Digital Media Companies for
the New Digital Landscape
Publishers, Ad Networks and Conversational Marketing
Chas Edwards
Publisher & Chief Revenue Officer
Federated Media
June 2007

Agenda
• Emergence of “Conversational Media”
• Marketing Challenges
• A Move Toward “Conversational Marketing”

New Sites Born Every Minute

Just Like Print, Websites Run Gamut

Leaders Emerge
Digg.com, an
independent
conversational
Digg media site
surpasses
all other
Tech News
CNET brands in 6
Months.
Wired
PC Mag

“Social Media” or “Traditional Media”?
Three social
media sites
enter the top
15, dwarf the
others in
terms of
growth

Better Question:
Where are my
customers and where
are they most
engaged?

BW Says Blog is More Influential than BW

Less Reach, More Influence
Dooce.com has 20,000 in-bound
links, twice iVillage’s 12k and 5x
Upon clicking, the user is presented with the Sphere widget,
bridging the gap between traditional and conversational media:
that of Babycenter’s 4k

Reach Giving Way to Engagement
Buying Lots of Impressions
Reach is getting easier -- Google and ad networks
Standing Out from the Noise
Impact is harder than it’s ever been

Impact Through Conversational Marketing

Tap Authors & Hosts, Be Relevant
Microsoft
ran two
types of
ads.
Author
and
copy
Standard Author-
performed
copy assisted
60%
copy
better.

Co-Branding Leverages Affinity
Co-branded and
“author-driven”
creative
performed over
4x the industry
standard

Turn Ads Into Content
Symantec ads featured an RSS
feed of content updated daily.
Unlike most ads, the Symantec
creative did not experience ‘fatigue’.
In fact, Symantec saw a 300%
spike in response several weeks
into the campaign
RSS Ad
Click Through %
Typical Ads
Time

Co-Branded, Author-Driven Invitations
to Conversation
“Author Driven Creative”
FM Authors contributed their own
definitions of “The Human Network” which
were featured in the ad units.

Human Network Hub: Vote or Edit Wiki
Readers participated
by voting for the definition
they liked best.

Participants Share Their Experiences
“Human Network”
Added to Wikipedia
Participants Share
Experience on their
Blogs
#2 Organic Result
on Google

Ask.com Enlists Ask A Ninja
The Ad Spot:
After each of the 9
Ask.com-sponsored
episodes, the Ninja invites
viewers to visit Ask.com
and enter in the word
“Ninjuice”

Ninja’s Viewers Follow His Lead
The Search Query: “Ninjuice”
Viewers go to Ask.com (or click on screen in
previous slide) and enter the word “Ninjuice” into
the Ask.com search box

Conversion Is Off the Charts
The Pay Off:
Bonus Ninja video.
Among total viewers of the
sponsored Ask A Ninja
episode, 8.3% watched the
Ask.com ad spot, queried
“ninjuice” at Ask.com and
clicked to watch the bonus
video

Intel Underwrites Digg Product Dev
Digg Arc
The Intel sponsored Digg
visualization application.

Intel Drafts Off Digg’s Self-Promotion Efforts
Digg’s CTO, Daniel Burka announced
the news on Digg’s blog and posted it to
Digg.com (screenshot).
Within an hour it was, in the Digg
parlance, “made popular” as members
began Digging the story at a rapid rate.
As of 5/21 (week after launch), there
have been 1330 Diggs to this story!
Among the comments, the one that most
speaks for other community members
(based on the number of Diggs the
comment received) is this: “Mmmm more
eye candy. So much cooler than
comment threading, or searching, or
being able to delete comments.”

Best Practices
• Locate Your Brand Communities
Don’t worry whether the site is social or traditional

• Follow The Leaders, Partner With Them
This requires relationships that bots can’t provide

• Add Value To Existing Conversation
The conversation is theirs, not yours

Good conversations involve listening, not just talking
