Time Inc.

A lot of ink has been spilled about the value of a publisher’s first-party data, but publishers can’t effectively monetize their data programmatically if they don’t have a standardized way to categorize it. On Monday, ArcSpan released Contextual APP, a data processing tool that enables publishers to structure their first-party contextual data into salable audience segments, including seller-defined audiences, using the IAB Tech Lab’s content and audience taxonomies.

Mergers and acquisitions, the industry’s slow-motion pivot away from third-party data and the expansion of commerce-based business dominated the headlines for media and sell-side ad tech in 2021. What does the industry predict for 2022? More of the same as these trends continue to play out in the year ahead. First-party first In 2022 and […]

Ad software provider Viant Technology Inc. filed an S-1 on Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of an initial public offering as the company positions itself for future growth. The company anticipates a boom in the growing programmatic advertising market, particularly across linear TV, CTV and mobile. Viant, which was founded in […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. The Hand That Feeds Big tech may be disrupting linear television and OOH, but it’s also supporting those channels with marketing dollars. As AdExchanger reported recently, tech giants are increasing their ad investments to burnish their reputations and maintain growth in an increasingly saturated […]

Meredith’s overall Q2 ad revenue grew like gangbusters, but digital ad revenue performance was draggy – and will likely be the same next quarter, the company told investors Monday. Advertising-related revenue nearly doubled year over year to $488.9 million – a 111% increase – and digital represents more than $400 million of Meredith’s revenue for its national media […]

What’s it like to integrate a $2.8 billion acquisition? After closing its purchase of Time Inc. almost nine months ago, Meredith National Media President Jon Werther is in good spirits about how the deal has deepened and broadened its coverage for female audiences. “When it comes to women and understanding their intent – what they’re […]

It’s not how many people you know. It’s how many you know well. Meredith prioritizes depth over breadth: The company posits that a limited number of deep relationships with core readers matter more than a larger number of shallow relationships. While advertisers prize scale, content that draws readers back again and again opens the door […]

Data was center stage Thursday at Meredith’s first NewFront since the acquisition of Time Inc. closed at the end of January. “We’re a data-driven organization,” its chief marketing and data officer, Alysia Borsa, told AdExchanger, referring to “the new Meredith,” where data informs everything from product to advertising to editorial. The women-focused media company, which […]

One would think Time Inc., which under new parent company Meredith will lay off 1,200 as well as restructure its ad sales org, wouldn’t be in the market for new vendor implementations. Nevertheless, the publisher is testing a publisher tool called Audience Manager Reporting for Publishers, which Adobe will roll out over the next few months. The […]

Three magazine media vets on Thursday launched Full Time Travel, a media brand catering to 30-40-year-old upscale consumers. Think of it like TheSkimm, but for travel content. The founders – Nick Van Sicklen, former digital VP at Time Inc., Matt Carroll from Modern Luxury and Gabby Blitz Rosen from Travel + Leisure and Food & […]

Meredith closed its acquisition of Time Inc. Wednesday to create a media company with 174 million digital US unique visitors – not far behind Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon. Meredith will triple its digital revenue by acquiring Time Inc., with projected digital revenue this year of $700 million. Digital will contribute 30% to overall […]

As Facebook grabs more mobile and video dollars from the ecosystem, premium publishers are looking for viable ways to compete. For storied publisher Time Inc., one solution is to bring its own mobile-optimized video solutions to market. Using Google’s native framework, Time created a mobile, in-feed video solution dubbed Adapt that is customized to its […]

Turns out owning your own cable channel might not be the most efficient way to attract an audience. Poker Central folded its channel last December. Now the network is experimenting with new ways of distributing its content, including partnering with ESPN and NBC Sports and OTT services like Amazon-owned Twitch. It also launched its own […]

Time Inc. knows that producing magazine content requires data – like seeing how many issues sell based on the cover story. But digital allows for an additional level of analysis the magazine-native publisher hadn’t fully embraced. Which is why Time Inc. pruned down its more than five dozen analytics tools and focused on just a […]

By Sarah Sluis, Kelly Liyakasa and Alison Weissbrot Some publishers excel in programmatic in ways that make buyers take notice. The best way to stand out in programmatic is by integrating sales teams so it’s easy to buy programmatically and direct with a single conversation. Smart publishers don’t create incentives that make salespeople push direct […]

Live video is picking up steam, but because it takes extra resources to produce – and monetization is still nascent – it can be a tough tradeoff for premium publishers. Yet, with more consumer platforms, such as Facebook Live, testing new monetization tactics like mid-roll ads in live video, publishers are experimenting more aggressively with […]

Removing a bad ad unit can mean that publishers take a big revenue hit. The most intrusive ad units often please advertisers and drive large amounts of revenue. And a heavy ad load brings in more revenue per page view. So how do publishers balance the two? And when do they decide to pull the […]

Major publishers like Hearst, Vice, Time Inc., The New York Times and Meredith have either built or acquired agency capabilities and content studios over the past few years to create synergies between their content and the brands that monetize it. Being owned by a publisher allows digital agencies to tap editorial expertise for engaging creative […]

Time Inc. had a lousy Q1 as print revenue plunged 21% and the company struggled with a sales reorganization. Total advertising revenue declined 8% to $360 million. The stock declined 14% in the wake of the earnings, putting its share price well below the $18 a share three different buyers offered. The bright spot is […]

Publishers are learning to love influencer marketing as a way to grow broader advertising and sponsorship deals. “An advertiser might come with a traditional sponsorship package, and to complement that, they want a programmatic component,” said Rachel Parkin, SVP of strategy and sales at digital media company CafeMedia. CafeMedia owns a network of women’s interest […]

What works better for publishers: Snapchat or Instagram Stories? Both platforms are quickly gaining ground as ways for publishers to distribute their content to wider audiences. Snapchat made its public offering Thursday, and Instagram Stories launched last year with a competitive, video-focused offering. While each platform claims more than 150 million daily users, Snapchat and […]

Time Inc. is bullish on digital, even as its print business deflates. The company – which has lately been the object of acquisitive interest from Meredith and other suitors – expects $600 million in digital revenue next year. “We see a path to $1 billion over [our strategic] plan,” said CEO Rich Battista during Time’s […]

Traditional magazine companies believe they have weathered the storm of disruption over their business. They’re now ready to look ahead and use their subscription data to drive results for advertisers. “I think the businesses that got disrupted first are in a good position,” David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, said Wednesday during a panel at […]

In acquiring Adelphic for an undisclosed price, Viant hopes to create a “people-based DSP” that combines media execution with deterministic data from parent company Time Inc. But don’t think of what Time Inc. is building as a mini walled garden, said Viant CEO and co-founder Tim Vanderhook. “Everyone wants the scale that Facebook and Google […]

Is Time Inc. trying to take on Google and Facebook? The publisher announced Monday that it’s acquiring cross-device and mobile ad platform Adelphic to build what it’s calling a “people-based DSP.” Time Inc. has certainly been on a tech tear. The Adelphic deal, slated to close during Q1, comes just shy of a year after Time […]

The programmatic salesperson only came into existence about five years ago. What started out as an outsider position in the sales organization has become more mainstream as programmatic adoption increases. But the very people holding programmatic sales roles are already predicting its extinction, as the role gets absorbed into the entire sales process. “In three […]

InStyle fans tuning into Facebook Live earlier this year watched a La Mer expert conduct a skin consultation with an InStyle editor. The editorial video with brand integration became one of the first examples of Time Inc.’s Social Now ad product. “We are providing very authentic and transparent ways for advertisers to play [with Facebook […]

In spite of the upheaval from Brexit, Time Inc. acquired Collective’s UK ad network business for an undisclosed sum on Tuesday. Unlike Collective’s US ad network business, the UK business’ bottom and top lines are growing, said CEO Joe Apprendi. Focused on brand advertisers, the UK business provides creative services and ad formats that differentiated […]

Since Time Inc.’s spinoff from Time Warner two years ago, CEO Joe Ripp has been beating the drum of transformation. That push is now starting to bear fruit. The company just reported its strongest quarter yet as an independent company, including digital ad revenue growth of 23%. Part of that success comes from a shift […]

Nielsen Catalina Solutions (NCS) and Time Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new measurement product for attributing offline sales to print magazine advertising. “It’s the culmination of years of work and of a lot of pieces coming together,” said Leslie Wood, NCS chief research officer. And the product relies on a dense web of partners and […]