Conde Nast Goes To The Video, Expands Broadband Portfolio
- by Gavin O'Malley @mp_gavin, December 1, 2005
Pallot would not disclose the sites' subjects or their intended audiences, saying only that each will draw from areas already within Conde Nast's purview. "We're expanding so fast right now--the online market is growing so fast, it's amazing," Pallot said.
Appealing to marketers' desire to serve more video advertising online, Conde Nast will devote ever more resources to the production and distribution of broadband video, Pallot added.
CondeNet, Conde Nast's online arm, already operates three destination sites that focus on specific markets--women's fashion with Style.com, its manly counterpart Men.Style.com, and Concierge.com for travelers. Each consists of content from Conde Nast's numerous print publications as well as original material. Many of the publisher's print publications also have their own companion sites online.
aQuantive's Avenue A/Razorfish, which CondeNet hired last year to manage the mounting workload, is helping to refurbish the three destination sites--providing search engine optimization, content management, and data warehousing across CondeNet's network. Avenue A is also helping to design and plan the execution of CondeNet's new sites.
Avenue A recently led a complete redesign of Concierge.com, which is also the online home of Conde Nast's Traveler magazine. Pallot said the new sites will present a host of new opportunities for new and existing advertisers--but again, would not provide specifics.
A recent deal brokered by aQuantive--in which it handled JC Penney's recent media buy, or "site buyout," of Slate.com--might provide insights into what marketers can expect. Every display ad on Slate's site drove visitors to a holiday-themed microsite, JCPGifts.com. Coincidentally, the deal was inspired by the recent move by Conde Nast's New Yorker magazine to sell one print issue's entire ad space to Target, an Avenue A spokesman said.
