If brand dollars are increasingly flowing to native social media ads on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, why not bring those ad formats to digital media companies?
Bloomberg Media just launched Boost, a self-serve tool that allows brands to repurpose existing social media ads for mobile ad slots on Bloomberg.
“For a small amount of money relative to a large spend with Bloomberg, you can get your message up in a timely fashion across our system,” said Spencer Sloe, global head of ad product and innovation at Bloomberg Media. “Marketers and brands can experiment in this space for a low cost.”
Boost’s social media-style ad experience works by stitching together two different technology systems.
For the social ad format, Bloomberg uses Polar, an existing partner that also powers the ad experience. What readers see looks identical to an embedded social media post from Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, Sloe said. Polar is also behind the social, native-style ad formats used in The Washington Post’s Zeus Prime ads.
For the self-serve ad portal, Bloomberg integrated Polar with DanAds, its existing self-serve partner of two years. Marketers who want to spend a relatively small amount – think $5,000 to $15,000 – can use DanAds to find real-time inventory and get their Boost ads up and running within 24 hours, Sloe said. They can also target where they want their social media ads to appear by section – could be Bloomberg’s tech, finance, green or “Pursuits” sections – or geography.
Bloomberg Media started working on this project in Q4. Bringing together two different platforms – Polar and DanAds – was the tricky part. Now salespeople must sell this new ad format in a changed media environment – another challenge.
But the Boost format may resonate with current marketer needs.
“The value prop here is that because we’re in uncertain times, it’s a fast and effective way for brands that want to extend their campaigns to connect with Bloomberg’s audiences,” Sloe said.
Boost is turnkey and uses existing assets, so even marketers with small budgets can try it out.
And since Boost simply replicates a social media ad – allowing brands to rack up even more likes, retweets and interactions when the social media post appears on Bloomberg.com – Bloomberg Media can tap into budgets for boosting social media posts.
Like other news sites, Bloomberg is flush with traffic. Mobile traffic is up 174% against a running six-month average, Sloe said. Bloomberg’s economic tilt to the coronavirus pandemic could also make it more palatable to brands that are cautious about advertising next to coronavirus-related content – but also want to reach Bloomberg’s business audience.
