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Archive: Jul 2022

Commentary

Anonymous trust

Edition #375Anonymous trust, more creator solutions and the autostrada of partnerships.I’m traveling a bit this summer, so the newsletter won’t be every week :) But as much as I can.One big thingI’ve been using a car share app whilst travelling. The first I booked looked up someone had ingested polystyrene and spread it throughout the car. Who would leave a car in such a state. The next however was clean, so away I went. Having swapped sides of the roads three times in the last month.All these sharing platforms are akin to brand partnerships. We find something listed and think we can use that to achieve what we want. Hopefully there are some reviews/testimonials, the specs are correct. And we can get where we are going.But brand partnerships are hard. Finding and capitalizing on the points of intersection to a high degree of quality. Do that week in week out. And just one other thing, all your work is in the public domain. So when something goes wrong, it goes wrong.You might be surprised anyone works in media. But the work is good, it’s challenging, always changing and competitive. These redeeming feature are what bring people back for more.And occasionally you get the right partnership where everything just clicks, and you’re cruising down the autostrada at 130 kmph. This week we feature a couple of partnerships which just work.Illimitly partnered with the FT to raise awareness of their offerings. Now it’s not rocket science but it 1) teaches you about the brand. 2) Gets it on your radar as an FT reader. The other is Circular Cities from Bloomberg Media Studios for Holcim, the cement company. Highlighting cities in the race to net zero. Great positioning for the company but also subtle sales, if you’re a city featured and its your mandate, maybe you’ll see what Holcim can offer.Notable stories this weekDisney inks major deal with The Trade Desk. And Netflix partners with Microsoft for advertising. The Information launching social network for subscribers. SwapStack crosses more than $1m paid out to newsletter creators. Congrats! ^ Related, Spark Loop launches the partner network. ANA releases first-ever guidelines for measuring influencer marketing. Distributed Trust: The Future of Crowds & Honesty. Via Ben Dietz. PR Newswire expands sponsored placement network to Europe and Canada.Deals/M&ASpotify to acquire music trivia game Heardle. Podcast platform Acast to acquire Podchaser. StoryChief raises $3.4mCampaign of the Weekillimity with the FT. The Circular Cities Barometer, Bloomberg Media Studios with Holcim. Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
July 22, 2022
Commentary

Real estate

Edition #373On those real estate newspapers, retention and new creator tools from Facebook.I’m traveling a bit this summer, so the newsletter won’t be every week :) But as much as I can. This weeks note is from Italy where the sun is scorching the Campari is cold.One big thingAs you do when you’re traveling, I picked up a local real estate newspaper. To skim, to learn, to dream about what I could buy. Oh, two bedrooms, that big, good luck finding that in New York. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. I hunted and pecked my way through, and have picked it up several times during the day. Now as a piece of content, you might go, well he did finish it, or he got what he was looking for. So that’s success. It has educated me, it did bring me in, and maybe I won’t buy. But someone else will. And that’s the thing, that piece of content did its job.MrBeast highlights with YouTube, you want to focus on retention, picking up the print and working your way through it. Are readers fully consuming? If not, why not? How can you change the format? Should it be shorter? Longer? Better use of images? Maybe sorted differently. At this point in time you would expect most real estate prints know how to do that.But that’s not always the case when it comes to online comms. We change things because we can, because someone didn’t like something. But the whole goal, the only goal, is to get someone to read the thing. From start to finish. And as many people as possible. Maybe all those things that seem nice are getting in the way of doing the job you were trying to achieve. Which is why we all love newsletters right now, because they’re simple and to the point. If they’re not, we don’t open them and read them. We only remember those that actually deliver on that. Ironic huh.But so, if there’s one thing to focus on, it is retention. Retention even down to each piece of content. Because if you can have a library of content with high retention. You have a top performing portfolio and obtaining results are be a lot easier. Alas, even with all that retention, my wife reassures me, that no we won’t be buying a property here. Cut off at the pass! Content can’t solve all conversion problems hey.Notable stories this weekOn why retention rate within a video is so vital on YouTube. House of Highlight’s creator-led content triples revenue. Mark Zuckerberg announces new creator monetization tools for Facebook and Instagram. ConvertKit launches their sponsor network, creators can join to get partner deals from them. Your content business model. The Webpage, can it survive the relentless attack? Substack will let you add voiceovers to posts. Congrats to JMJ and WaPo! Interesting tid-bit on Twitter ads starting to work. On why this DTC brand stopped spending on Amazon ads. Malcolm Gladwell's audio company signs a film and TV deal with A24. Can media companies weather a recession? Executives say they’re in stronger shape this time.Deals/M&AGroup Black is in talks to buy stake in Bustle parent and has been eyeing a deal for Vice Media.Campaign of the WeekeToro with Market Watch, How do we invest in an unknown future? Continue reading

Ben Young
Ben Young
July 8, 2022