As published in adweek.com, by Sara Jerde

This inner turmoil could lead to a shift in brands’ willingness to advertise.

Key insight:
The more attention a particular publication receives, the more likely it is advertisers will avoid it and seek out other options to avoid the affiliation.

Several news organizations have had a change in leadership after internal unrest that has ranged from staff inequality to unequal pay to story selection.

The New York Times, Variety, Bon Appétit and Refinery29 are among the publications that experienced backlash from staffers on social media. But this moment, led by employees who have turned to social media feeds to advocate for better working conditions, feels different than previous missteps. And that could lead advertisers to rethink where they spend in an already hyperconscious environment of brand safety, media analysts and media buyers told Adweek.

Behavior that could have otherwise been overlooked is louder than ever, experts said. It’s up to advertisers to acknowledge it with their media dollars. In the short term, brands like Bon Appétit and Refinery29 could lose ad dollars, said Tim Smith, director of communications and media planning at agency IPNY.

“At the end of the day, it is the client’s decision. No brand manager wants to get a call from the C-suite or the PR department about the company getting called out because of a media placement,” Smith said. “At this point in time, when emotions are running so hot, any brand that senses any kind of turmoil is going to act first and ask questions later.”

As published in adweek.com, by Sara Jerde

The niche news site is Politico’s cousin, according to president Tammy Wincup

Key insights:
• Though they share a publisher, Protocol and Politico are different.
• The site will launch without a paywall, but may implement a paid tier.
• Protocol will have several unique offerings, including a Slack app.

After Robert Allbritton, publisher of politics-centric news organization Politico, saw the need to cover an aggressively changing tech industry, he landed on a concept that borrowed from the political site’s model: niche reporting that would draw loyal readers from the areas it covers. Editors want this new tech site, which went live today, to prioritize deeper, investigative reporting. Welcome to Protocol.

While Politico and Protocol “share the same DNA,” said Tammy Wincup, president of Protocol, she’s quick to note they are two separate entities with different audiences.

“The key about what [Politico has] been able to do is their coverage is fair and unbiased,” Wincup said. “Tech needs that right now.”

Sponsors at the site’s launch include Facebook, Postmates and Slack. And while Protocol debuted without a paywall, Wincup said she can foresee a similar model in which Politico operates with a paid-tier model that gives everyone some content for free, and additional articles or content for a price.

The site is staffed with five sales reps, and the publisher declined to disclose specific CPM figures beyond saying through a spokesperson that they are “indicative of our influencer audience.”

“The reality is there’s no great one-stop shop where you, as a decision maker in the C-suite of a tech business, will see yourself in that reporting,” Wincup said.

Wincup said the site will focus its coverage on stories considered must-reads for those decision-makers. On Wednesday, the site led with headlines including “Ethicists were hired to save tech’s soul. Will anyone let them do it?” and “He complained about Democrats’ tech ‘morass’—then built the Iowa app.”

Media buyers seemed intrigued by Protocol, which joins an industry with other niche tech sites like The Information, The Verge and Input.

“[It’s] very dependent on content, but it should attract a highly intelligent, influential audience that would be worth paying a premium for,” said Tim Smith, director of communications and media planning at agency IPNY. “It would be a great environment for corporate campaigns, business services, innovative technologies and others—as long as it comes across unbiased politically.”

The site also offers a Slack app and newsletters, including the daily news roundup Source Code from editor at large David Pierce, and extensive looks at specific industry topics such quantum computing called Protocol Manuals. Live events are also in the works.

More than 25 reporters have come on board from newsrooms like The Wall Street Journal, Vox Media, The New York Times and Forbes.

“There is such a gap between how we’re looking at technology, but this is a new opportunity to create a new entity that really treated technology not as industry but as a center that’s influencing personal lives, businesses, to really tell that story,” Wincup said.

As published in adweek.com

By Sara Jerde

Why BDG thinks its new CMS will draw readers and entice advertisers.

Bustle Digital Group has a reputation of swooping in on media’s dying door and “saving” titles by purchasing them for pennies on the dollar. But now, the publisher is reinventing itself as a modern media organization, creating its own publication and a new and improved, custom CMS to be used across its portfolio for a cohesive feel for readers and advertisers.

BDG’s plans to save itself from the same fate as the publications it cobbled together lie in its CMS, called TypeSet, which is structured around a feature BDG is calling a “card story” format that offers the newsroom a new type of storytelling and the ad sales team a new space to entice advertisers.

The rollout of the feature comes with the launch of Input, a new tech site from Josh Topolsky, co-founder of The Verge and founder of The Outline, who joined BDG in April when BDG acquired the latter title. While the site softly rolls out today and there are no advertisers on the site, the company says branded content cards will be available come February.

Investing in the CMS and making it the company’s backbone is the next stage of BDG’s maturation. It paves the way for other merging publishers, especially as the trend of combining assets will continue with only the context of how other, traditional media conglomerates navigated the space before them.

“It’s a really challenging time in digital media,” said Jason Wagenheim, BDG’s chief revenue officer, of the CMS’ card feature. “We know what works and what doesn’t. And we feel really confident that this is going to be a game changer.”

The current plan is to use the CMS on all of BDG’s brands by June 2020. Under that scenario, brands can advertise across BDG’s sites, including the women’s lifestyle collection—Bustle, Romper, Elite Daily, Nylon and the Zoe Report—as well as the “culture and innovation collection” under Topolsky’s editorial direction, including Mic, The Outline, Inverse and Input.

Competitive media landscape

BDG’s new tech site enters an already crowded field of tech media with brands rooted in magazines like Wired, established tech websites like Recode and soon-to-be-launched tech sites like Protocol from Politico. It’s also going up against other media companies that are combining forces like Vox Media and New York Media.

It’s a business model BDG built itself on. If the 2000s were about big media consolidation—AOL/TimeWarner; NBCUniversal; CBS/Viacom (the first go ’round)—the age of digital media consolidation is upon us.

“You have all these brands and they all feed up to the parent. It’s a good model, but it isn’t the cheapest model,” said Tim Smith, IPNY’s director of communications and media planning. “The real deal becomes at what point does the model stop. At what point is there too much?”

As published in visualobjects.com

Advertisers state that data collection makes ads more relevant for online visitors. New data from Visual Objects indicates that highly targeted ads could negatively impact businesses’ potential to engage with ad-fatigued consumers.

The new survey report from portfolio website Visual Objects makes these claims and argues that personalization makes ads more useful for potential customers, but the data also shows that ad-fatigued users can be alienated. Businesses must ensure ads that rely on user data do not reveal personal information, such as age, marital status, or schooling.

Baby Boomers vs Millennials Comfort With Data Collection in Advertising

Though most ad-blocker users feel that data collection is invasive, baby boomers are the generation most averse to highly targeted advertising. Almost three-quarters of baby boomers (72%) say that data collection from ads feels like an invasion of privacy.

By contrast, 58% of millennials and 64% of Generation X respondents feel that data collection invades their privacy online. As people increasingly demand more privacy online, some browsers, like Mozilla, have started offering options for users to go ad- and tracking-free for a price. The Visual Objects survey found that younger ad blocker users are more likely to pay for this type of browsing. Almost half of Generation X users (47%) and 41% of millennials are willing to pay to browse ad-free, compared to only 29% of baby boomers.

“I think younger people tend to be less threatened by data collection because it’s what they’ve known,” said Tim Smith, director of communications and media planning at IPNY. “They’ve grown up with data breaches and they’ve almost always been connected and online.” Smith also said that older internet users often have more to lose financially than younger users, making them more wary of data breaches.

Businesses should build trust with users of all ages by allowing them to access the personal data that is collected and remove it if they desire.

As published at Manifest

Advertising may seem like a strategy for large businesses with equally large budgets and manpower. However, most small businesses see the merits of advertising, too.

The Manifest recently conducted a survey of 529 small businesses from across the U.S. about their advertising habits and found that nearly all small businesses advertise (87%). The survey analysis featured IPNY’s, named as an advertising agency leader, very own Tim Smith as an expert source on these findings. The results show that advertising is an important strategy for businesses of all sizes.

Small Businesses Advertise on a Variety of Mediums

Small businesses are likely to advertise on multiple mediums, but digital advertising is the most popular. Digital advertising, including social media and online channels such as Google search, is important in reaching customers where they are throughout much of their day – online.

Many people say that businesses should focus their efforts on other social media channels, but that isn’t true – 86% of small businesses that advertise on social media invest in Facebook advertising. That’s 35% more than the second-most-popular channel, YouTube. “People say Facebook is dying, but by and large, it’s the biggest social platform in the world,” Smith said.

Traditional Advertising Still Works for Many Small Businesses

Although small businesses are more likely to advertise on digital mediums, many still value traditional advertising such as TV, print, and radio.

In fact, 57% of small businesses use traditional advertising. Because TV, radio, and print ads have been around for so long, consumers are more likely to trust traditional advertising than digital. Advertising on traditional channels also helps small businesses reach consumers when they’re not on social media or online, such as while on their commute, watching TV, or listening to the radio.

Generational Differences in Advertising Habits

Unsurprisingly, millennials are more likely than older generations to advertise their businesses on digital mediums. “Millennials grew up online,” Smith said. “To even reach them, you have to go online, and millennials understand that.”

What is surprising is the fact that millennials are also more likely to advertise on traditional mediums such as TV and radio.

Older generations have likely already tested out the traditional advertising mediums and figured out what works and what doesn’t – if a business tests out a TV ad and finds it to be unsuccessful, it is unlikely to continue spending money on TV advertising.

Millennials, on the other hand, are more likely to use traditional mediums because their businesses are young, and they therefore do not yet know which advertising mediums will work for their business.

Small Businesses Should Advertise

Advertising isn’t just for large companies. Small businesses can benefit from advertising by reaching the most consumers possible and enticing them to make a purchase. If you don’t advertise, odds are, your competitors are and are reaching more of your target audience than your business.