Greg Gittrich, VP, digital media, and editor-in-chief, NBC Local Integrated Media, told ILM:10 attendees that with strong corporate support, NBC has extended a consistent voice and high-value content across platforms in a manner that develops a franchise in local markets. High franchise value content differs by market. For example, locally popular content might range from shopping and fashion in New York to football in Dallas and politics in Chicago. Some vertical content plays well across markets, for example, The Feast, which is offered in 10 markets where NBC owns TV plus Boston. The Feast is a city guide directory offering “the best places to shop, eat and play in your city.”
Stephen Weis, VP, digital sales, Hearst Newspapers spoke to the issue of scaling service for clients. While each advertiser expects high-quality service it can be expensive to do this for all advertisers, even those spending smaller amounts. One solution is to outsource this work off-shore. Weis also commented on Hearst’s partnership with Yahoo. Being part of the Yahoo consortium had some sales channel conflict, sometimes this is healthy, according to Weis. Yahoo been a great partner at resolving conflicts.
Advance Internet’s president, Peter Weinberger, commented on his partnership strategy by advising that any prospective partnership should be evaluated on where it might lead three to five years down the road. What makes sense now might not a bit later. Pick partners carefully. Weinberger reported that Advance Internet has spent the past two years focusing on SEO, then moved into social. 2011 will be all about mobile focus. Weis said his company has spent the last 18 months training newsrooms on SEO, then social. Now the emphasis shifts to mobile.
Rick Ducey is the managing director for BIA/Kelsey. He is an expert in digital media innovations, competitive strategies, new product development and new business models, including digital ecosystem collaboration strategies.
Ducey oversees the firm's consulting, research and advisory services areas. He is also the program director for BIA/Kelsey's Video Local Media advisory service. This program provides coverage and analysis of how online, mobile and broadcast video technologies, competition, shifting consumer demographics and media usage trends are driving changes in the media ecosystem and SMBs and other advertisers can be successful in the new environment. Ducey assists clients with their business planning and revenue models, strategic research, market assessment, and designing and implementing digital strategies. He is also a cofounder of SpectraRep, one of BIA�s companies, which sells a patent-pending IP-based alerting system that he co-invented.
Prior to joining BIA in 2000, Ducey was senior vice president of NAB's Research and Information Group. In this position, he was in charge of the association�s new technology assessment, audience and policy research, strategic planning and information systems, including all Internet operations, and he also developed publications and seminars.
Before joining NAB in 1983, Ducey was a faculty member in the Department of Telecommunication at Michigan State University where he taught and did research in the areas of emerging telecommunication technologies and strategic market research. He also served on the graduate management faculties of George Mason University and George Washington University in telecommunications management and the University of Maryland, where he taught strategic market management and research methodologies. Ducey was selected as the Spring 2011 Shapiro Fellow at George Washington University where he teaches entrepreneurship in new media. He has published a number of research articles and papers in these areas and serves on editorial boards of leading scholarly journals in the communications field. He has also worked at radio stations WSOQ-AM/WEZG-FM and Upstate Cablevision in North Syracuse, New York.
Ducey received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University, M.S. from Syracuse University and B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
