How Condé Nast Digital Grew Revenue by 40%

In 2015, Condé Nast Digital nearly doubled its annual revenue. The publisher claims that this unprecedented growth was fueled by programmatic buying options as well as innovative and creative ad inventory.

Now, the question on every ad seller's mind is "how the heck did they pull off this kind of growth and how can we replicate this strategy?" 

Condé Nast's Creative Strategy

When asked about this remarkable growth, Wil Harris, the head of digital at Condé Nast, cited the publisher's creative approach to new ad options.

Taking advantage of advertisers' interest in branded microsites, they are now offering options for fully integrated native experiences that benefit from editorial oversight. Not only that, but these campaigns also incorporate social media promotion and strategic ad placements on other sites.

This type of creative strategy can definitely be duplicated by other publishers. In fact, similar strategies have already been developed by established publishers, including The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. 

The Introduction Of Vogue Video

Following the launch of Vogue Video in June of 2015, Condé Nast Digital has already generated 16 million views. Additionally, a series featuring Alexa Chung, the fashion world's darling, has attracted an audience of 1.24 million viewers.  

For anyone who tracks business marketing data, it should come as no surprise that video has evolved into an integral part of the marketing mix for many major brands. And creative video combined with programmatic is a winning proposition for advertisers. 

Market Research From Cisco And Nielsen

According to market research conducted by Cisco, video will account for 69 percent of all consumer internet traffic in 2017. Moreover, Cisco also predicts that video-on-demand traffic alone will account for three times as many viewers. 

Nielsen, another major player, projects that 64 percent of marketers fully expect video to dominate their creative strategies in coming years. So far, and it's doubtful that there will be a change in growth, video performance statistics do not show any indication of slowing down.

Making The Right Moves At The Right Time

In 2011, Condé Nast was at the forefront of progress when making a decision about programmatic. In fact, It became a relatively early programmatic adopter with its own private exchange.

Although there was an overall industry push at that time for open inventory, Condé Nast was intent on keeping exclusive access to its inventory. Even today, their approach hasn’t really changed much.

The publisher is so taken with programmatic that it partnered with Google back in May to present programmatic deals to buyers for Google’s YouTube-powered “Lightbox” banner ads. 

By all accounts this has been a match made in heaven.

Google wants to increase brand dollars, and Condé Nast wants to offer advertisers more premium placements for their messages. 

“We look at this as a powerful new medium,” said Condé Nast’s digital ad chief Alanna Gombert. “Programmatic opens up the industry to new and innovative ad technologies, which is what we want. We’re in advertising, after all.”

This is a perfect opportunity to take this new medium for a "test drive." Who knows, you may even join the 'A List' of partners for current and prospective advertisers.

Also, if you're looking for new business opportunities with top advertisers, be sure to check out Winmo. This sales intelligence platform empowers ad sales professionals like you to win new business with national brands and their agencies.