is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Actual Media founded?
Actual Media was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Actual Media based?
Actual Media is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Actual Media make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Publishing & Advertising is the primary driver. The others are event Management Services and marketing Agency Services.
Who are Actual Media's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EnsembleIQ, Annex Business Media, Glacier Media, SiteNews, Newcom Media, Brunico Communications and Hazmat Management Magazine (now part of Actual Media/SiteMedia). Broad incumbents are Informa Markets and RELX (formerly Reed Elsevier). Convergent Communication is listed as an emerging player.
Does Actual Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Actual Media.
What industry is Actual Media in?
Actual Media's product category is B2B Media and Marketing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAL, Science, Technology & Gaming Magazines, with a secondary code of MPAJABAL, Institutional & Custom Publishing (Coursepacks, Campus/Corporate Training). Its NAICS code is 5131 and its SIC code is 2721.