Publishers

The New York Times’ new Flex Frame ads are among the first component-based ads deployed in the wild with the help of Google tech. The ads adjust their look and feel according to screen type and page environment. Expect other publishers to follow with their own versions over the next year. The Flex Frame ads […]

After many years in leadership roles at media agencies, Jordan Bitterman will move to the brand and media side as chief marketing officer of The Weather Co., the IBM-owned company said Wednesday. Bitterman brings extensive knowledge of how media companies can drive efficiencies in the data-driven milieu. He said The Weather Co. is in a […]

At 10 million active accounts strong, Roku is turning to media companies to improve the quality of its streams and ramp up ad monetization. Wednesday’s rollout of Roku Direct Publisher allows content owners like Rolling Stone, UPROXX and the Scripps-owned satirical publisher Cracked to develop and distribute video via Roku apps. The tool is also […]

In a media environment that increasingly favors scale, CafeMedia bought AdThrive on Thursday in a deal that will triple the reach it can offer to advertisers. AdThrive was founded by a blogger’s husband and manages all programmatic revenue for 1,100 other lifestyle bloggers. The deal, whose financial details were not disclosed, increases CafeMedia’s scale from […]

The experienced sales team at Rodale, the publisher behind Men’s Health, Prevention and Runner’s World, sells most of its print and digital ad inventory direct. “They fluctuate between 70% and 100% sell-through,” said Diego Sanchez, executive director of digital programmatic and strategic partnerships, who leads a team of five. Due to the high level of […]

Although The Washington Post partners with Facebook Instant Articles and Google AMP, which help speed mobile load times, it’s also striking out on its own. Over a two-month period, a team of Post engineers cobbled together a proprietary tech solution called Zeus that sped mobile page-load times by 75%. Viewability improved by 20% in current […]

“The Sell Sider” is a column written by the sell side of the digital media community. Today’s column is written by Rachel Parkin, senior vice president of strategy and sales at CafeMedia. Header bidding is here to stay. So it’s time we stop talking about what the technology does for publishers and start talking about […]

If time is money, agencies and publishers are still working out how to bill for it. At a Wednesday event hosted by IAS in Manhattan, Mitch Weinstein, SVP of ad ops at IPG Mediabrands, shared research that found time in view was more important in driving ad effectiveness than the number of in-view pixels. In […]

Knorr is developing a taste for native. The Unilever-owned seasoning and sauce brand has been experimenting with interactive sponsored content and plans to make it a stock part of its media plan. That’s because it’s the kind of thing that engages millennials, an audience Knorr is particularly interested in courting. Awareness isn’t an issue for […]

When Vice needed to diversify its distribution beyond Facebook and YouTube, it didn’t look to other digital platforms. Instead, said CEO Shane Smith, Vice partnered with HBO and hatched plans for a TV network. “We realized we couldn’t be hostage to Facebook and YouTube. We had to go off-platform,” he told WPP head Martin Sorrell […]

Let’s be honest: A/B testing is boring, but what about A/B testing on steroids? Vox Media is juicing up its testing with “creative intelligence” released Thursday at the DMEXCO conference in Cologne, Germany. The feature lets it test thousands of ad variants against certain audiences. “It can tell you if a creative is working better […]

Fans are passionate about their fandoms – and Movie Pilot is capitalizing on that passion. “We’re a pop culture magazine for a mobile and digital age,” said Movie Pilot CEO and co-founder Tobi Bauckhage. Movie Pilot started in 2012 with a fairly traditional publishing model – reporters reporting and editors editing. Now the vast majority of its […]

BuzzFeed set its stake in branded content back when display was king. Today, as publications derive an increasing share of their revenue from branded content, Chief Revenue Officer Lee Brown sees that competition creating a market. “More awareness and education in the marketplace creates more opportunity for everyone,” Brown said. “We’re excited about our share […]

When Jason Wagenheim joined Fusion in May as its head of revenue, the Univision-owned pub was regrouping after a tumultuous year. ABC had handled ad sales until the joint venture with Univision split in April. In addition to the partner’s exit, Fusion dealt last year with reports of dismal traffic numbers. But Fusion has steadily […]

Data management platform Krux is joining the header-bidding fray. Krux built a header bidder because it wants marketers to buy both data and media in one place. Header bidding is the best mechanism to facilitate that transaction. By rolling out the tech, Krux adds a media-buying capability to Krux Link, the data exchange bazaar it’s […]

Business Insider’s sales team sells everything from programmatic to sponsored content and sponsorships. “One meeting will be focused on content creation, tentpole sponsorships and really big executions with lots of creative services layered in,” said CRO Pete Spande. “The next conversation might be about how their DMP [data management platform] connects to our DMP, and […]

About.com grew up during the big portal-publisher era that included Yahoo, MSN and AOL. Similar to those other Web 1.0 properties, About.com, too, was acquired – for nearly $300 million in 2012 by IAC – and forced to reinvent in the platform age of Facebook. After a complete site redesign two years ago, About.com is […]

When Thrillist’s branded video of a fake grandpa weightlifting on Muscle Beach tallied more than 50 million Facebook views in 48 hours, it seemed to validate the pub’s 2015 decision to expand its editorial and sponsored video operations. But Thrillist CoLab, the branded content arm of Thrillist, wanted to test if the viral hit actually […]

Consumers are subscribing to more streaming video-on-demand services these days, but “cord cutting” may not be as rampant as some would lead you to believe. Because cable networks measure audience viewership differently than certain Nielsen metrics, the contrast tends to create an apples-to-oranges scenario when tracking overall viewership. That’s why TV networks defend the claim […]

The Knot’s audience is engaged – literally. Eight out of 10 couples in the US – around 12 million monthly uniques – visit the wedding planning site for advice while getting ready for the big day. But The Knot has transformed itself over the last three years from an online publication to what Mike Steib, CEO and president […]

Facebook just showed up to the header bidding party. Facebook confirmed it’s “exploring header bidding with a small set of publishers.” Those partners may include USA Today and Hearst, according to The Information, which was first to report the news. For Facebook, the move could mark a significant expansion of its Audience Network platform, expanding […]

Although the Rio Olympics broke its own record for reserved ad dollars set during the London Games in 2012, broadcast is losing its iron grip on live sports media. Ratings for NBC across a portfolio of Comcast-owned properties (like MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Golf Channel, Telemundo and the NBC smart-TV app channel) were down compared […]

Entrepreneur and investor Peter Pham knows teens, and the term “native advertising,” like, totally makes him roll his eyes. “I’m sick of hearing the word ‘native’ because nothing I’ve seen in the market is actually native to the experience,” said Pham, co-founder of Science, a tech incubator with a knack for getting startups off the […]

While many marketers prioritize reaching Hispanic audiences, they have trouble finding them online. That’s a problem Batanga hopes to address. The Hispanic-focused publisher of sites like iMujer, Vix and BolsaDeMulher attracts 1 million to 4 million US cross-platform uniques per month, according to comScore, and 14 million desktop uniques worldwide, mainly in Latin America. Batanga, […]

Native is a big deal to The Atlantic, where sponsored content will comprise 75% of digital revenue this year. It employs a 30-person team, dubbed Atlantic Re:think, to create campaigns for clients like Porsche, TIAA and Cathay Pacific. The team operates with the philosophy that “engagement is an art and science,” said Michael Monroe, the […]

As one of Canada’s top three media companies, Corus Entertainment’s wide-ranging footprint spans TV and radio. Navigating the data landscape is a tall order for any linear TV company, but Corus is placing bets on a future when data flows as freely in broadcast as it does in digital, despite tighter regulatory restrictions that exist […]

“The Sell Sider” is a column written for the sell side of the digital media community. Today’s column is written by Paul Bannister, co-founder and executive vice president at CafeMedia. One of the most desired outcomes of programmatic advertising is the ability to reserve inventory for a guaranteed buy. Getting guaranteed access to brand-safe, premium […]

As publishers embraced header bidding, many programmatic buyers observed the trend from the sidelines. Since header bidding boosts yield for publishers by increasing competition, it follows that buyers may be paying more. But buyers wouldn’t necessarily know if that’s the case, since SSPs don’t note whether the impression comes through a header or not. If […]

Local TV and print magazines don’t share much in common. But as local TV’s digital business grows, and as Meredith’s digital properties need more video expertise, the two disciplines are converging. Tom Harty, who became Meredith’s COO and president on Thursday, is identifying where the local and national media group can collaborate by “figuring out […]

The Street CEO David Callaway wants to transform the financial news and analysis publication into a “data-driven news business.” Callaway, who was hired in June, says he will use a data trove assembled through recent acquisitions like BoardEx (a LinkedIn for company board members) to publish exclusive, high-value content for The Street and thus revive […]