New BuzzFeed Exec Hires Signal Heightened Focus on Commerce

BuzzFeed announced Friday morning that it has hired Melanie Summers, previously chief brand officer of content licensing company Driver Studios, to the role of senior vice president of consumer products—the latest in a series of masthead moves from the newly public company intended to amplify its commerce operations. In her role, Summers will lead global brand licensing and product development efforts at BuzzFeed, which as of December officially includes Complex Networks. Before Driver Studios, Summers worked as vp of the Emeril Brand at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Viacom, where she held various licensing and business development roles for MTV and Nickelodeon. She began at BuzzFeed on Jan. 10. Summers joins the publisher as it looks to make good on the ambitious agenda it has set for its commerce operation: in a 2021 investor presentation, the publisher projected that the line item would generate $150 million in revenue by the end of 2022 and 31% of its total revenue by 2024. In its most recent quarterly earnings report––its last before incorporating Complex Networks and its commerce outfit––BuzzFeed generated $13.4 million in commerce revenue. BuzzFeed is entering the new year on unfamiliar footing: its disappointing reverse merger raised only $16 million in cash, rather than the $287 million it could have netted. But it allowed BuzzFeed and Complex Networks to begin the process of integrating their operations, which have complementary commerce outfits, said COO Christian Baesler. Now, all eyes will be on Summers and her team to see if a publisher really can generate nearly a third of its revenue through consumer products. “One of the advantages of BuzzFeed is that we know exactly what our consumers want—up to the minute—and we can react very quickly,” Summers told Adweek. “So we are literally giving them what they are looking for. It's exciting to have all of that insight and be able to connect the dots, because otherwise you're guessing. We're not guessing.” Publishers Embrace Buy Now, Pay Later Technology to Streamline Commerce Making BuzzFeed and Complex' commerce operations complementary BuzzFeed announced a slew of new roles this month as part of its integration with Complex Networks. CEO Jonah Peretti named Baesler the COO of BuzzFeed, in addition to his role as CEO of Complex Networks. Baesler then tapped Edgar Hernandez, formerly the CRO of Complex Networks, to serve as CRO of BuzzFeed, and Ken Blom, formerly the svp of ad strategy and partnerships, to the role of evp of business strategy and operations. As part of the shuffle, svp of commerce Nilla Ali moved to the role of evp of commerce. The shifting org chart is an attempt from BuzzFeed to streamline its commerce operations into a more cohesive unit, allowing the resulting team to eliminate its weaknesses and amplify its strengths, Baesler said. Complex Networks, for instance, excels in original merchandise, events and long-form branded content. BuzzFeed, meanwhile, has a robust affiliate program, data capture practice and creator-centric branded content operation. By integrating the two, Complex Networks will gain access to the data and affiliate infrastructure of BuzzFeed, while BuzzFeed gains events know-how and original product expertise. “The main reason why BuzzFeed and Complex Networks chose to come together is that we have very complementary businesses,” Baesler said. “There is a lot of similarity in the revenue categories, but there's not a lot of similarity in how we do it.” Consumer products with a franchise mindset In her new role, Summers will focus on expanding the BuzzFeed commerce business beyond licensing and into consumer products, she told Adweek. The publisher has already built a substantial business off of licensing its products, especially at Tasty, and has partnerships with global retailers like Walmart. Complex Networks, home to brands like Hot Ones and First We Feast, also offers a fertile source of potential partnerships: The spicy chicken wing interview series recently began selling its accoutrement as a frozen food kit. BuzzFeed Acquires Complex Networks for $300 Million in Latest SPAC But Summers is tasked with thinking about expanding these concepts beyond products and into larger franchises, Baesler said. Instead of limiting Hot Ones merchandise to chicken wings and hot sauce, the series wants to expand into the concept of spice more broadly. With Tasty, Summers hopes to take the concept into a more experiential realm, allowing consumers to experience the culinary outside of their kitchens. She also hopes to capitalize on other lifestyle titles in the BuzzFeed portfolio, such as its travel and fashion brands. “I was drawn to these brands because people are already having amazing experiences with them online,” Summer said. “So the question is: how can we take that experience and turn it into a lifestyle brand?”

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New Executive Hires from BuzzFeed Signal Its Heightened Focus on Commerce

The publisher brought in former content-licensing exec Melanie Summers to oversee consumer products

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