News Flash: Newspaper Publishing Is Not Dead
We were recently invited to a symposium hosted by the LA Times Media Group; in attendance were senior representatives from the likes of Ning, Facebook and Passenger. In a nutshell, the panel reinforced some very critical points about the digital publishing world, namely that the transition from paid print content to shared digital currency is a very promising and very scalable model. In giving us an exclusive sneak peek of the LA Times site redesign, it was also apparent that new feature sets would facilitate this growth; among them, ‘unstandardized’ ad spaces as well as ‘content adjacencies’, in which the establishment of strategic content partners provide real value with things like popular cross-posts, all of which bolster engagement and awareness around select categories. While the verdict is still out on newspaper print operations (and respective ad sales which still haven’t bottomed out), when you consider utilities like Kindle and a whole new suite of mobile apps (including one coming soon from Ning), the ‘Times’ should prove to be quite profitable in the not so distant future. Oh, and where does social media play a role? Right in the middle.
Insights from the Blogwell/GasPedal Conference
Read all about our successful trip to the Bay Area, from our discussions with technology partners eCairn and Sharethrough, to chats and learnings from brands such as General Mills, Wells Fargo, Kaiser Permanente and Intuit, and thought leaders like host Andy Sernovitz. The grand takeaways were that social media is the ultimate complement to integrated marketing methods, and that trust means everything when it comes to internal communications and outreach.
Why brands should rethink partnerships with bloggers.
A new article in iMedia Connection about bloggers and the brands they sometimes represent who have been caught in the FTC’s crosshairs. There are some specific examples that highlight just how convoluted this battle might become. Enjoy!
Working with the Big Dogs…
It’s been interesting to see how big agencies are adapting to the ever-changing media landscape and economic times – in many ways, they’re embracing niche opportunities and partnering up with little people like us to get the job done right. So, after talking to friends at sister WPP agencies Burson-Marsteller and Penn, Schoen & Burland, we started exploring the development of some new research and analytics platforms, as well as creating some forward-thinking strategies for their clients. Personally, I just like the steady stream of bagels and coffee. As for the work, well, I suppose size does matter, especially when it comes to brand relationships.
Direct Response Ad Units
Ahh, yet another teaser. While we want to share all of our development with the world, we still have to abide by the rules of good business. However, we can tell you that we’re building a suite of customizable ad units that combine dynamic search, behavioral targeting, brand & social media monitoring, advanced real-time analytics & enterprise data-sourcing as well as reputation management all in one, turnkey solution. We’re partnering up with some heavy-hitters in these respective areas, and expect to engage in more serious discussions with some name brands in the next few weeks. Once again, stay tuned!
Why media and creative need to cross the aisle
Marshall McLuhan’s famous declaration that “The medium is the message” has evangelized one of our industry’s greatest and most progressive challenges. For the most part, media and creative camps have been able to co-exist almost independently (or mutually exclusive) of one another. The work has commonly suffered because the system is not only self-preserving, but also runs on conflicting business models and ideologies. As medium and message become more and more aligned, and as the evolution of Web 2.0 spawns a new movement in which web applications are rapidly replacing web destinations, media and creative camps need to work together more. In other words, media should win out as an equal partner in creative and product development. All we need to do is look at the work of some of the world’s biggest brands and their respective agencies for inspiration.
Read the full iMedia Connection article here
By Gunther Sonnenfeld
