Meredith Corporation plans to integrate e-commerce options “seamlessly and natively” into more of its content to make it easier for people to buy things “and give them a great experience on the back end.” The publisher’s e-commerce and shopper marketing plans were one element of its Digital Content NewFronts presentation last week.
“One of the things that you’ll see is that e-commerce tends to end up over on the side in some cases,” Meredith’s VP, Innovation, Corbin de Rubertis says in this interview with Beet.TV. “But we really try and weave it into the experience itself. As when you’re looking at a recipe, for example, you should be able to see the ingredients from local stores or Amazon Fresh, for that matter.”
The weaving results in “a discreet button” at, say, the bottom of a recipe. “You can push the button and all that stuff goes into the cart and you’ll have it on your doorstep that afternoon,” says de Rubertis, adding that Meredith has a “really interesting network of partners” on the retail side.
“Then we also work with the brands, because the brands are often positioned inside the retailers. We want to make sure there’s a place for them as well.”
Sometimes Meredith will work with both at once, for example a L’Oreal skincare product that can be purchased online at Target.
Like other publishers, Meredith has long positioned relevant products nearby its editorial content, separated from the content itself. A recipe in Better Homes & Gardens might be accompanied by suggested cooking utensils.
While the concept of e-commerce is nothing new, de Rubertis says it should be better integrated into the content consumption process.
“I think in a way, it’s almost just getting started,” he says. “It’s been relegated to kind of the back page or a shopping section on most sites and we’re really betting on the fact that consumers want to see that as long it’s relevant.
“As long as it’s relevant and useful, contextualized and appropriately targeted at the audience, we believe it’s part of the content in a lot of ways. It saves the consumers from having to go off to retailers’ sites sometimes and kind of ping pong in between so they get the inspiration and they can act on it immediately.”
This video is part of Beet.TV’s coverage of the Digital Content NewFronts 2018. The series a co-presentation of Beet.TV and the IAB. Please see additional videos from the series on this page.
