UrbanDaddy Lures the Luxury Brands
Advertisers should look no further than e-mail publications that have built a trusted brand and a loyal following.
There’s a market for trendsetting content, but consumers aren’t the only ones eating it up. E-mail publications like DailyCandy and Tasting Table, both of which attract sizeable audiences of educated and affluent subscribers, have found popularity among digital advertisers who know there’s incredible value in up-to-the-minute content, an attitude that entertains and inspires, and a user base of fiercely loyal consumers.
Ask fellow pacesetter UrbanDaddy what’s at the center of its success, and you’ll find it too fits right into this coveted mold. One might liken the publication to a DailyCandy for men, and indeed there are similarities: both attract a host of major advertisers who are keen on reaching their content-hungry readers.
Like DailyCandy, UrbanDaddy is an e-mail publication first and foremost, and this is the foundation on which all of its other advertising opportunities are built. With 1.5 million subscribers across 11 different editions, the brand offers placement options like display advertising, dedicated advertorials, single sponsorships, and full share of voice takeovers. Its objective is to refrain from marketing speak and instead deliver messaging that’s consistent with the UrbanDaddy brand, an approach that it says has garnered CTRs (define) on advertorials of 10 to 15 percent.
The Next Move for Content Distribution
Few brands can want for much more than being associated with great content. But present these buyers with an opportunity to extend their reach beyond e-mail subscribers to mobile users, and watch as the value of that content skyrockets. Even though UrbanDaddy has been in business since 2005, it jumped onto many more marketers’ radars last year when it launched a clever new iPhone app called “The Next Move.”
The app, which is approaching 300,000 downloads in the iTunes App Store, gives users an instant recommendation for where to eat, drink, or party based on where they are, who they’re with, and what they crave at any given moment. It has already attracted advertisers like Lexus and Starbucks, brands that seem a natural fit for young and savvy urban male consumers.
For those who prefer to access the app’s content from their desks, an online version provides the same hearty variety of bars, restaurants, and social clubs. Lexus is currently sponsoring the Web-based application with a custom skin that’s so deeply integrated into the site design that it’s difficult to imagine what it looked like before the handshake between buyer and sales rep took place. The placement is an impressive example of custom content and collaboration that at once serves the needs of the publisher and the marketer. It’s also a testament to all that can be accomplished when a client is matched with just the right publisher.
Video Content With Spirit
Video advertising has been high on media buyers’ priority lists for years, but opportunities still aren’t as abundant in an e-mail format as they are online. UrbanDaddy offers video advertising placements as well as its own exclusive video content, and sponsorship opportunities tied to that. Plans are also in the works to launch a video channel featuring content that takes a “deeper dive” into some of the stories featured in the e-mail digest.
Brands like Sony and Grand Marnier are among the advertisers who have partnered with UrbanDaddy to deliver their streaming video marketing content to consumers via e-mail. If it’s a more integrated approach an advertiser is after, however, one can draw inspiration from luxury spirits brand PatrÓn. PatrÓn selected UrbanDaddy as one of the media partners providing exclusive video content for the PatrÓn Social Club. The brand’s members-only social site offers ongoing advice (refreshed monthly) on entertaining and how to navigate the party scene.
On the PatrÓn Social Club site, sections like “Agenda” and “Events” offer tips and advice party-going users are bound to find valuable, while exclusive videos of top chefs and celebrities – conceptualized and produced specifically for PatrÓn by UrbanDaddy – enlighten and entertain. The site is currently being promoted with cobranded ads in UrbanDaddy’s e-mails.
Advertisers seeking a media partner that’s willing to get creative with a multichannel media buy need look no further than a publisher like UrbanDaddy – and not just because it has made a name for itself as a hip e-mail brand. Like others in this space, it has built a trusted brand and a loyal following of consumers. They’ll be the first to tell you that despite what you’ve heard, such e-mail digests are far from being old news.
