Case Study: "State Farm & Gawker: Getting Readers to a Better State of Living"

Getting Readers To A Better State of Living

Thursday, April 3, 14

Founded in 2002 by former Financial Times Journalist, Nick DentonOver 47m US Uniques (Comscore)Publisher of sites like Gizmodo, Deadspin, Jalopnik & JezebelOver 30,000 reader comments per dayReaders First: Whatever We Know & Whatever We Think

Founded in 1922 by a farmer, G.J. MecherleWith over 80m accounts, State Farm insures more cars & homes than any other US insurerProcesses about 35,000 claims every dayOver 17,000 dedicated agentsCustomers First: Getting You To A Better State Of Living


History lesson: What is Native Advertising?


What is Native Advertising?


What is Native Advertising?

The term “native advertising” has gotten a lot of play around the digital media

industry recently, as publishers, platforms and other advertisers look for ways to

differentiate their offerings and combat the continued commoditization of

banner ads. –


– Barry Lowenthal, President, Media Kitchen

When I use the term, I’m referring to ad units or creative assets that are native and

unique to a particular environment or platform. I think the best example is the paid

tweet. Only Twitter can offer paid tweets, only Facebook can offer sponsored stories,

and only Pandora can offer the playlist (actually, that’s not entirely true because

Spotify can, too). But all of those examples are ad units or messaging devices that

are unique to those platforms.

“”


“Despite all the hype, native advertising is one method for marketers to use content to engage with readers in a way that is more effective than standard advertising.”

– Paul Rossi, Managing Director, The Economist

“Native monetization is deriving revenue from a platform in a way

that is unique and organic to the experience.”

– Jon Steinberg, President, BuzzFeed


Native advertising is the natural frame in which content is delivered AND the

understanding of what content is most valuable to the audience. The content should

benefit the user, not interrupt or disrupt.


Native Natives: Can you spot the ad?


The Gawker & State Farm Approach


What Does Success Look Like?Over 20,000,000 media impressionsOver 200,000 page viewsOver 1,000 comments5%+ CTR on posts4x Average Time on Article53% Lower Cost per Quote25% Higher Quote Completion66% Lower Cost per Policy Extended15% Lower Cost per “Find an Agent”


CreationBrand created


Co-CreationCreationSharedBrand created


Co-CreationCreation CurationConsumer / 3rd PartySharedBrand created


The Story Telling Spectrum

Entertainment

Creation

Utility

Co-Creation Curation


• Never Write an Advertisement Which You Wouldn't Want Your Own Family To Read. Thursday, April 3, 14

• Never Write an Advertisement Which You Wouldn't Want Your Own Family To Read.

“You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don't tell them to mine. Do as you would be done by.”

– David Ogilvy


Any Questions?Fire Away


Case Study: "State Farm & Gawker: Getting Readers to a Better State of Living"

Technology

Transcript of Case Study: "State Farm & Gawker: Getting Readers to a Better State of Living"