Category results for "Innovation"

Condé Nast Traveler’s New Gold List App Focuses on Social Life and Good Taste

June 6, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

This week, Condé Nast Traveler launched its new Gold List app, available for iOS and Android, to leverage the usefulness and popularity of its listings of hotels, resorts, restaurants and hotel bars as well as to maximize the social influence of this type of content. According to Creative Services Director Dana Devito, “social is a very big part of our editorial play online and off.”
The app, says Devito, “is a true extension of our brand, not just a guide.” In particular, she cites Condé Nast Traveler’s Tastemakers—something the publication recently introduced as it shifts from its focus on travel to a broader lifestyle perspective. Tastemakers are those the publication deems influential in a wide range of areas, who offer up their distinct view on the most interesting places, things to do, and much more. The app specifically leverages the social footprint of these tastemakers because, as Devito puts it, “the biggest form of ad delivery is word of mouth.” Within the app, each Very Important Tastemaker (including stylist Ann Caruso, gallery owner Blair Voltz Clark, and hotelier Jeff Klien) has their own “VIT” page which highlights their picks (look for more emphasis on these tastemakers in the publication’s website relaunch, coming in August).

The emphasis on social can be seen everywhere in the app but the social strategy is not solely focused on external channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest. They’ve included their own Pinterest-like virtual bookmarking tool which allows users to cut and paste photos and videos to populate their own public or private social stream, which Devito calls “our own Condé Nast Traveler inspiration board. ”Social integration was a key element of The Gold List app, says Devito, “because it creates a two-way platform. We’re not just pushing out information; we want to hear from our users too.”

At launch, the Gold List app includes more than 600 hotels and resorts and 300-plus restaurants and hotel bars, searchable by country, region and city. The top-ranked hotels and resorts were reader-selected in Condé Nast Traveler’s annual Reader’s Choice Survey. The app emphasizes Devito, “delivers on our twin promises of inspiration and service” with its “Stream” function, which provides a running visual archive of anything that users have shared or saved in the app. “The beautiful part of this app,” says Devito, “is that, sure, it is a resource to plan your next trip. But it is also a great tool to find a restaurant or bar at home or whatever city you find yourself in.”

Innovation

Discovery Digital Networks Partners with Magisto to Become Part of People’s Video Memories

June 2, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

Everyone wants to be in the video business these days—and for good reason. The audience for digital video is expected to climb from 190.6 million this year to 204.6 million in 2017, with almost 117 million watching on mobile devices. For Discovery Digital Networks, its 30-year legacy of creating compelling video gives it a solid lead. The trick, of course, is to maximize those assets.

According to Jim Louderback, GM of Discovery Digital Networks, the company is always exploring new ways to leverage its digital video. The latest example can be seen in its partnership with cloud-based mobile platform Magisto, which allows users to mash-up Discovery Digital Networks’ video content with their own.

Magisto employs Artificial Intelligence-driven technology that analyzes and automatically edits and produces raw video and photos to recreate life experiences and personal memories for their network of 35 million users. This collaboration lets consumers tell their own stories mashed up with Discovery Digital Networks’ content, enhancing their storytelling and inserting the brand into consumers’ personal stories.

As Louderback sees it, “video is a natural communication medium for anyone under the age of 25. I don’t think it will ever replace text, but it is taking on an important role for many media consumers.” Unfortunately, many who get into the game view it through the traditional broadcast lens. “Which is exactly the wrong thing to do. You have to think about it being more of a conversational medium.” And when he says conversation, he means an interaction, not an “old media megaphone” model.

Discovery Digital Networks began its relationship with Magisto earlier this year with a single travel theme that proved wildly popular: In two months, users created 800,000 Discovery Digital branded travel movies which received more than 5 million views. Now the two have launched the “Wild Nature” custom Magisto theme, which will incorporate footage of 3D life-like dinosaurs and sloths from Discovery Digital Network’s upcoming Sloth Week. Louderback is looking forward to “the summer of sloth,” when Magisto users mash-up of videos of lazy summer days and Sloth Week footage.

Beyond entertainment and engagement, the opportunity, says Lauderback, is to become integrated into the most intimate and important pieces of people’s lives. “Think about it: They are creating the story of a graduation, a child’s birthday, or the biggest fish they caught and now they can layer in our video to tell these stories in an even more meaningful, dramatic way. You have these incredible moments in your lives and Discovery is woven into them.”

Having joined the company through its acquisition of Revision 3, where he was CEO, Lauderback describes Discovery Digital Networks as “very forward-thinking…we try things and sometimes we fail, but we always learn.” With the Magisto partnership, he sees the possibility of new monetization opportunities for the company’s valuable video assets. “These experiments are important.”

Innovation | Video

Scripps Networks Interactive Continues ulive Momentum with Three New Shows

May 23, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

This week, Scripps Networks Interactive’s online lifestyle channel ulive announced the launch of three new series, marking the continued expansion of the digital network’s original programming. Lisa Choi Owens, COO of ulive says the channel “has not only seen growth in the network and publisher partners, we’ve seen tremendous growth in our programming, with well over 100 original series, many returning from last year,” including the two it renewed this week, EstheKitchen and Sick Kitchens with Nadia G.

Owens was instrumental in the launch of ulive last October when she and Jeff Meyer, now the President of ulive, realized that they had significantly more demand than supply for Scripps’ video inventory, which boasts popular brands such as HGTV, DIY Network and the Food Network. As Owens says, “It is also hard to see hockey stick growth from established websites.” The two recognized they were “sitting on a demo where a lot of content was not available in the market.” ulive was launched to fill that gap, as well as to expand Scripps’ existing lifestyle dominion from food, home and travel to include “all those things the average female viewer is interested in” including wellness, exercise, pets, parenting and more.

The ulive network has been particularly successful with the 25-39 female demographic, which Owens describes as “both fortuitous and planned, given that this is a desirable demographic for us, but also that this type of content will naturally resonate with that audience.”

“This audience goes online to be informed, entertained, and inspired,” says Lauren McGrath, Development Coordinator at ulive, who cites recent research undertaken by ulive and POPSUGAR as confirmation. She and Owens agree that the new shows in the lineup fit the bill perfectly:

In Dear Buddha, comedian Carey Reilly explores non-traditional roads to wellness, like sound therapy, equine therapy and reiki;
5 Minute Relaxation Anywhere features fitness guru Natasha Lloyd as she helps viewers chillax, as the title promises, anywhere, anytime;
In Fit Nonstop, SoulCycle instructor and YouTuber Kym Perfetto shows viewers how to adopt her no-BS approach to fitness, no gym required.

McGrath says that “last year’s 5-minute Workout Anywhere with Craig Ramsay was a huge success,” which she attributes to the optimal content, format, and delivery—suited to the audience’s busy lifestyle. The newly announced programming will all be short-form, running three to five minutes per episode. Owens says that ulive’s research clearly shows that “for our categories, short form works best.”

According to McGrath, what also works well for this audience are hosts that both entertain and inform, “Carey perfectly encapsulates our demo. She is a real life mom that brings comedy and entertainment value, but is always striving to learn more and better herself. That authenticity makes her incredibly fun to watch.”

Given its growth trajectory, ulive is in the market to develop new programming. And this week, the company announced a partnership with the New York Television Festival as a development partner. The two have also teamed up, along with fellow Scripps Networks Interactive brand the Travel Channel, to award a digital series to an independent artist participating in this year’s New York Television Festival. Original concepts will be vetted from the NYTVF’s 2014 class of Official Artists who participate in the NYTVF Pitch this fall. “This is a great way to partner and incubate talent,” says McGrath. “We feel that the talent pool of independent artists is incredibly deep and we look at the NYTVF participants as the future of content creators in our industry—including talent, producers and production companies.”

As ulive continues to develop its programming, Owens emphasizes that it isn’t a question of volume. “We’re dedicated to creating very focused content that continues to be useful, but also entertaining and authentic.”

Innovation

Q&A: Kate Lewis, VP, Hearst Magazines Digital Media on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

May 13, 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 Kate Lewis, VP, Content Operations & Editorial Director Hearst Magazines Digital Media on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences.

Q: Where do you start in conceiving of a multiscreen user experience?

A: Honestly, that’s just not how we think about it. We think audience first. Our audience is coming through search, social and direct. We do find that social primarily takes place on the phone and when we factor in viral, we have to consider whether the content is something a reader is going to click on while looking at their Facebook page or Twitter feed on a phone. But we don’t obsess about whether you are on a tablet or at your desk. I don’t get data on how stories are performing on devices; I look at how a story is performing period.

To some extent, we are trying to think of everything from a mobile-first perspective now. A lot of our sites are female-driven and we find that female audiences are more phone and tablet oriented. But really, we don’t think about screens. We think about how to connect with audiences.

One thing we do look at is what we deliver at different times of day, when people are likely to be using different devices. Lunchtime is a big desktop time so we can think about delivering something longer and ways we can entice them to move around the site. At 6:00 p.m., we know it is a phone or tablet time of day. Then we are thinking about offering more “sound bites” or things like “23 Problems Only Tall Women Have.” It isn’t just a matter of device use at that time, though, it is also about how the audience is feeling and what they are in the mood for: “What can I relate to?” “What will free my mind from what I’ve been doing all day?” The content won’t change from desktop to phone.

Of course the majority of our sites are designed responsively so the experience is good on desktop and mobile. On mobile, the experience cannot be convoluted; it has to be straightforward with really clear pathing. That is affecting how we design all of our digital experiences. We want to let the content speak for itself.

Q: Describe a recent multiscreen experiences that you think worked particularly well.

A: Well, like I said, that isn’t really how we approach things. But Esquire published a piece that shows how all these screen experiences blend together:

They—rightly—felt compelled to cover what is happening in Ukraine. Yet they wanted to do it in a way that was appropriate to the brand and would take advantage of what is wonderful about digital. They didn’t want it to feel like a formal news site and they wanted it to feel connected in a human sense. The approach they took was to collect Instagram photos from before and after the uprising in the Ukraine and juxtapose them against each other. Think about it: It is so internet friendly, and nothing is more mobile-friendly than Instagram. Plus, it allowed them to tell a real news story with something totally relatable as the medium—everyone is on Instagram from Crimea to L.A.

Q: What do you see as the biggest opportunity in developing multiscreen experiences?

A: The ability to be with your audience all day, every day, everywhere. We are literally in the reader’s pocket. It is incredible. We used to think in terms of one deep experience a day. Now we think about delivering a core reader that deep experience plus making ten other touch points a day. We are holding their hand in line at the grocery store and keeping them company on a long subway ride.

This also lets us gauge in real time how stories are performing and if they resonate with our audience. There is still a lot of long tail success in our content, but there’s a lot of in-the-moment content and today we can react very quickly. We can see things in social that weren’t happening on our site and react very quickly.

All of this deepens the relationship with our audiences. They swipe the phone open and we are there. And that connection is more intimate than ever, which influences the editorial voice and how we communicate. Facebook, for example, has changed the tone of digital. Content needs to feel friendly, it also needs to feel urgent because there are so many things competing for attention on someone’s. And it needs to be engaging in the first sound bite because, on a phone, you only have a tiny screen, and a small window of opportunity, to engage.

Kate Lewis is the Vice President, Content Operations & Editorial Director at Hearst Magazines Digital Media, responsible for managing the content organizations of 24 sites, including digital brands Cosmopolitan.com, Esquire.com, Elle.com, CarandDriver.com, and HarpersBazaar.com, and pure-plays including Delish.com. January was Hearst Magazines Digital Media’s best month with 85.5 million uniques. Prior to Hearst, Lewis worked at Say Media in a similar role, overseeing content strategy and operations for a number Say’s own sites including xoJane, Remodelista, and ReadWrite, as well as a number of network sites. Originally a print editor, she spent 18 years at Conde Nast working on brands like Vanity Fair, Glamour, and SELF. Her last role there was editorial lead in the Human Resources department.

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: Ryan Spoon, SVP Digital Product, ESPN on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

Q&A: Rob Hayes, EVP Digital Media, NBCUniversal on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

Innovation

TheStreet Foundation Launches to Support Financial Journalism and Financial Literacy

May 6, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

TheStreet has launched TheStreet Foundation, a non-profit organization which aims to support and expand financial literacy through investigative journalism and custom research. Stephanie Link, TheStreet’s chief investment officer will serve as chairman of the Foundation’s board, which includes TheStreet’s CEO Elisabeth DeMarse. The company’s General Counsel Vanessa Soman will serve as the Foundation’s president.

Soman credits DeMarse with suggesting the formation of a Foundation when she joined TheStreet as CEO in 2012. “Everyone loved the idea,” says Soman who believes that this initiative is an ideal fit with the organization and its larger objectives. She points out that co-founder Jim Cramer “has his Action Alerts Charitable Trust and a real commitment to giving back.” TheStreet Foundation is also consistent with Cramer’s initial vision for TheStreet—to bring Wall Street to Main Street.

While she says that the flagship site, TheStreet.com “addresses a relatively sophisticated investor,” TheStreet Foundation is intended to support the needs of anyone who needs more financial information. There is a gap in the market, according to Soman, who spent a good deal of time looking at the financial information currently available. While there are a lot of superficial tips and jargon-laden high-end investment advice, there is an unserved market of “educated people, who are experts at what they do, but not financial experts.”

She and the team at TheStreet also found a need for more investigative journalism that will tackle issues of corporate wrongdoing, government corruption and consumer fraud. “We want to support long form, in-depth, hard hitting, impactful journalism and give journalists a voice, specifically in the financial market.” As such, the Foundation will offer a Fellows Program, which will grant seed funding to investigative journalists. The Founding Fellow is Susan Antilla, an award-winning freelance journalist who has written for Bloomberg View, The New York Times and USA Today. She is also the author of Tales From the Boom-Boom Room: The Landmark Legal Battles That Exposed Wall Street’s Shocking Culture of Sexual Harassment.

In addition to investigative journalism and educational information and resources, TheStreet Foundation also plans to offer a wide range of survey data and infographics on its site, as well as information on financial literacy events. Soman says, “TheStreet is a small organization with lofty aspirations for our Foundation. To achieve our objectives, we plan on partnering for content we don’t already have and supporting the creation of information that is needed to offer a path to better financial literacy and practices for everyone.”

Innovation

Q&A: Rob Hayes, EVP Digital Media, NBCUniversal on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

May 2, 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 Rob Hayes, Executive Vice President Digital Media, NBCUniversal on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

Q: Where do you start in conceiving of a multiscreen user experience?

A: The best place to start is at the beginning. That may sound obvious, but really, the most effective multiscreen experiences happen early on before a project is too far down the path of content development. For a multiscreen experience, we like to get into the digital DNA of the show and develop that story organically.

In my experience at NBC, digital is tightly integrated with the programming department. We all report up into the same chairman and we are not siloed. When we have an idea for a show, digital is there in the early stages. I have a team that sits with the programming executives. Our digital executives, who develop what those digital extensions will be, work in parallel with other creative channels, which allows digital to develop more holistically. At the end of the day, it delivers a better user experience because digital is not an add-on; it feels natural to the program. You need to be involved from the beginning and it needs to start with the content and programing itself. Really, if a user is thinking about screens and not the content, you have failed to make a true connection with your audience. All of the experiences, from one screen to the next, need to act in concert with one another, resulting in an overall experience that is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Q: Describe a recent multiscreen project that you feel was particularly innovative and successful. A: There are actually two shows that are great examples of this and while they’re extremely different from one another, both exemplify innovative and successful multiscreen initiatives.

The first one is The Voice. While the show was a hit internationally, it was virtually unknown domestically when Talpa brought it to NBC. From Season One, with several other music shows already established, we knew we had to take The Voice to the next level. So we set out to create a deeper, more compelling interactive experience than any show before it had done. It was essential to make the fans feel part of the show from the moment it premiered.

The Voice pioneered the use of real-time social mentions on-air, igniting social conversation that began with the airing on the east coast and continued throughout the season. Our embedded social team was on set day in and day out capturing behind the scenes content that’s only possible by being physically on location. Our social experts then crafted custom social art and conversation specific to each social platform, creating a richness and organic feel to new and existing fans in ways that felt personal and relevant to them individually and collectively. Most recently, we added “the live Twitter save,” which lets fans at home instantly save their favorite artist from those who are at risk of elimination moments later.

A second example of our approach to multiscreen is around a show we launched last fall called Million Second Quiz. From the start, this show was created to be a multiscreen experience. It premiered in September but in early August, we launched a robust app and site where people could go and compete with others, answering trivia questions that appeared in the show itself. While the game could be played just for fun, once you hit certain levels, you were qualified to be a contestant on the show. This let the digital experience not only create awareness for the show, but also allowed us to use digital for prequalifying, serving as a casting call for people to appear on the show itself. I think that Million Second Quiz was groundbreaking in how it removed the disconnection between a show and its digital experience. Users of the app and site were now part of the show, competing in the same way and for the same prize as those who were on the air. This is the power of an interactive, multiscreen experience in that it can turn TV into a massive multi-player game. And we have only really scratched the surface of what we can do creatively to empower more viewers to activate around the television experience and change the definition of storytelling.

It worked well for us in all of these areas, but the gaming experience alone was incredibly successful. We had had more than 2 million downloads. We trended at #1 for a time on iTunes and stayed in the top 25 through the premier and run of the show. When the show went live, you could play along with the show, but you could also play any time. We had up to 500,000 concurrent players.

The Voice and Million Second Quiz are great examples of what you can accomplish when digital is part of your strategy right from the beginning.

Q: What do you see as the biggest opportunity in developing multiscreen experiences?

A: I think that this is the big opportunity: To create shows that incorporate organic multiscreen experiences. I think that it reflects how consumer behavior has changed. Consumers and creatives expect digital extensions for more and more experiences and television programming is no different.

And from the programming perspective, digital allows shows to live beyond the 30 or 60 minutes they are on the air each week. These multi-platform experiences let users engage with that content and the brand for the rest of the time until the show airs again.

Multi-platform experiences give brands a way to participate along with consumers. Think about the nature of live programming: As television viewing becomes more and more fractured, innovation in this area gives the industry a way to engage fans and get them to view live.

And if through these multi-platform experiences, we can engage fans in a way that increases ratings even one-tenth of a point that falls right to the bottom line.

Robert Hayes was named to the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Digital Media, NBC Entertainment, in May 2012. He reports to Len Fogge, President, NBC Entertainment Marketing & Digital. Previously, Hayes was COO of Iconic Entertainment Inc., where he was responsible for creating premium VOD channels for YouTube and other premium over-the-top distributors.

Prior to that, Hayes made his biggest impact at Showtime Networks Inc. where he oversaw all things digital for the premium network, developing robust multi-platform identities for such critically acclaimed shows as “Dexter,” “Weeds,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Californication” and “The Tudors.” Earlier in his career, Hayes served as Vice President of Business Development and Vice President, International Business Development, assessing opportunities for Showtime and other Viacom brands. Hayes has received numerous industry awards, including a 2010 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development for Showtime Sports Interactive.

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: Ryan Spoon, SVP Digital Product, ESPN on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

Q&A: Rob Hayes, EVP Digital Media, NBCUniversal on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

Innovation

Q&A: Ryan Spoon, SVP Digital Product, ESPN on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

April 29, 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 Ryan Spoon, SVP Digital Product, ESPN on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences.

Q: Where do you start in conceiving of a multiscreen user experience?

A: We think about multiscreen experiences in two primary and important ways: First, we program for the best screen available and optimize the experience and functionality accordingly. For instance, what a fan wants and expects on a mobile phone differs from the tablet which differs yet again from the big screen television.

Second, while the functionality might change based on screen size and capability, the interactions and design should be familiar and cohesive. We almost always conceive of products and experiences as capable of being multiscreen and part of a larger product portfolio / offering.

Q: Describe one of your recent or forthcoming multiscreen initiatives/projects.

A: WatchESPN is a very good example because we have worked hard to make it available on all screens but special for each screen’s platform and use-case. WatchESPN has been released or updated on Apple TV, iOS, Android, Kindle, Roku XBox One and XBox 360−with more to come. We were careful to design the product specifically for each use case and platform and to take advantage of different functionalities and capabilities.

For instance, the iPad application introduced the Live Toolbar which enables fans to watch multiple videos at once and access live scores. This functionality was specifically crafted for that device and platform. With Apple TV, we introduced Airplay integration and a standalone application. For example, you can fling a game from your iPhone to the television using airplay and now use your phone to follow gamecast or fantasy scores. In that case, the screens are interacting but each play a specific, standalone role.

Q: What do you see as the biggest opportunity in developing multiscreen experiences?

A: There are two big opportunities−and challenges−with multiscreen experiences, in my opinion.

First, if you define multiscreen as functional across all devices and platforms, personalization and user familiarity are critical. For instance, if I move from iPhone to desktop and then to tablet, everything should be synced, familiar and painless. Login and personalization are the key.

Second, if you define multiscreen as two screens functioning concurrently, the challenge and opportunity are to eliminate friction. Simply asking users to open multiple devices at once is a logistical and funnel challenge. Making it simple and contextual is very challenging. But ultimately, it is the right way to do it. I think we are making strides through cross-application deep-linking, Airplay integration and improved television integration, as examples. I think Twitter is also doing interesting work with their “See It” button integrations. These are all steps forward.

Ryan Spoon was named Senior Vice President, Product Development in July 2012. In this role, he is responsible for digital product development across all screens, including ESPN.com, ESPN Mobile, WatchESPN, ESPN3, Fantasy, and Social Media. Prior to ESPN, Spoon was a venture capitalist at Polaris Venture Partners and specialized in early-stage consumer internet, social media and e-commerce investments. Previously, Spoon served as Vice President, Marketing and Business Development for Widgetbox (now Flite) — a platform for brands and publishers to create dynamic, shareable ad units. Prior to that, Spoon spent 2003 to 2007 at eBay, focusing on internet marketing, user acquisition and social products, while launching and managing eBay’s U.S. Classifieds business. While he was a collegiate swimmer for Duke University, Spoon founded beRecruited, an online recruiting platform for high school student-athletes and college coaches. beRecruited was acquired in 2007 by RVS Ventures.

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: Rob Hayes, EVP Digital Media, NBCUniversal on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

Q&A: Kate Lewis, VP, Hearst Magazines Digital Media on Delivering Compelling Multiscreen Experiences

Innovation | Perspectives

Q&A: Avi Steinlauf, CEO Edmunds Inc., on Putting Data to Work

April 22, 2014 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. This Three on Three interview is with Avi Steinlauf. CEO Edmunds Inc., on Putting Data to Work.

Q: Please describe the value of data to your editorial and advertising efforts:

A: Data is the backbone of Edmunds.com. Consumers who visit our site use our automotive data to shop for a car. And, with a deep regard for individual privacy, we collect clickstream, lead and transaction data that illustrates aggregate car shopper behavior in order to present our automaker and dealer partners with tangible insights that they can apply to their business.

We also analyze traffic to specific dealership inventory listings and carefully monitor consumer reviews of dealerships to ensure legitimacy and to help dealer partners pinpoint issues that may be hampering sales. I’m pretty sure that our attention to our consumer reviews is likely one of the reasons that Edmunds.com was named — along with TripAdvisor, Zagat and OpenTable — one of the most trusted prominent online review sites in Maritz Research’s 2013 Online Customer Review Study. That study examined 13 high-profile ratings sites; Edmunds.com was the only automotive site listed in the top ten and it ranked fourth overall, outperforming Yelp, Google+, Hotels.com, City Search and others.

Of course, we also collect data that allows us to make improvements to our own website user experience.

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

A: Well, I think the way that we approach the use of data for advertising in general might be a better answer here. We have an innovative “dashboard” through which our account managers can help our business partners understand all sorts of performance data. For example, we can show how many Edmunds.com visitors spent time shopping online for particular vehicles—slicing the data by make, model and/or segment—to help our partners market their vehicles.

Our sales team can also help an Edmunds “Promise Partner” dealership review its performance relative to other dealerships. For example (see picture below), data might show that a dealer is providing Edmunds.com visitors only with exterior colors of its inventory 60% of the time. This means that in nearly half of the searches in which car shoppers are specifying a desired color, this dealer’s vehicles will not be included in search results.

Additionally, this dashboard illustrates that the dealer is below average in its designated market areas, both in terms of number of consumer ratings and reviews, and in terms of the score, for sales and service. So, when this dealer’s inventory appears on the Edmunds site, its listings will show no stars to 2 stars based on 1 review, which does not make them very competitive. These dashboards make our clients aware of opportunities to make positive changes that will affect their bottom line. We find that the real-time analysis is tremendously valued by our clients, and is a huge differentiator from our competition.

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: Privacy is extremely important to us here at Edmunds.com. We have been told by our site visitors that they trust us, and we intend to always be as helpful and reliable as a friend. We use non-PII [personally identifiable information] data to help build better products for our website visitors and clients. By entering a ZIP code, car shoppers can gain access to locally relevant information such as nearby dealership inventory, regional True Market Value® prices, and average vehicle ownership costs specified by year, make and model.

Many of our site visitors choose to also give us PII data in order for us to help make their car shopping experience easier. For example, to receive a Price Promise certificate (which guarantees a locked-in, upfront price from a dealership), a car shopper will opt in to provide to Edmunds.com his or her name, phone number and email address. We make it crystal clear that this information will be used by Edmunds.com to facilitate a useful connection to the dealerships selected by the car shopper. Our site visitors know what we will do with the data, and we don’t do anything more. From a process perspective, that data is segmented and has strict access control so that we can maintain the privacy of our site visitors as we deliver a service that they requested from us.

Avi Steinlauf is the CEO for Edmunds Inc. He is responsible for managing Edmunds’ operations, including its 550 employees headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, its satellite office in Detroit, MI, and its field sales force located across the US. Avi also serves as a Director on Edmunds’ Board of Directors. Since joining the company in 1998, he has been responsible for developing and cultivating relationships with a number of Edmunds’ key partners. Positions Avi has held at Edmunds include President, Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Development, Vice President of Revenue Management, and Vice President of Marketing. Before joining Edmunds, Avi was a Senior Industry Analyst for Coopers & Lybrand’s Knowledge Strategies Group in New York.

Since 2006, Avi has been a Board Member for the Online Publishers’ Association, a not-for-profit trade organization dedicated to representing high-quality online content providers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Avi is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Golden West Chapter and serves as the Communications Chairman for YPO’s Automotive Network.

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

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

Innovation

Glamour Reflects on Beauty and Mobile with Launch of Lipstick.com

April 11, 2014 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

Among women’s media brands, Glamour has never been just another pretty face. Striving to reflect and inform the wide range of interests of its 17 million print and digital readers, Glamour takes a 360-degree perspective, covering everything from clothes and culture to careers and celebs. It addresses the woman as “the whole package”—while acknowledging her love for a kitten heel. This week, the brand launched its first ever digital spin-off to better serve the beauty needs of its readers: the mobile-optimized destination Lipstick.com.

The confluence of mobile, beauty and Glamour readers created a perfect storm for the launch of Lipstick.com according to Mike Hofman, Glamour’s Executive Digital Director. “Mobile is such a huge part of the way women, including our readers, discover beauty content,” he points out. The brand sees 52% of its monthly uniques coming from mobile and, according to Hofman, Glamour’s beauty department readers actually over-index for mobile.

Hofman says that they also found that Glamour’s beauty readers were more likely to stay within the beauty section and sample like-minded content. Likening the behavior of this reader segment to viewers who “binge-watch TV,” he says they “visit the site at a very high frequency and stay for a longer session duration. This is a very engaged reader and we said, ‘let’s create a space that really caters to her.’”

While the Glamour.com site has used responsive design since 2012, Lipstick.com was conceived of as a mobile destination first and foremost. Recognizing that women are often seeking inspiration during those found moments on the way to a meeting or while waiting for friends at a coffee shop, the site features a prominent “Ideas” button on the top right of the page. There, the reader can find handy galleries of nail colors, haircuts, makeup and more designed to inspire.

In some ways, Hofman says the site’s design is also reflective of the ways in which women get ideas via social media. “In our demo, social media is an extension of the readers’ personality.” Beauty, he points out, is a particularly rich area for social engagement. This is reflected in the inclusion of an “Instagram-like heart on our pages” so that readers can communicate to others what they love most. They’ve also launched a beauty tip series on Instagram called “InstaBeauty,” which offers how-to’s delivered in 15 seconds or less.

The site uses shorter, snappier headlines and features a “tap-to-load” button for navigation to the next suggested story. Glamour’s beauty readers, says Hofman, have a willingness to try new things and their research showed that “the number of products they buy is through the roof.” Thus, the essential inclusion of a “tap-to- buy” button, which may redirect to third party sites or to Shop Glamour to satisfy readers’ desire for a quick beauty fix.

At Glamour, beauty has always been more than something aspirational and the new Lipstick.com destination will build upon the beauty how-tos the brand is known for while continuing to reflect the adventurous, experimental and increasingly mobile world its readers live in. Hofman says they are also looking at successful aspects of other Condé Nast publications for inspiration, such as Bon Appétit’s recipe box, which could be leveraged to create an idea-store for regular readers. Armed with its close-knit reader relationship and an eye to innovation, Lipstick.com looks picture-perfect for the Glamour brand.

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.”