Condé Nast launches new OTT offering with dedicated channels for Wired, Bon Appétit and GQ

 

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The newly launched channels will be available on AppleTV, Roku and Amazon Fire. Additionally, the company unveiled more than 60 new digital video pilots in production, new series for Snapchat and new ad products that leverage the influence of the company’s portfolio for advertising partners. The company’s annual NewFront presentation to advertisers was held in the penthouse of 100 Barclay, a residence recently featured in AD.

“While consumers have more screens and more content to choose from than ever before, advertisers face the challenge of less buyable options,” said Pamela Drucker Mann, chief revenue and marketing officer of Condé Nast. “Condé Nast has the engagement, brand safety and influence that make us the most impactful buyable solution in the industry. And our new OTT expansion is significant because it brings the quality of Condé Nast to next gen consumers on new platforms, and in new ways.”

“Digital platforms are how next gen audiences are consuming content, but we are the what, and currently positioned at No. 17 in comScore’s top 100 video properties, Condé Nast is the new primetime for a new generation,” said Dawn Ostroff, president of Condé Nast Entertainment. “And with 35 blockbuster series and more than 60 new pilots, we are programming every platform consumers use today – from our O&Os, OTT and YouTube to social and syndication, we have created a video network that is popular among millennial and Gen Z audiences, and has surpassed all of our competitors.”*

Condé Nast digital videos garnered 12 billion views in 2017 and continue to grow viewership, with a record-breaking first quarter in 2018 with global video views up across all platforms 77 per cent from last year. The series continually gain industry recognition; this year alone, Condé Nast videos won four Webby Awards, two James Beard Media Awards, an Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Video, and a Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, as well as three ASME nominations. In all, Condé Nast videos have 109 nominations and 40 wins.*

Condé Nast also recently conducted a study with renowned research firm Tapestry, to understand the consumer’s true path to purchase. The findings solidified Condé Nast’s influence in the consumer decision journey and measurable impact within each stage of the journey—often beating out platforms including Facebook and Google.

  • 3x more likely to say Condé Nast brands “showcase the best brands for products I want to buy” vs. Facebook or Google
  • 3x more likely to “make me think more highly of brands when featured in stories” vs. Facebook or Google
  • 7 in 10 (69 per cent) take a purchase-related action after seeing a product featured in a Condé Nast brand
  • 89 per cent say Condé Nast gives them ideas to share with other people

Condé Nast announced 35 returning blockbuster series and 60 new pilots already in the works for 2018. Using real-time viewer data to drive its development and scheduling decisions, the company has already launched several series this year that became viral hits instantly, including “Lie Detector” for Vanity Fair, which garnered more than 10 million views for its premiere episode.

 

Following is the list of pilots announced during the NewFront:

  • “Money Tours” for Glamour examines a day in the life of women living within a range of budgets. Utilising an approach that is inclusive and open, viewers will be amazed at how far US$20 can go and how little, sometimes, $200 turns out to be.
  • GQ’s comedy pilot, “Don’t be That Guy,” features famous women giving men life advice as they try to improve the world one guy at a time.
  • Self and The Players’ Tribune are coming together to create an expansive content programme with female athletes to share their never-been-told stories.
  • “Moral Code” examines the awkward moral questions surrounding new technologies, because well-intended technology can have complicated consequences and Wired is uniquely qualified to break it down.

On emerging platforms, the company announced that the first three episodes of its Snapchat Show “True Crime/Uncovered” were fully sponsored and generated over 10 million viewers worldwide. The company is producing three more episodes for season one and announced that Snapchat has already renewed the show for a second season. In addition, Condé Nast has partnered with Snapchat to reimagine four of its biggest blockbuster series with a feel and tone that is distinctively Snap.

Condé Nast also announced that it is expanding its partnership with Google’s VR platform Daydream to produce additional episodes of its popular “Closets” series. The programs will span multiple Condé Nast brands and will explore other amazing spaces, including kitchens, bathrooms and rare collections. In addition, the two companies have several other series in development for the Daydream platform in a variety of categories, including beauty and tech.

The company also unveiled two new ad products designed to leverage the influence of Condé Nast’s iconic brands for advertising partners. The first, Collaborations, is a new opportunity for advertisers to integrate into top performing series across Condé Nast’s 20 exclusive YouTube channels. The second, Amplify, directly connects brands with Condé Nast’s highly influential social communities on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Condé Nast’s experiential NewFront was produced by the company’s in-house agency, 23 Stories.

*Sources: Tapestry March 2018; Adobe; YouTube Analytics; DFP; Partner Data; Facebook Insights; Twitter Analytics; comScore

 

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