Diane di Costanzo experiences the most effective of two worlds in a singular content material advertising function.
As chief content material officer, vp/editorial director at Foundry 360, Dotdash Meredith’s branded content material division, she workout routines her brand-content technique muscle groups by overseeing about 30 conventional client-side packages at any time.
And as editor-in-chief of the editorially impartial (and single sponsored supported) print and digital publications Millie Journal and PawPrint, she makes use of her journalism expertise day by day.
This highly effective mixture of abilities works nicely for Foundry 360, which experiences excessive consumer retention – some consumer relationships span 15 years and counting.
And all that success earned Diane the 2022 B2C Content material Marketer of the 12 months title. Right here’s a have a look at what units her work aside.
Combining model #Content material and journalism abilities led to spectacular outcomes for Foundry 360 purchasers – and the B2C Content material Marketer of 12 months title for Diane di Costanzo by way of @AnnGynn @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet
A content material strategy-forward strategy
“We turn out to be a type of editorial division hooked up to purchasers however not embedded,” Diane says of the Foundry 360 enterprise mannequin. Foundry’s work doesn’t contain responding to manufacturers’ requests for proposals. As a substitute, it begins with brainstorming content material methods that might work for manufacturers.
In a cut up from her conventional media background, Diane works hand in hand with the gross sales workforce. Their mutual aim is to get the doorways opened for potential purchasers, to allow them to speak content material. Then, they speak about what success seems like and what firm targets the content material ought to help.
“We create a well-organized understanding of what we need to do and the way we’re going to measure it,” she says. “In the event you don’t measure it, it’s laborious for the consumer to rationalize, ‘Let’s do it once more,’ as a result of they haven’t been capable of quantify what the content material did.”
In the event you don’t measure #Content material affect, it’s laborious for purchasers to conform to repeat a program, says Diane Di Costanzo by way of @AnnGynn and @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet
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Broad abilities and a deep content material bench
That target success – and understanding that content material isn’t a one-and-done factor – prompts most purchasers to proceed working with Foundry 360.
Although the Foundry 360 workforce executes over two dozen content material packages at a time, the workforce consists of solely six full-time individuals. All of them function government administrators who head up verticals, corresponding to finance, well being and wellness, and medical science.
The remainder of the work will get executed by freelancers. “We’re capable of rent the precise proper particular person with the precise proper editorial skillset for any given undertaking,” Diane says, including about 50% of her job is discovering these proper individuals.
In fact, the full-time workers additionally pitches in on different initiatives once they have the bandwidth. “We don’t simply put on one hat,” Diane says.
A repeatable mannequin for fulfillment
Whereas the Foundry 360 workforce invests time in figuring out what content material initiatives would work nicely for the manufacturers, it additionally creates initiatives from a standard media perspective.
That’s potential as a result of Foundry 360 operates below the Dotdash Meredith umbrella, the most important digital and print writer in the US. (The publicly traded firm consists of iconic media manufacturers corresponding to Individuals, Higher Houses & Gardens, Actual Easy, Investopedia, and extra.)
Recognizing that the distinctive construction may benefit potential model purchasers, Diane expanded Foundry 360’s content material product line in 2020 with the launch of Millie, a print and digital content material program about ladies and cash.
On the time, Meredith – later acquired by Dotdash – had bought the Cash Journal model, leaving the corporate with out a monetary editorial model. However their analysis confirmed many monetary firms nonetheless had cash to put money into buying audiences.
Girls regularly have been ignored of conversations round cash. (Lower than 50 years in the past, it was nonetheless authorized for a corporation to require a person to co-sign for a lady to get a bank card.)
“There’s this cultural, societal, and historic context because it pertains to ladies and cash. Our analysis got here collectively to say once you speak to ladies about cash. It’s a unique dialog than once you speak to males about cash,” Diane explains.
Meredith appreciated the sponsorship mannequin as a result of a consumer’s funding would come from a advertising price range and never its promoting spend. The latter might have been a risk to its conventional magazines that depend on advertiser help.
And, not like conventional magazines that should first create an editorial product to draw advertisers, a sponsor-based journal has an funding dedication earlier than it’s created.
Synchrony signed on as the only real multi-year sponsor, receiving 4 pages of promoting in every 48-page journal. They’ve a 100% share of voice within the journal. Additionally they profit from free distribution to over 1 million focused readers as Millie mailed in the identical bag as Actual Easy journal.
A sole multi-year sponsor will get 100% share of voice below the distinctive mannequin behind Millie Journal, led by 2022 B2C Content material Marketer of the 12 months Diane Di Costanzo by way of @AnnGynn @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet
Repeating the profitable mannequin
Millie’s success led Diane to surprise what different manufacturers is perhaps curious about being the only real sponsor for a brand new publication with large distribution. The reply got here from a goal that had been on the gross sales radar for some time – Mars Petcare.
Mars owns the most important portfolio of particular person pet manufacturers. They needed to focus on the twin pet (cats and canine) viewers – an progressive advertising thought since most giant manufacturers are inclined to silo the pet sort.
Mars signed on to sponsor PawPrint journal as shortly as Synchrony got here on board for Millie. In contrast to with Millie, although, Dotdash Meredith has a digital editorial pet model – Each day Paws. So PawPrint (the journal) and Each day Paws (the web site) act as companion content material shops. PawPrint, like Millie, will get bagged with and mailed to over 1 million Actual Easy readers.
Whereas Mars shares its content material tips (corresponding to exhibiting pets in protected and humane settings) with Foundry 360, it doesn’t have a say within the editorial content material. And it might’t if they need the Paw Print journal to be mailed with Actual Easy to over 1 million subscribers.
As an editorial journal, Actual Easy receives the decrease price periodical price from the U.S. Postal Service. If it included a branded content material journal, it might now not qualify for that price.
“It’s been nice for Mars. They’ve coupons and different gives (of their adverts) in order that they’ll observe what occurs subsequent with the readers as a result of we need to be sure what we’re driving is efficacious to them,” Diane says.
Surveys are a important instrument to measure viewers response. “It’s about as unvarnished an opinion as you will get as a result of nobody’s paying anyone to say something,” Diane says. And the surveys present that readers assume PawPrint is nice, too.
“It’s simply been great to listen to that it’s so nicely acquired, and it helps to know there may be love for this animal publication Mars Petcare is sponsoring.”
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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute
