BuzzFeed Wants to Keep Influencing and Monetizing Consumers

BuzzFeed returned to NewFronts for the first time since 2016 on Wednesday, as CEO Jonah Peretti laid out his vision for how the publisher plans to navigate changes, both internal and external, reshaping the 15-year-old company. During the presentation, Peretti focused on one major point: Through social listening, BuzzFeed has developed a deep, authentic relationship with its audience. By placing brands in front of its "activated" readers, BuzzFeed serves as an "inspiration engine," prompting consumer behavior and then monetizing it. "We have taught the next generation of consumers how to shop through our content," Peretti said. The 10-minute video, which was charged with optimism for the future, follows on several months of financial maneuvering from the publisher. BuzzFeed acquired HuffPost from Verizon in November, before laying off 47 of its staff in March and closing its Canadian division. HuffPost recorded losses of more than $20 million in 2020 and was on pace to post a similar balance this year, according to BuzzFeed. To cut losses, BuzzFeed itself laid off 50 employees in 2020, about 6% of its workforce, after furloughing 70 employees, including 20 BuzzFeed News staff, according to reporting from Insider. The cuts came in response to the financial distress caused by the pandemic, though BuzzFeed has also engaged in discussions about going public via a SPAC, according to reporting from Bloomberg. The layoffs reduce losses across the two publications, an effort that aims to make the pair a more appealing acquisition. Advertising in a cookieless world Looming changes to the world of digital advertising have forced publishers to reexamine their methods of collecting first-party data, a reality BuzzFeed has found itself well-positioned to negotiate. The publisher officially unveiled Lighthouse, its data services suite for brands, in March, as Adweek previously reported. More than half of BuzzFeed’s ad buys in 2021 have used Lighthouse in some capacity, said Dave Pond, the head of media strategy and operations for the publisher. “On the performance side, we’ve seen up to two to three times performance increases when [advertisers] utilize our first-party data,” Pond said. BuzzFeed leads the pack in terms of preparedness, as nearly half of publishers have yet to begin implementing a strategy for collecting first-party data, according to a recent Forrester survey commissioned by Permutive. Only 28% have an established strategy. Its heightened scale, following its acquisition of HuffPost, will also help boost its strength as an advertising partner. “With third-party cookies going away, scale becomes more important,” Pond said. “Adding more to our portfolio makes Lighthouse stronger, branded content stronger, and increases the number of verticals we can play in.” Envisioning new revenue strategies BuzzFeed has long been at the forefront of innovative revenue solutions, especially when it comes to commerce, a sector that publishers have flocked to in recent months. The pandemic fueled an online shopping bonanza that led to an increase in total gross sales of more than 67%, Adweek previously reported. In 2020, BuzzFeed’s thousands of shopping articles garnered around 900 million views and drove over $500 million in gross merchandise value. In 2019, its commerce business generated more than $40 million in revenue, according to a memo Peretti published in January 2020. BuzzFeed plans to lean more heavily into many of the alternative revenue sources it has spent the last few years cultivating, including branded content and licensing, Peretti said. Staying in touch with audience BuzzFeed has developed a closer relationship with its audience during the pandemic, Peretti said, an asset that it can allow advertisers to buy into. Readers turn to BuzzFeed as an “inspiration engine,” an ecosystem where they can go to explore new trends, giving the publisher a strong influence on what its audience buys. For instance, 8 in 10 Tasty readers have made a Tasty recipe, Peretti said, meaning the products BuzzFeed decides to include in its recipes will translate to real-world purchases in the grocery store. To achieve this kind of intimacy, the publisher has grown adept at listening to audience signals, then turning those insights into content that resonates with readers. This ability has been a bedrock for BuzzFeed’s push into commerce, but it also has informed how the publisher plans to work with advertisers post-pandemic. The timeframe for planning ad buys will shorten, as trying to predict the cultural atmosphere a year in advance serves no one, Pond said. Instead, the publisher will use its social listening infrastructure to collect real-time insights about its readers, then construct advertising plans around that contemporaneous information. BuzzFeed Touts Lighthouse to Ease Third-Party Data Blackout Woes

NewFronts

BuzzFeed Wants to Become an 'Inspiration Engine,' Influencing and Monetizing Consumers

The publisher hopes commerce and its newly expanded scale will bring stability

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg