Conde Nast Launches 23 Stories For In-House Native Ads

For premium publishers, the future of native advertising may be in-house.

That’s the bet that fashion, luxury and lifestyle magazine publisher Condé Nast is making with the launch of 23 Stories, a new branded content studio that will help its advertising clients engage consumers, especially in the coveted millennial demographic, by tapping into the expertise of the publisher’s own editorial teams.

Headed by Pat Connolly, Condé Nast Media Group’s vice president for marketing solutions, the new in-house studio includes a video development and production team. It draws on editorial talent from across the Media Group, as well as production know-how from Condé Nast Entertainment, formed in 2013 to bolster its video offerings.

This new organizational structure marks a major shift for the publisher, which until now has maintained strict separation between its editorial staff and branded content producers. Content produced by 23 Stories will still be identified as sponsored messages.

Advertisers using the in-house native ad outfit will also have the benefit of Condé’s distribution, which reaches an average monthly audience of 77 million across digital, mobile and video platforms, and a total print audience of 51 million. However, 23 Stories selective. Advertisers will have to hit certain spending requirements in order to tap into the publisher’s editorial resources.

Menicheschi stated: “We are changing the branded content game with 23 Stories by Condé Nast by offering marketers, for the first time, access to our unparalleled editorial assets. As clients seek to elevate their storytelling and define themselves as publishers, we believe Condé Nast is uniquely qualified to partner with them to deliver compelling content, targeted to the right audiences at scale.”

A number of other big magazine publishers have launched, or acquired, native ad divisions recently. Earlier this month, Meredith Corp. acquired Selectable Media, which specializes in native advertising. In November, it launched a new native ad platform called “Buzz,” which integrates marketers’ native ads into contextually relevant content areas that are endemic to Meredith brands.

4 comments about "Conde Nast Launches 23 Stories For In-House Native Ads".
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  1. Mike Greco from Indy App Systems, January 27, 2015 at 2:52 a.m.

    Brilliant move. The investment of time and energy will pay off.

  2. Mike Einstein from the Brothers Einstein, January 27, 2015 at 9:10 a.m.

    First native marketing post I've seen in a while. Thought this foolishness had already eclipsed its 15-minutes' worth.

  3. Henry Blaufox from Dragon360, January 27, 2015 at 10:45 a.m.

    This is a way for CN to get more productivity, and direct revenue, from editorial staff, which historically has been accounted for as a cost center in the publishing business. It's really not a step away from separation between content producers and edit staff. Rather, edit staff will be assigned to the branded content teams for some assignments. It makes use of existing staff rather than laying off editorial staff due to cost pressures while bringing on outside brand content creators. This has benefits for the current staff, as long as the editorial staff can make the switch in style to brand content.

    Will other publishers follow suit?

  4. Jim Farina from Farina Consulting, January 28, 2015 at 1:03 p.m.

    I don't know about the efficiencies of the publishing business but I don't think this is really about the Native Advertising aspect. It's about the video and the future of online advertising.

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