Articles by: "Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN"

This Q&A interview is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights… If you want to learn more, keep an eye out on our site for more interviews. Today’s Three on Three is with Colin Decker, Group Operating Officer of Discovery Digital Networks, on Putting Data to Work.

Q: Please describe the value of data to your editorial or sales efforts:

A: Having a solid foundation of data-driven decision-making is really mandatory at this point. You simply must have a well-defined methodology for the “why” of using data as well as talent and staffing to handle the “how”. And it’s not just a matter of generating reports. To really use data means that every member of your team must feel confident asking questions and be enabled to proactively seek the answers without depending on a separate research group. At Discovery Digital Networks, we use a combination of publicly available data sources as well as a series of proprietary purpose-built systems to inform what we do day-in and day-out. On both the Editorial and Sales sides of our businesses, the ability to react in real-time to audience demand is a critical capability as we define the digital video marketplace.

Q: Please describe a recent content or advertising initiative that leveraged data, how it did so, and how that generated a better end result:

A: We spend a lot of time mining data for signals and trends. At Discovery Digital Networks, we have many shows that publish multiple times per day so a typical exercise is to look at topic and category performance throughout the week. DNews is our twice-daily science and curiosity show that covers all types of weird, geeky cool facts. As we mined audience, engagement and sharing data over the course of several months, we noticed a small signal that seemed to indicate that space-themed programming performed better on Fridays. To test the signal, we created “Space Fridays” and saw a near 4x increase in all our audience metrics. The next natural question is “why space and why Friday?” but for now, we’re content to have better served the DNews audience with what they are wanting to see from us.

Q: The notion of “data” raises concerns with some. Please describe your take on the issues around publishers’ use of data and how you address some of the common concerns/issues:

A: It’s a reasonable concern when you think of user retargeting or leveraging transactional data to inform programming selection. While it’s great when Netflix makes a relevant movie suggestion based on your prior consumption, I don’t think I want my Kindle to suggest “Mr. Mom” because I just ordered diapers online! On a more serious level, the Edward Snowden NSA affair has opened everyone’s eyes to the fact that you don’t need to break the law to invade privacy. Data “triangulation” threatens to open too much information up to bad guys and marketers alike. I think we’ll see an inflection point in the coming 2 years where the average consumer grows to understand this and we’ll see more meaningful push-back to the harvesting and misuse of personal data.

Colin Decker is a media leader who has played a guiding role in the confluence of Television, web, video and social media. He has held programming, strategy and executive management roles at Current TV, Yahoo! and Virgin Investments. Colin is a frequent speaker on emerging media and has held teaching appointments at Boston University and Harvard University.

Note: This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights.

Also in this series:

Q&A: Vikram Somaya, GM Weather FX, The Weather Company on Putting Data to Work

Innovation | Perspectives

Q&A: Vikram Somaya, GM Weather FX, The Weather Company on Putting Data to Work

April 1, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights… If you want to learn more, keep an eye out on our site for more interviews. Today’s Three on Three is with Vikram Somaya, GM Weather FX, The Weather Company on Putting Data to Work.

Q: Please describe the value of data to your editorial and sales efforts:
A: I think we’ve been in a unique position given that the weather itself is such a unique data set. Weather is real. It isn’t household income, it isn’t level of education or other standard demographic information. It exists as a tangible thing. That helped us envision how data can work for us, as a publisher.

At The Weather Company, data has two particular areas of impact:

For marketers, we combine weather and messaging with our data engine, which is integrated with our media delivery platform. In the retail world, for example, a company with 4,000 stores might let us know when a product is selling well—or not—and other information. We take this data and line it up against varying weather conditions for two to three years and effectively create predictive sales models. We can tell them that, in Miami, on a January morning, this is what people are likely to buy.

On the content side, which is well-run by Neil Katz, our VP/editor-in-chief, what has been interesting is not only the weather itself, but other information around it, which we are integrating into the experience. Certainly, people interested in weather are interested in other types of content as well, such as science and nature. We’ve begun to look at what content people look at based upon weather in their area.

An interesting piece here has been that their actions are based not only on what the weather is, but also on how it makes them feel. Weather has not only a direct impact on sales, but also on sentiment. If, after many days of bad weather, there are a few days of sunshine, it affects how people feel, which in turn affects what they are interested in.

Q: Please describe a recent content or advertising initiative that leveraged data, how it did so, and how that generated a better end result:

A: Okay, I have an example that combines both data and weather information that underlays, from a project we did with Pantene, a P&G hair care brand. Behind the weather information for any city there is a canvas that might show raindrops or bright sun and have a special type of ad format for our mobile application that can replace that canvas with weather-specific brand creative for our clients. We can match the ad to the specific weather condition.

So, for Pantene, we created an index that mapped a range of hair conditions to weather conditions—which we called “the fizziness index” internally. Depending on which city you checked, we would analyze the weather for that location, then pull up the corresponding ad with the appropriate Pantene product.

The results were measureable in actual sales. In towns where the ad appeared, retailers saw spikes in product sales. This is an ad unit that actually worked in the real world for sales—not just engagement and other click-through metrics. Our goal is to actually move sales. We can’t think of a more compelling argument for our marketers.

Q: The notion of “data” raises concerns with some. Please describe your take on the issues around publishers’ use of data and how you address some of the common concerns/issues:

A: So I have something I frequently do at conferences where I speak that illustrates the data position we are in at The Weather Company:

I ask everyone at the conference to stand up, introduce themselves to the person next to them, and then ask that person five questions. That person does not need to answer. Instead, they should think about how uneasy each question makes them. The questions are:

Social: How old are you?
Third party data: How much money do you make?
Search: What are the last three things you searched online while alone?
Purchase: What are the last three things you purchased online while alone?
What is the weather today?

For that fifth one: No privacy concerns.

The Weather Channel is in a different position than many content companies. We have been, for 30 years, the brand people come to know how to behave around weather. We don’t ask your name or personal information. We collect business data around weather data. And weather information is 100 percent opt in—you have to ask for it.

I think we’re in a strange and unusual time where it is not clear who owns the information. Though I’d say that every time a publisher or marketer has cause to question “Am I doing the right thing?” the answer is probably no. With data, erring on the side of caution is the way to go. The right, fair thing to do is to protect the consumer.

Another thing to keep in mind is that what we are doing with data is natural and organic to the brand itself. There are certainly other publishers for which this is true. Some are trying to put a square peg in a round hole with data. We should use data to bring value to the experience, not to shoehorn data because it is the hot thing. If there is a fundamentally organic way to build value for the user, it is worth doing.

As general manager of The Weather Company’s WeatherFX division, Vikram Somaya leads the team that creates localized ad targeting solutions using Weather’s access to location data and the best, most comprehensive weather data in the world. Vikram joined The Weather Company from Thomson Reuters, where he served as vice president of global operations and audience. Previously, Vikram helped build out data-driven marketing company Bluekai as managing director of business development and channel sales. He served as executive vice president of sales and marketing at Milabra, consulting an early-stage company in machine-learning-derived technologies. He also served as vice president of strategic alliances at Phorm, an online behavioral targeting technology company, and as vice president of strategy management at Operative Media, an advertising business management company.

Note: This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights.

Also in this series:

Q&A: Colin Decker, Group Operating Officer, Discovery Digital Networks on Putting Data to Work

Innovation

Forbes’ Billion-dollar Baby: Meet the Forbes Billionaires Real-time Wealth-Tracking Platform

March 26, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

Everybody’s doing lists these days. Their popularity in digital circles makes them great fodder for content of all types. While they are one of the content darlings du jour, lists aren’t new. In fact, some of the most popular lists are decades old: People magazine’s Most Beautiful People list debuted in 1991 and the Inc. 5000 dates back to 1982.

One of the most venerable lists, The Forbes 400, also debuted in 1982 and was followed three years later by the introduction of its World’s Billionaires list, which comes out every March and provides a ranking of the world’s wealthiest people. And, as lists proliferate online, Forbes continues to build upon its established brand with the introduction this week of a new digital tool and wealth-tracking platform that provides real-time updates on the net worth and ranking for each individual featured on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List.

Luisa Kroll, Wealth Editor at Forbes, can attest to the popularity of lists: “Given the pop culture world that we live in, it is no surprise that people like lists. Certainly, there are times when people like long-form, in-depth coverage, which we provide. But there are lots of times in which people like easily-digestible news and The Billionaires and the Forbes 400—which offer both—are two of our most popular products.”

While she believes there will be a segment of readers who look for these lists once or twice a year, she also feels confident that there’s a significant group of readers who will find it useful to track Forbes’ Billionaires in real-time. That segment includes “traders, individuals looking for investment ideas; people particularly fascinated with, say, tech titans. Also, a lot of the people on our list are CEOs of companies around the world, who people are tracking for a variety of reasons.” For example, there’s been a lot of buzz about The Buffet Bracket contest in which Buffet, who ranks 4th on Forbes list of billionaires, offered to award $1 billion for a perfect March Madness bracket. As Kroll points out, quite a few people would be interested to know he made more than a billion dollars the day he announced the contest.

For the launch of the new wealth tracking platform, Forbes will track the net worth of the more than 1,600 individuals who qualified for the Forbes World’s Billionaires List this year. Forbes will continue to add to that group over the course of 2014 as new ten-figure fortunes are discovered. The value of individuals’ public holdings will be updated every five minutes when respective markets are open. Billionaires who only have holdings in private companies will have their net worth updated once a day.

The tool was developed in-house under the direction of Chief Product Officer, Lewis D’Vorkin. The profile pages, which include net worth, general biographical information and news related to the individual, are all mobile-optimized. Kroll notes that the content is “really well-suited to mobile devices,” and emphasizes that “mobile is increasingly part of every discussion we have.”

As Kroll points out, “Forbes has been chronicling the ups and downs of the world’s wealthiest for over a quarter of a century and The Forbes brand is beloved and trusted. Now we can deepen that connection by providing readers with the most current information when and where they want it.”

Innovation

Digital First Media Partners with Rumble to Rev Up Mobile Innovation

March 25, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

With a name like Digital First Media (DFM), one might not think that this is a company with deep roots in the newspaper business. But for DFM, rooted does not mean anchored. With a legacy of quality content at its core (including 48 Pulitzers) and a monthly audience of 67 million Americans who visit through more than 800 multi-platform products, DFM continues to push its business forward to live up to its name. Last week, the company announced a partnership with Rumble to upgrade DFM’s mobile technology, introduce real-time and dynamic content and ad-targeting capabilities, as well as launch an Innovation Lab.

When Head of Mobile and Social Products Dave Elchoness joined DFM nine months ago, he found that the state of its mobile was consistent with what he had seen previously at other digital-centric newspaper companies: “We had apps. We had mobile-optimized websites for the most part. But I felt we needed to position the business toward the future.” And while the company was doing a good job developing in-house, he took a look at some third party solutions to see if they could do even better.

Elchoness, who describes himself as “skeptical by nature” said he saw something “truly unique in Rumble…the ability for the publisher to own the presentation layer and to get at an enormous amount of data so we can direct our business in a much more informed way.” On the revenue side, Rumble’s solution will allow them to experiment and innovate in advertising based upon real-time data. The solution collects information about users’ location, interests, etc. and allows DFM to predict what users are interested in both in terms of content and advertising.

As Rumble’s Founder and CEO Al Azoulay sees it, “Mobile is one big operational headache for publishers.” While third-party solutions ease some of the pain, Azoulay points out that most of these solutions are “template-driven, limiting publishers’ content and advertising flexibility.” In addition, he finds that most publishers must rely on several solutions to contend with the full range of mobile: apps, advertising and website development. His objective is to provide “a single solution, across this incredibly fragmented mobile space, which allows a publisher to easily modify UX, the content mix and the entire ad map with the click of a button.”

For DFM, Elchoness says, the solution goes well beyond cost-effectiveness, ease-of-use and flexibility. “This solution will let us prototype quickly in a way we couldn’t do on our own…A solution like this will allow us to leapfrog others in the market by evolving much more rapidly.”

As DFM and Rumble began to work closely together in examining how the solution could help drive forward mobile content delivery and advertising, they found a shared affinity for innovation and experimentation that led them to partner on the launch of an Innovation Lab. “The problem with so many of these technology partnerships,” says Elchoness “is that you talk about innovation, you talk about a road map but then you get caught up in problems, crises and the work that has to go on every day.” So the two companies have joined together with a commitment to “do something incredible on a regular basis.”

In DFM, Azoulay says he found a partner that “wants to play. One that wants to do, not just talk about innovation.” He says we can expect “data-driven products, m-commerce, native ad solutions and UX-driven products that will continue to drive more and more engagement and loyalty with the users.” For Elchoness, the Innovation Labs will help DFM focus on mobile as “not just about delivering content. This keeps us thinking about how we can experiment, iterate, prototype, fail and quickly course-correct so that we are inventing the future of publishing.”

Perspectives | Revenue

Q&A With Jeff Misenti, Chief Digital Officer, Fox News on Cross-Platform Advertising

March 24, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights… If you want to learn more, keep an eye out on our site for more interviews. Today’s Three on Three interview is with Jeff Misenti, Chief Digital Officer, Fox News on the subject of cross-platform advertising.

Q: What is the biggest hurdle in creating, selling and delivering cross-platform advertising initiatives?

A:I think that the biggest hurdle is the coordination and collaboration of all the parties involved. This includes the internal coordination among our Editorial, Production, Programming, and Sales Team. There is also communication with the Agency and the Client that must be clear and accounted for. All of these pieces need to fuse together seamlessly in order to reach our shared goal.

Q: Describe a recent or forthcoming cross-platform advertising campaign that you think is particularly innovative or successful:

A:We are currently exploring a campaign, featured once a week, which has a natural extension to a live online component. A prospective client approached us looking for ways to engage the audience into a custom campaign. Fox News Channel has a particular show that digitally engages with its audience during live tapings. We are working with both the show teams and advertisers to develop a Google Hangout where we can draw in viewers in to interact live with show talent.

Q: How do you approach the cross-platform sale organizationally?

A:In every organization, internal priorities differ. In order to succeed and create winning cross platform initiatives everyone must conform, at times, while also staying true to his or her own goals and responsibilities for the organization.

The sales cycle might require more time and resources to be collaborative and creative with clients and agencies to propose innovative campaigns. This approach may mean that we have more work to do to integrate the campaign; but again to my point – the execution of the planning stages is just as if not more crucial to launching a successful program. All parties put in a lot of time, effort and money and we need to make sure it isn’t wasted. And if we are successful with our advertisers, they are coming back proactively for ideas around new initiatives and campaigns.

It is also important to develop trust across the organization. As basic as it sounds, we all tend to overcomplicate things. If you and your peers are looking out for each other’s objectives in these situations, there will always be trust – and with hard work and trust, comes victory.

Jeff Misenti is the Chief Digital Officer for the Fox News and Fox Business networks. In this role he is responsible for the strategic direction of the products under Fox News’ digital portfolio. As a digital media veteran of 12 years, Misenti joined Fox News Network in 2007 to manage the success and growing presence of the Fox News and Fox Business digital properties. Coupled with his previous knowledge gained at Dow Jones/MarketWatch – where he constructed business-to-business and consumer business units – he has acquired the expertise of leading the most successful branded media websites. His wealth of knowledge and experience has garnered him a passion and successful presence in digital media.

Note: This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights.

Also in this series:

Q&A With Greg Jackson, Chief Data Officer, Everyday Health Inc. on Cross-Platform Advertising

Q&A with Neil Johnston, Cox’s EVP of Strategy & Digital Innovation on Premium Programmatic

Innovation | Video

Conde Nast Entertainment Tees off Sports Video with Launch of Golf Digest Channel

March 20, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

Condé Nast Entertainment launched its first sports video channel yesterday with the debut of the Golf Digest Channel. According to Molly Baldwin, Director of Editorial Operations for GolfDigest.com, “We see a really big future in video—particularly when it comes to instruction,” which is something the brand has long focused on.

While Baldwin is enthusiastic about the opportunities to create more effective learning moments for the Golf Digest audience, she believes that video gives the brand ways to deepen audience relationships as well. “The fact that instruction works well in video is very natural for our brand, but any brand would be remiss to think they could only rely on print. Every brand has to evolve and go to where audiences are, which is increasingly in front of a screen.”

Not only does Golf Digest find itself with content that effectively transitions from the page to video—such as the “Hungover Caddie” column, which will become an animated series—Baldwin says they’ve got a wealth of talent that already shine on video. Among these is Ben Crane, who Baldwin describes as “a comedic genius… in addition to being on the PGA tour,” who will host #GolfSecrets with Ben Crane. This increased emphasis on video content will also afford Golf Digest a means to further develop its editorial staff on screen.

Unsurprisingly, Baldwin says “There’s been a wealth of demand for video advertising,” which is certainly a driving force behind Condé Nast Entertainment’s continued expansion in video offerings. This is its ninth digital video channel since its 2011 launch and the second this year. The Golf Digest channel launched with Callaway as its sponsor, leveraging pre-roll and in-stream video overlays. And Baldwin says that they’ve already had “great interest from both endemic and non-endemic brands” and have had early discussions around product placement and custom content. “This is a space advertisers want to play in.”

“It is still early days for this play in digital video and we are eager to learn from our audiences what they want and what works. That’s the great value digital brings,” says Baldwin, “we get immediate feedback and we can continue to learn and experiment.”

Perspectives | Revenue

Q&A with Rachelle Considine, President Future US, on Cross-Platform Advertising

March 19, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights… If you want to learn more, keep an eye out on our site for more interviews. Today’s Three on Three interview is with Rachelle Considine, President Future US on the subject of cross-platform advertising.

Q: What is the biggest hurdle in creating, selling and delivering a cross-platform advertising initiative?

A: One of the biggest hurdles we face is changing the mindset of the client/advertiser. Our users have migrated cross-platform and expect to have a seamless experience when they consume our content across various platforms. However, the advertiser does not always see the same value of an impression across platform. To help mitigate this issue, we sell one digital impression to our clients unless specified “mobile only”, “desktop only”, etc. We believe that the value should be the same if not more if you reach a person in the environment of their choice.

We recently overhauled GamesRadar to not only be a mobile optimized site but also incorporate responsive design. This has helped us with the battle as our ad performance has increased and the feedback we have received from the advertising community has been extremely positive.

Q: Describe a recent cross-platform advertising campaign that you think is particularly innovative or successful:

A: One recent cross-platform campaign we ran was for Activision’s Call of Duty: Ghosts title. We ran their creative across the desktop, mobile and tablet versions of GamesRadar. It served the advertiser’s need to reach their target wherever they were accessing gaming content.

Really, this comes back to our revamp of GamesRadar. We know that gamers are not on desktops anymore and we needed to make this site not just mobile-optimized, but truly responsive. It was important that we had a launch sponsor on board who understood what we were doing, one that is really out there testing the marketplace. We worked closely with Activision’s agency and made sure their creative looked great across screens.

In the past, our click through rate—which I am not a fan of as a measure—was not as high as our competitors. Well, Activision reported that we were the best performing site of all the gaming platforms they worked with. They got it: Activision loved the fact that the experience is built for the audience in their specific environments. It is crazy to say, but some advertisers still don’t get it. Their mindset is stuck in the desktop.

Q: How do you approach the cross-platform sale organizationally?

A:When I joined Future in 2009, one of the first things we did was combine the sales teams. Everyone became responsible for selling across all platforms. We further consolidated the teams and they now not only sell across platform but also across brands. This has allowed us to compete for bigger advertising dollars and non-endemic clients. This was not an easy thing to do. We actually had to approach it as “change the mindset or change the people.”

We are way past the magazine sale. We don’t sell games; we don’t sell technology. We sell audience. With the cross-platform, cross-brand approach we can give advertisers a larger total reach or allow them to go after a specific audience. At the end of the day, we create content people care about. We enable the advertiser to reach an audience that is engaged and influential with their peers.

As President, Rachelle Considine oversees all of Future U.S. and is a member of Future PLC’s global management board. Previously, in her role as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Considine led all marketing and sales across Future’s games, technology, and men’s special-interest markets. She drew on her expertise in working with some of the world’s most well known brands, including Best Buy, Hyundai and 7-11, to apply new ways to connect with readers and partners to grow the company and viewership. Considine joined Future U.S. in 2009 as General Manager of the Games Advertising Group. Prior to joining Future, Considine served as Vice President of Sales for What They Like, Inc. and earlier in her career, she held several management roles in the video game industry, notably as the National Sales Director for Fox Interactive Media/IGN Entertainment and MySpace Games Group. Considine began her media career partnering with such clients as PeopleSoft, Edmunds.com and WesternUnion.com as an offline media planner, and served as an online media planner for Starcom Worldwide and Starcom IP.

Note: This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights.

Also in this series:

Q&A With Greg Jackson, Chief Data Officer, Everyday Health Inc. on Cross-Platform Advertising

Q&A With Jeff Misenti, Chief Digital Officer, Fox News on Cross-Platform Advertising

Revenue

Forbes Brand Licensing is Upwardly Mobile

March 12, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

Brand licensing might seem like a no-brainer in the media business. However for others to want to hitch their idea to your brand, you need to have one that is recognizable for all the right reasons. You also need to make smart decisions about which licensing deals will work for you in more than just the financial sense. Forbes Media COO Mike Federle says that while he was brought into the company two and a half years ago to do the usual operational stuff expected of a COO, his “primary focus is on business development and leveraging the brand to develop new, non-advertising revenue.”

And he’s been doing just that. His latest licensing deal grants Lotaris SA the rights to the name Forbes Digital Commerce, which provides mobile payment-based services and solutions to various industry sectors. Announced at Mobile World Congress, this arrangement associates the Forbes brand with mobile payments, which is a win on all counts according to Federle. In addition to the up-front licensing payment and annual royalties based on the total revenue of Forbes Digital Commerce, he says “On the brand level, we think this is a great place to be, given that mobile is such an important business tool.”

There are three primary questions in Federle’s litmus test for analyzing potential brand-licensing deals:

1. Does it fit the brand?

2. Is this a reputable partner?

3. Can this opportunity scale?

It is essential to develop a solid criteria for maintaining hard-won brand equity. The issue of scale is also significant, “We turn down a lot of opportunities because they aren’t big enough. We are focusing on bigger plays. Mobile is a much bigger business.”

As is Real Estate, which Federle points to as another example of brand-licensing that passed his litmus test. Last year, the company worked with Century Properties group in the Philippines to build the world’s first “Forbes Media Tower.” That move heralded the “beginning of a Real Estate Play in Asia,” which associates the brand with booming markets and high-end business developments.

As Forbes magazine might council its readers, Federle says Forbes Media must “align with where the future is going.” And the future is undoubtedly mobile. “What is happening at Forbes and throughout the industry, is that our digital business has grown very large. And over the last year, we see approximately 30% of our traffic at Forbes.com coming from Mobile devices, up from about 25% the previous year. We know that in media, and business in general, there’s huge and rapid transitioning over to mobile.”

However one particularly appealing aspect of the Forbes Digital Commerce deal was its association with mobile payments. “Mobile is already big. Where the real takeoff will be is when we get rid of the friction that is in the system now, and we want to be part of a solution that helps create a seamless flow—across carriers, currencies and borders.”

Perspectives | Revenue

Q&A with Peter Longo, CEO IDG TechNetwork & CDO IDG Communications, on Premium Programmatic

March 10, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights… If you want to learn more, keep an eye out on our site for more interviews. Today’s Three on Three interview is with Peter Longo, CEO IDG TechNetwork & CDO IDG Communications on the subject of “Premium Programmatic” advertising.

Q: How would you define premium programmatic as it compares to what we’ve come to know as “programmatic advertising”?

A:Quite honestly, the definition is constantly changing. What we thought was programmatic two years ago, and what we thought it was six months ago, and where it is today are all very different. As advertisers continue to experiment, this definition is going to keep shifting. Ask me in a month what it means.

When we talk about premium programmatic at IDG Communications, part of it has to do with how the inventory is positioned and structured, and part the advertisers we deal with. At IDG TechNetwork, premium programmatic actually competes with our direct-sold inventory. However, while our IDG owned and operated brands such as Computerworld and CIO still have brand-specific reps, for the IDG TechNetwork, we have combined teams so that advertisers can deal with the same rep much of the time.

We position premium programmatic the same way we do all of our sales: What is the audience you are trying to reach, what are the campaign parameters, and how can we best deliver results? The conversation starts the same way we’ve always approached it. We talk about their objectives, who they are trying to reach and what they are trying to achieve.

Q: Describe the way in which your organization handles programmatic?

A:Five years ago, we decided to create our TechNetwork, which includes more than 500 publisher sites, as a way to provide scale to our owned and operated business. Three years ago, we decided to go into programmatic because, as a network, we had a lot of programmatic at our disposal and wanted to deal with it effectively.

The way we use premium programmatic gives us the ability to create micro audiences at scale. For example, say an advertiser wants to reach people interested in cloud computing at companies with more than 500 employees. With data and programmatic, you can build a sizeable audience even for something really targeted. Now we’ve got our owned and operated sites and the network inventory combine that with first-party data, and that gives us a demand-side platform so we can buy programmatically, as well increase the size of these audiences.

The data makes a big difference. It allows us to create this micro audience and use creative rotation to deliver the most value. When an impression is served, we factor in what we know about the person behind the impression: Have they visited our sites? Have they read any articles that are part of our product suite? Have they visited our shopping cart? This information lets us figure out where they are in the buying cycle so we can serve the right ad, be that one that is for someone just starting to research or someone ready to make a purchase decision.

The ability to use first-party data also keeps us from undercutting display. The advertiser can be specific about who they are targeting. So, we build value back into the chain programmatically. At the end of the day, it is a very specific way of doing advertising. If there is value, we’ll maintain our CPMs because, with programmatic, there’s not a lot of places to hide.

Q: What types of marketing initiatives lend themselves best to leveraging programmatic, and what advice would you give publishers weighing programmatic pros and cons?

A:We’ve done a ton of direct response in premium programmatic. It goes back to the very specific audience, a very specific individual or group—those are the ones that work best. We don’t see it used much for general branding campaigns.

The value of programmatic always comes back to reaching a very specific profile at scale. Marketers are looking for efficiencies and results. One of the great things about programmatic is that you know almost instantly how something is performing and, as a publisher, you have a lot of flexibility to adjust the audience you are targeting.

I realize there’s still some hesitation on the part of publishers to incorporate programmatic into the mix but I would encourage them to continue to test it and to evaluate pricing models as well. The biggest fear among publishers is that programmatic is going to devalue pricing. Do some testing around performance. You can build a lot of value back into the pool with data mining.

Keep in mind that programmatic can dramatically expand the audience you offer your advertisers, and it can put you back in control because you can be the arbiter of what is good on the web.

Peter Longo is the CEO of IDG TechNetwork Chief Digital Officer of IDG Communications. Longo, who joined IDG six years ago, has built IDG TechNetwork into the leading tech vertical ad network and exchange and has defined and led IDG’s data-driven strategy. In 2013, Longo assumed added responsibilities as IDG’s first Chief Digital Officer. In that role, Longo oversees all digital operations in IDG’s U.S. media subsidiary, IDG Communications, including ad operations, development of creative systems and functionality, demand generation, branding, video, and mobile. Longo brought to IDG a 20 year career in media sales and senior management. He began his career at CMP Media but in 1991 moved to Ziff Davis Media where he held several executive positions. Longo rose from associate publisher to publisher, group publisher, and executive vice president with titles such as PC Magazine, PC Week/eWeek, and Computer Shopper. In 2003, he joined Zinio, first as executive vice president and then rose to president at the digital magazine provider.

Note: This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights.

Also in this series:

Q&A with Neil Johnston, Cox’s EVP of Strategy & Digital Innovation on Premium Programmatic

Q&A with Chip Schenck, VP/Programmatic Sales & Strategy, Meredith on Premium Programmatic

Q&A With Jeff Misenti, Chief Digital Officer, Fox News on Cross-Platform Advertising

Innovation

What do Travolta, Weiner and Romney Have in Common? Good Smart Fun.

March 7, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

Covering everything from political scandal and civil unrest to technology and pop culture, Slate satisfies its audience with its highly intelligent and wholly irreverent perspective on just about everything. Slate is a go-to for an insightful take on the topics du jour. But it feels a lot more like a friend who finds humor in almost any situation than a dogmatic professor. Apparently you can discuss Romulans and the Big Bang on the same page as The Poetry of the Cosmos and Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine. Who knew?

Slate editor David Plotz, for one. In fact, he says Slate makes a conscious effort to hire staff who “are serious about their subjects, but also witty. It is core to our brand to be smart, analytical and funny.”

Funny is exactly the right word to describe John Travolta’s Oscar night name-mangling of Broadway singer Idina Menzel as “Adele Dazeem.” We’ve all mispronounced names, though generally not with 43 million ardently-engaged viewers watching. Jokes were bound to ensue. But back at the Slate office, Monday morning joking turned into Monday afternoon pageview gold.

According to Plotz, Slate video producer Jim Festante came up with the The Adele Dazeem Name Generator and Slate interactive editor Chris Kirk, “a coder with journalistic DNA and a good wit” brought it to life — to the tune of nine million page views and counting. In fact, it is Slate’s most-viewed content to date. The widget, says Plotz, “blew up like nothing we have ever seen.”

While it can be tempting to look at the success of the name generator and try to mimic it, and equally tempting to enter the names of anyone you know (which will likely extend well beyond your lunch break), not every story needs a widget. One size does not fit all. Nor, it seems, does any set formula. The fact that Slate was “born digital” affords it unprecedented editorial flexibility. Likening his decision-making process to Michelangelo’s (tongue just barely in cheek) Plotz says, “I cut away all the pieces that don’t look like David.”

Sometimes, that takes the shape of an award-winning article. And sometimes, of a wildly-popular widget. The trick to knowing how to tackle a Slate story, it seems is “treasuring the relationship with [its] audience, which is very devoted and very smart.”

It is also about the relationship between technology and journalism. “Journalism, for a digital publication,” says Plotz, “is intrinsically an interaction between the words and the medium. Sometimes that means an 18,000 word story and sometimes that means a generator.”

Like Slate “generators” before it — which include the Carlos Danger Name Generator (“Get a name like Anthony Weiner’s alleged sexting pseudonym”) and the Mitt Romney Income Generator (“How long would it take the GOP candidate to earn what you make in a year?”) — The Adele Dazeem Name Generator leverages editorial wit with digital agility and technological acumen to create interactive experiences that are naturally social. This latest widget success has already garnered five million referrals from Facebook and 43,000 tweets.

“Our Oscars coverage was extensive, with a dozen or maybe 20 stories coming out of it. Like the rest of the audience, we saw this super funny moment and sometimes you need to do something quick. Fish gotta swim, right? It just seemed so natural.”

Innovation | Research

Discovery Digital Networks Growth Fueled by Staff Superfans

March 6, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

Discovery Digital Networks is feeling the love from its audience more than ever. The web-native portfolio, which is made up of four original video networks – Revision3, TestTube, Animalist and the DeFranco Network – has increased views and audience 400% since Revision3 joined the Discovery Communications family in May 2012. An increased focus on video has been a key factor in the growth. Today, fans across these four digital networks are consuming, on average, 160 million video views each month and, in social circles, the communities are stronger than ever – with 35 million followers and 14 million Facebook fans.

Discovery’s digital-native portfolio has driven its growth the ‘Discovery way,’ with highly curated, premium content. Content that Discovery owns. Great storytelling is at the heart of the programming, led by show hosts who are as authentic as the content itself. It’s the relationship between the show host and each community that drives engagement.

In fact, according to the latest Discovery Digital Networks’ Audience Survey, the most compelling driver of views and social interaction is the fact that Discovery hosts are, themselves “superfans of their brands, the network and its content,” according to Suzanne McDonnell, SVP of Sales Strategy & Client Solutions at Discovery Communications.

According to Discovery’s research, the authenticity of its hosts is at the core of why its content resonates with fans and advertisers alike. As McDonnell puts it, “our hosts are experts not actors. They are born of the communities that they represent.” This affinity between the shows’ fans and the equally engaged hosts has inspired the programming.

Comments from survey respondents made this sentiment clear: “The Rev3Games team comes across as honest professional[s] that actually play and enjoy games…You are critics, yes, but you also have a love for gaming.” Of Hak5, a respondent said “I think it is the personalities that make it top notch. They really seem to be enjoying themselves.” And one DNews viewer said “I feel just like I’m listening to a friend talk.”

Discovery Digital Networks found that 97% of viewers are very/somewhat satisfied with the host’s personality and 92% with the host’s expertise. This fact, says McDonnell, keeps the network focused on “a hosted-show model around which we build passionate communities.”

The power of highly curated, premium programing, led by authentic hosts, extends itself to advertisers as well. Discovery’s research found that 64% of respondents feel that brands featured within the network programs are usually a good fit with the show/channel, and 50% have more confidence in brands featured within the programming. “Viewers trust Discovery Digital Networks to feature brands that are relevant to them. Viewers’ highly favorable opinions of our content adds a halo effect to brands featured within the content,” says McDonnell. “That presents unparalleled opportunity for advertisers to join the conversation and become a member of these communities.”

Revenue

Q&A with Chip Schenck, VP/Programmatic Sales & Strategy, Meredith on Premium Programmatic

March 3, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights… If you want to learn more, keep an eye out on our site for more interviews. Today’s Three on Three interview is with Chip Schenck, VP/Programmatic Sales & Strategy, Meredith on the subject of “Premium Programmatic” advertising.

Q: How would you define Premium Programmatic as it compares to what we’ve come to know as “Programmatic Advertising”?

A:Premium Programmatic is a combination of both a change in sales process/dialogue and packaging of inventory, vs what we have seen previously as standard programmatic. Standard programmatic can be defined as machine to machine buying/selling automation. Where previously, standard programmatic inventory had various shades of transparency with little differentiation in available inventory and no real human interaction—what we call “dials only”—as part of the selling and transaction process, programmatic premium is typically direct sold, human negotiated, uniquely packaged and made up of limited availability inventory, with much greater levels of transparency between buyer and seller.

The simple answer? Programmatic premium is directly sold/personally negotiated but programmatically executed. For buyers, the opportunity is higher value inventory, depending on how you define “higher value.” This might mean earlier look, higher in the frequency curve, specific inventory, audience enriched, etc. It could mean a better environment versus the open exchange, better brand performance, etc.

Q: Describe the way in which your organization handles programmatic?

A: We are approaching the market with a unified sales vision, and a focus on leveraging data in all of our sales channels: Ideally, programmatic and sponsorship dollars working together to support a creative idea will drive better consumer engagement for a client’s campaign, and so we want our sales efforts to be unified where possible. However, not everyone is buying that way, and so will also be able to service parallel paths—sponsorship only and programmatic only—until such time as planning/buying is more holistic.

When more than half of the Advertising Trading Desks s in the market have built a ‘transition’ or ‘liaison’ team between the traditional digital agency and the programmatic agency/ATD to bet better aligned, that is a signal that buying methodologies will change. We look at this as a positive trend for the industry because it moves the conversation towards total value for the client and the publisher, and understanding how each channel can benefit a client’s plan, rather than a focus on price sensitivity or efficiency alone.

Q: What types of marketing initiatives lend themselves best to leveraging programmatic and how can the premium approach better deliver?

A:Programmatic has been used to deliver a lot of direct response campaigns in the past because it was so price driven. However, leveraging the incredible targeting capabilities, the transparency of placement, contextual adjacency when desired, the halo effect from a strong consumer media brand, and the benefits of efficient media, any form of communication can work programmatically. It can successfully drive KPI’s including awareness and reach for the upper funnel; inspiration and intention for the mid funnel; and trial and transaction for the lower funnel. Premium programmatic offers the best mix of pricing efficiency, targeting, reach and scale, while still getting the safety and engagement of trusted contextual environments.

Charles “Chip” Schenck is the VP of Programmatic Sales and Strategy at Meredith Corporation and responsible for helping clients leverage data and insights across Meredith’s Digital Network, for execution across all platforms and channels. Schenck joined Meredith Digital from PubMatic where he served as VP/Publisher Development. In addition, Schenck has held senior leadership positions with a diverse range of media companies including serving as VP/Integrated Sales & Development for American Express Publishing; Associate Publisher for In Touch Weekly; and Managing Director of Sales and Marketing for Hearst-Stratosfera.

Note: This Q&A is part of OPA’s “Three on Three” series where we ask three industry executives the same three questions on a topic to uncover actionable insights.

Also in this series:

Q&A with Neil Johnston, Cox’s EVP of Strategy & Digital Innovation on Premium Programmatic