• by Melynda Fuller , November 8, 2018

Building on an existing partnership with Tribune Publishing, Taboola announced a three-year exclusive partnership with the newspaper publisher that would extend to its digital properties.

With the goal of increasing user engagement and generating revenue, Tribune Publishing will feature the Taboola Feed, a content discovery tool that allows for infinite scrolling and content discovery, to the pages of its digital papers, including Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and the Orlando Sentinel.

Previously introduced to the New York Daily News site in May 2017, the feed saw an uplift in rpm of 63% on desktop and an average rpm uplift of 37% across mobile and tablet. The Daily News was the first publisher to test and implement the feed.

The feed, which scrolls vertically, allows users to access content that includes articles, in-feed video, app downloads and premium content on mobile web and in-app. Engagement, and thus revenue, is increased by encouraging readers or viewers to remain on a publisher’s site through a personalized stream.

The feed utilizes Taboola’s Audience Exchange architecture, which allows publishers like Tribune to strategically manage and optimize the flow of traffic across its network, Adam Singolda, CEO-founder of Taboola, told Publishers Daily.

“For example, Taboola Feed might surface a card that recommends relevant content from Tribune’s The Daily Meal and Active Times to the readers of the New York Daily News,” he explained, thereby allowing Tribune’s readers to discover content across its portfolio of news sites.

The Taboola Feed allows publishers to customize their feed to drive revenue, as well. For example, if a publisher wants to encourage readers to sign up for a specific newsletter or drive traffic to a specific area of its site, it can swap in a new “card” to the feed that will drive attention there.

According to Singolda, publishers can also “leverage Taboola Feed to achieve their subscription goals or promote traffic to sister websites and third-party partners, creating targeted cookie pools to make relevant offerings for consumers based on their interest.”

Grant Whitmore, executive vice president-general manager, Northeast region, Tribune Publishing Company, stated: “Balancing sustainable revenue streams with high-quality user experiences is the cornerstone of today’s digital media industry. The Taboola Feed achieved significant results for New York Daily News, and we are looking forward to bringing similar success across all of our properties.”