We sat down with TheMediaBriefing General Manager Daniel Williamson to get his take on the major issues he sees for digital media companies today and how his team plans to tackle them at the London-based company’s first stateside event Digital Media Strategies USA, which will be held September 8-10^th in New York.

Daniel, please describe the issues and opportunities that you think are foremost on the digital media landscape:

Not surprisingly, the continued development of sustainable business models remains top of mind. VC-fueled new media businesses have led the charge in growing huge audiences and investing in technology, branded content and digital video to monetize that growth. In a digital environment in constant flux, questions remain around whether and how these businesses are building business models fit for long-term sustainable profitability.

At DMS USA, we’ve invited three “new media” CEOs—Jim Bankoff from Vox Media; Pete Cashmore from Mashable; and Chris Altchek from Mic—to participate in a fireside discussion, moderated by Mathew Ingram. We are looking forward to a truly candid discussion about the challenges facing their businesses. I know Matt plans to cover issues that include how to work with platforms, how to use technology to create competitive advantage and how to unlock new revenue opportunities for your brand. We’ll also be hosting a discussion with Rafat Ali, CEO and Founder of Skift, and Kevin Delaney, Co-President & Editor-in-Chief of Quartz, looking at how media organizations can create value today.

The second big one I see is changing consumption habits. Of course, smartphones are now well-established as a dominant platform for media consumption, but both packaging and monetization present huge challenges for media businesses. Media brands are still figuring out how to create the right experience for users, advertising demand is still lagging far behind consumption, and there is no consensus on what works. Digital subscriptions are even harder to win on mobile than on the desktop and the number of devices and new behaviors continues to grow.

At DMS USA, I think we’ll hit on some of the big issues and opportunities with a range of content: Robert Thompson, Chief Executive of News Corp will present a keynote on how he is transforming the structure and culture of News Corp to crack the mobile opportunity. Benedict Evans, Partner at Andreessen-Horowitz will discuss his most recent findings on the evolving device market and changing consumption habits. And Kinsey Wilson, EVP Product & Technology at the New York Times is presenting a keynote on, among other things, how the New York Times is attempting to bridge the mobile monetization gap for both subscriptions and advertising.

Of course everyone is excited about digital video, which offers a big growth opportunity given the incredible growth of consumption—whether through Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube or directly on media properties. Advertiser demand for quality inventory is high and looks likely to continue growing. Video has never been cheaper to make and is popular on mobile devices. Given this growth opportunity, it seems that practically everyone is investing in video. But really, with everyone getting in the game, it is important to focus on things like: How do you stand out? What should you produce? How produce it cost-effectively and still get scale?

At DMS USA, we’ve invited Alex Wellen, Chief Product Officer at CNN to share his insights from CNN’s journey into digital video. I know he plans to look at how CNN has had to change its approach to content for different audiences, platforms and devices. And, importantly, Alex will talk about what he’s learned about how to effectively monetize digital video and how to meet audience and advertiser demand for quality and accountability.

And while online advertising is a topic that we hear about everywhere, we can’t ignore its significance and the ways in which it is constantly evolving. Programmatic continues to grow, but its promise is yet to be realized, particularly given marketers desires for both efficiencies and quality audiences. Native advertising has opened up new revenue opportunities, but it is becoming harder to differentiate your offering. Viewability, ad blocking and non-human traffic each present a huge threat to digital advertising revenues, but there are no clear-cut solutions. The relationship between brands, agencies and media companies continues to change dramatically.

These issues are front of mind as digital media companies seek to maximize the quality of advertising experiences for marketers and end users. At DMS USA, Peter Spande, Chief Revenue Officer of Business Insider will present best-in-class case study of how he has developed the programmatic strategy and culture at the business. Robert plans to look at talent, culture, partnerships, optimal packaging and intelligent partnerships. We’re also looking forward to offering brand and agency perspectives. For example, Linda Boff from GE, Amanda Rubin from Goldman Sachs and Sarah.Hofstetter from 360i will speak frankly in a panel moderated by Adweek’s Lisa Granatstein about what they really want from media companies. We will also have leading executives from Medium and The Economist discussing what to do about viewability, ad blocking and non-human traffic.

I can’t say that these topics suffice to reflect the many different challenges and opportunities that color the digital media landscape. But from my perspective working with the terrific team here at TheMediaBriefing, I believe these four are among the primary issues we face today and offer an excellent basis for lively debate and actionable insights at Digital Media Strategies USA.

There’s an old adage that sometimes it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in the ocean. The technology news industry is an example of this. Years ago, during the dot-com boom and thereafter, a slew of tech-focused news sites started making waves in Silicon Valley, including TechCrunch, Ars Technica, Wired, Mashable, Gigaom and VentureBeat (to name just a few).

AllThingsD, originally a part of the Wall Street Journal, was one of those players. But when veteran tech journalists Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg launched it as the separate entity Re/code in January 2014, that pond housing all the big fish tech publishers was already expanding, turning into an ocean. When Vox Media announced last week that it would acquire Re/code’s parent company Revere Digital in an undisclosed all-stock deal, Swisher acknowledged to the New York Times what more and more medium-sized publishers, especially in the congested tech news industry, are realizing: “It’s not a secret that being a smaller fish is really hard.”

Rather than leading to a debate about whether it was the right or wrong decision for Re/code and Vox to merge, the discussion that’s evolved has more to do with the hard realities of what’s necessary for journalistic enterprises to stay afloat.

A Size Issue
While Re/code is known for Swisher breaking big tech stories and Mossberg’s distinctive voice on reviews, along with its pricey Code Conference confabs (previously the D conference), the publisher had a relatively small audience, with 1.5 million monthly visitors, according to comScore. That’s nothing compared to behemoths like Vox, BuzzFeed and Vice, which have grown from small fish into great white sharks, with VC funding, audience metrics and their own tech innovations feeding that growth.

Perhaps, as Forbes’ Miguel Helft writes, the Re/code + Vox deal “suggests that the investor fueled frenzy around tech journalism is likely not sustainable.” Indeed, in talking with CNBC about the deal, Swisher and Mossberg explained that Vox had what Re/code was lacking: different revenue streams, a know-how of content management systems, and prowess at navigating the advertising business. That’s in addition to Vox’s “beautiful, powerful and flexible proprietary publishing platform,” Chorus, which “will give us new ways to present our stories to you,” wrote Swisher and Mossberg in a blog post.

The buyout comes against a backdrop of sudden shakiness among tech publishers online, with Gigaom’s shutdown (and rebirth), Verizon’s buyout of AOL (with the media side possibly spun off) and ReadWrite’s crowdfunding campaign to get more stable funding. Plus, Fusion has had a reboot on its mission, and Circa might be sold to Twitter.

“The bottom line (in more ways than one) is that size still matters for media companies,” Fortune’s Mathew Ingram wrote.

A Need for Invention
The problem with tech publications is that there are market forces pushing them to do more than simply remain tech publications. They now need to be actual technology companies if they want to get notice from investors. Hence the buzz around Vox’s Chorus platform. But for all the hype surrounding how much Vox is going to help Re/code, there’s no doubt that Re/code will do a lot for Vox, as Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff wrote on Vox. Re/code will help Vox with its credibility in the business tech industry; Vox’s The Verge covers consumer tech more so than business. Plus, the folks at Re/code have event management know-how that Vox needs.

So there is a win-win situation at play. Vox may have gobbled up the little fish, but Re/code will also get the nutrients it needs from the Vox diet. The question is, how much can one fish grow inside the tummy of another?

Q: Tell us a bit about your role and the path that brought you here.

A: I’ve been at Edmunds for almost 18 years. After finishing business school at Kellogg and working as Senior Industry Analyst for Coopers & Lybrand’s Knowledge Strategies Group in New York, I joined Edmunds as the Director of Marketing and Business Development when we had just 20 employees. Now I’m the CEO and our team consists of 600 people nationwide. We had been a book publisher since the 1960s, then came online in 1994 and discontinued the print business in 2005. It’s been fascinating to be a part of the transition onto the Internet and to be involved in the growth that technology has enabled.

The way I approach my job is very hands-on and people-oriented–with both employees and clients. I interface regularly with senior level automaker executives as well as car dealers from all over the country–operations that are small and big, urban and rural, private and public. Car dealers are among the most innovative, entrepreneurial people in the business sector, and getting exposure to them is a fascinating part of my job.

Q: What is the biggest challenge for you in your role?

A: At Edmunds, we’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and always looked beyond the norm to make a real difference for car shoppers and the auto industry. The larger Edmunds gets, the more challenging it is for us to continually innovate at that level, but that is required if we want to stay at the head of the pack. We have accomplished a lot, but we can never rest on our laurels. Finding new ways to creatively inspire and support employees and our leadership team to help them continually innovate is the toughest part of my role.

Q: What do you think is the most important aspect of your job?

A: We can’t do what we do without our amazing team of talented and dedicated employees. The most important aspect of my job is ensuring that we’re one of the best places to work, hiring and treasuring people with our values who can contribute to building the business for the long run. (I’m very proud to say that we are often acknowledged in this area, as you can see here.)

Q: Describe one of the most unusual or most memorable experiences in your career/current role.

A: One of the most fun elements of my job is getting regular exposure to new cars and trucks. At Edmunds, we test all the new vehicles provided by automakers on a weekly basis, and on our own dime we regularly buy popular cars and trucks for long-term testing, reporting our findings to car shoppers to help make their process easier. One week I’ll be driving a new minivan, the next a pick-up truck, then move into a new family sedan or a sports car. I really enjoy the variety, and I get a kick out of seeing my kids (none driving age yet) get excited about what I’ve brought home on any given day. My kids really love it – but my wife thinks I’m nuts for having to move my stuff from car to car every week.

I’m very proud of our editorial team’s initiative in helping car shoppers, and the reach of Edmunds’ voice. Recently our team tackled a big question: how much would it cost to repair damage done to the aluminum body of a new truck? They took a sledgehammer to a new Ford F-150 to learn the answer, and the video went viral, earning millions of views. Ford’s CEO was even asked about it on the company’s quarterly earnings call. If you haven’t seen the video yet, you can check it out at here.

Q: What are you most excited about for the future of your organization/ the industry?

A: I like to give my team the baseball analogy that even though we’ve hit some home runs, we’re still only in the bottom of the second inning or perhaps the top of the third. I see a tremendous amount of potential for us to grow within the auto industry. We are currently unrolling a new strategy to play a valued role in the used car shopping process. The used car business is four times the size of the new car business, so that alone gives us plenty of opportunities. Also, we see technology continuing to have a major impact on car shopping. Last October we made our first acquisition – the CarCode customer/dealer texting platform – and have found it to be one of the most successful endeavors in our history. (More details can be found here.) As technology evolves, we’ll be busy for generations to come.

Avi Steinlauf, Chief Executive Office of Edmunds.com, directs the company toward the goals of empowering the automotive consumer, maintaining the high quality of the workplace and building the company to thrive for the long term. He joined Edmunds in summer of 1998 as the Director of Business Development and has also headed the company’s marketing and revenue management areas. Previously, he worked for Coopers & Lybrand’s Knowledge Strategies Group. Avi earned an MBA degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from Yeshiva College.