Reuters' direct-to-consumer business has no media boundaries, offering marketers access to a large, affluent audience via multi-platforms.
As a journalist, I've come to rely on Reuters as an information source. Apparently, consumers in growing numbers do the same.
For the past three years, Reuters has made a push beyond its traditional news agency services to provide content direct to consumers. Their target market -- tech-savvy, early-adopter influentials.
Reuters reaches this target audience exclusively through digital, interactive platforms: a website, reuters.com; mobile devices; interactive television (Reuters channel on Microsoft Media Center); and digital signage (The Reuters Sign at 3 Times Square).
All of the company's media properties are ad supported.
For example, Reuters has been working with Avantgo for the past five years, and is consistently rated among the top channels. As a result, the company has seen a growth in ad revenues from this mobile platform.
In addition, Reuters recently launched on Sprint and Verizon in the United States and Telus in Canada, with more carrier partnerships in the pipeline.
"We're big believers in the mobile ad model," says Stephen Smyth, vice president, mobile and emerging media. "The mobile advertising market is growing, particularly in the News category. We're working hard with Third Screen Media, our mobile ad solutions partner, to grow the mobile advertising market here in the United States."
Another area of advertising growth for Reuters is interactive TV. Reuters launched its first iTV news channel on the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition in 2005. It gives consumers direct access to a selection of the latest Reuters video footage used by TV news editors around the world. GE was the first advertiser. Currently Reuters is live on the platform in over 13 countries.
The final ad-supported digital platform Reuters employs is digital signage. Its flagship space is a Times Square digital display, which Smyth says is one of the most advanced signs in the world. Noteworthy campaigns that have run on the sign include Nike's ID campaign that enabled passers by to design their own shoes on the sign via their cell phones, and even purchase the shoes; and a campaign for Yahoo Autos that enabled visitors to use their cell phones to control a car race on the sign.
When not running ads, the sign streams Reuters news or house ads. Reuters plans to introduce a digital signage solution for lobbies in the United States this year, having already rolled out such platforms in Europe and Asia.
Smyth says the company has a lot to offer advertisers. For example, in addition to a growing, affluent audience at Reuters.com (according to Nielsen//Netratings the number of unique visitors to the site has grown by more than 50 percent in the last 12 months), Reuters produces upwards of 7,000 text stories a day.
"In 2005, Reuters filed over 2.7 million news items, from approximately 1,600 different locations in 204 countries around the world, in 18 languages," says Smyth. "And that doesn't include photos and other content."
The company also prides itself on its ability to provide integrated, innovative ad programs.
"We're seeing more and more interest from advertisers in creative, custom ad solutions that work across platforms," says Smyth. "We're flexible-- we don't try to force advertisers into a particular straight jacket, but work closely with them to develop and implement creative approaches to reach Reuters' influential audience."
Take Diet Coke's recent "On a Lighter Note," campaign, for example. Reuters worked with the advertiser and its agency, Starcom MediaVest, to come up with an RSS feed of news stories focused on fun slices of life which was piped to the various platforms, including online, mobile and The Reuters Sign at 3 Times Square. "We were able to create a consistent, yet multi-platform program for the client," says Smyth.
Reuters considers itself an innovator in terms of ad solutions, having been early to market with broadband video ad products. And, over six months ago, the company launched Reuters Labs, a section of Reuters.com which is open to consumers where new ideas are launched for testing and consumer feedback.
A current initiative is enabling smaller sites to add a video player, providing the blogger audience with Reuters content and allowing Reuters to increase its ad inventory. According to Smyth, several hundred affiliates have already implemented the player in the first few months on Labs.
Other initiatives being tested are audio podcasting and citizen photo submission. As concepts are proven out in Labs, Reuters will take them to market commercially.