Thirteen-year-old association’s new identity signals its focus on digital innovation and the creation of opportunities for high-quality digital content companies today and in the future

New York, NY (September 19, 2014) – The organization formerly known as the Online Publishers Association (OPA) today announces a new name, Digital Content Next, a rebrand that signals a renewed focus on defining and confronting critical, big picture issues that its members face when creating digital content experiences for consumers and marketers.

Digital Content Next (DCN) is the only trade association that exclusively serves the diverse needs of digital content companies that manage direct, trusted relationships with consumers and marketers. With a diverse and powerful group of members – from established media brands such as The New York Times, Discovery Networks and Sports Illustrated, to digital natives, such as Vox, Slate and Business Insider, Digital Content Next’s membership has an unduplicated audience of more than 220 million unique visitors or 100% reach of the U.S. online population.*

The association hired a new CEO in May of this year, Jason Kint, former SVP and GM of CBS Interactive’s Sports division, and welcomed six new members to its elite membership of 55 brands in early September.

Kint’s focus for Digital Content Next is on guiding its members and the industry and setting the agenda for discussions on issues ranging from net neutrality to revenue innovation to privacy.

“Our members wake up every morning thinking about how to create great content experiences and monetize them,” Kint said. “Together we must pave the way for the content companies of the future to do the same, with powerful, dependable content that brings large audiences to their screens, engages and entertains them and compels them to share across other platforms.”

Digital Content Next will serve as a focal point for issues affecting digital content companies, providing thought leadership and proprietary research through its newly-launched content hub, InContext; hosting highly-focused member events to facilitate open and honest discussion; voicing issues of concern from a legislative perspective and creating a dialogue with the industry-at-large through conferences and summits like its Content All Stars for media and marketing leaders, held yesterday in New York City.

“The entire landscape has changed and the word ‘online’ doesn’t feel as relevant as it did 13 years ago with digital integrated into every corner of our lives,” says Kint, new CEO of Digital Content Next. “We have a responsibility to be forward-thinking in how we help our members and the industry overall imagine their future and to provide them the guidance and shared intelligence to make the bold decisions required to lead and innovate in our industry.

As part of the rebrand, Digital Content Next outlined the core values that underscore the work it does with members, policy makers, advertisers and agencies every day in its Trust Principles, also announced today:

1. We believe in an open Internet in which consumers and marketers may directly associate with our brands.

2. We are aware of the many choices of consumers across more and more platforms. We will honor their trust in our brands and relentlessly advocate for their respect.

3. We are aware of the many choices of marketers across more and more platforms. We will shine a light on the falsehoods and misconceptions in the modern digital marketplace in order to defend members’ businesses, particularly in the areas of ad tech and cross media attribution.

4. We will have a seat at the table representing trusted first party relationships in any discussion among advertisers, policy makers and the press.

5. We will create a trusted forum among members to share strategic insights, best practices and tactics in order to ensure a vibrant original content marketplace.

“The companies that millions of people turn to for their news, commentary, sports, entertainment, educational and professional information rely on us to understand how they can best serve their audiences and bolster their businesses,” says Martin Nisenholtz, who founded the Online Publishers Association. “With this reset, we will be working to push the industry forward to its next level of development.”

Plenty NYC (plentynyc.com), a full service advertising agency specializing in the creation of captivating digital campaigns, designed the Digital Content Next visual identity and new website.

*comScore Media Metrix, January 2014

ABOUT DIGITAL CONTENT NEXT

Founded in June 2001 as the Online Publishers Association, Digital Content Next is the only trade organization dedicated to serving the unique and diverse needs of high-quality digital content companies that manage trusted, direct relationships with consumers and marketers. Digital Content Next produces proprietary research for its members and the public, creates public and private forums to explore and advance key issues that impact digital content brands, and works to educate the public at large on the importance of quality content brands. More information about Digital Content Next is available at www.digitalcontentnext.org.