DigitasLBi Chicago will be bringing in writers from Buzzfeed, the web's foremost social news and entertainment website, to help generate more effective social advertising campaigns. Writers will be brought in through the “Buzzfeed in Residence” program, which launched yesterday, and brings in business-side ad writers from Buzzfeed to the Digitas offices for one day every other week. According to Adam Shlachter, head of media activation for Digitas' North American operations, the Buzzfeed writers will work alongside the Digitas staff, “Riffing on ideas, asking questions and getting better immersed in the aspects of the business.” The team will be creating real-time content, which reacts to breaking news on behalf of clients, and assisting the Digitas team in analysing social media content.
Writers will be brought in through the “Buzzfeed in Residence” program, which launched yesterday, and brings in business-side ad writers from Buzzfeed to the Digitas offices
Though it is known to web-savvy individuals the world over primarily as a source of pop-culture lists, funny pictures and subtly satirical entertainment news, Buzzfeed also works with various Fortune 100 brands to create online advertising that draws a lot of clicks and shares. These are ads that people actually read, because they are engineered to look like regular Buzzfeed articles, the only noticeable difference is a byline that will read “Publishing partner” or “Brand publishers.” These “Sponsored content” or “Native Advertising” features are effectively stealth ads. Executives from both sides of the deal believe that the relationship will breed faster, better content for clients, with obvious benefits for Digitas Chicago clients such as Sprint, Whirlpool and MillerCoors.
The DigitasLBi Chicago offices
Buzzfeed is a site that just won't stop growing, with unique visitors more than tripling between March 2013 and March 2014. Compare this to the 15% growth in unique visitors to the New York Times website in the same time period and you begin to realise just what a remarkable achievement that it. Matt Trotta, vice president of agency strategy and industry development at BuzzFeed, believes this is because "A traditional (ad) planning cycle doesn't allow for great innovation," and Buzzfeed are “Changing how (they) go about planning." Trotta declined to comment on the specific number of BuzzFeed staffers who will be working at Digitas, saying the number would fluctuate based on demand and questions from agency staffers.
Buzzfeed also works with various Fortune 100 brands to create online advertising that people actually read, because they are engineered to look like regular Buzzfeed articles
From the Digitas perspective, Shlachter says that just because they are bringing Buzzfeed on board, that doesn't mean the traditional planning process is dying, they're just “Hoping to modernise it." He continues, “Rather than waiting for an idea to be half-baked before finding someone who can tactically execute it,” the team will be “Getting together at the beginning in a collaborative process.” The partnership began back in May and will extend throughout the remainder of 2014. Shlachter hopes they can “Grow from there.”
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK. He has spent many, many hours of his life wasting time on Buzzfeed, in fact, he has a window open right now with a video questioning what would happen if Sonic the Hedgehog was scientifically accurate. Riveting stuff.
