The New York Times uses artificial intelligence and Brand Match in separate workflows to target ads and build audience segments. The combination of these two strategies has reportedly boosted campaign results by about 30%. The publisher also found a direct correlation between a reader's engagement with content and the number of actions they may take, making them more valuable to advertisers. The goal for 2025 is to have over 50% of the 11 million subscribers engaging with two or more New York Times properties.
Key takeaways:
- The New York Times Advertising has enhanced its first-party data capabilities, allowing advertisers to target across its various publications. The aim is to reshape the advertising economy by focusing on 'the most valuable impressions' rather than clicks and impressions.
- The publisher is investing in technology such as BrandMatch and conducting insights and studies to understand how to reach the most valuable audience based on the advertiser. More than 240 audience segments are now available to advertisers, focusing on specific interests, emotions, gender, and age.
- Artificial intelligence and Brand Match play a role in audience segments and targeting ads, with the combination of first-party targeting and BrandMatch boosting results by about 30% compared to an average campaign running on The New York Times.
- The more engaged a user is across multiple New York Times properties, the more valuable they are for advertisers and the better ads perform. Users who engage with two or more New York Times properties weekly are almost three times as likely to browse, shop, or purchase from premium athletic retailers compared to the general population.