The Vertical Media 1-2-3

Most if not all internet media professionals would agree we're living in a fragmented online landscape.

From a media and marketing perspective, it becomes more difficult to reach audiences through the same tried and true methods. Your target is a moving one, and now more than ever the relevancy of the content in which your marketing message will be seen really matters.

Buying vertical online media works, since you figure to reach smaller niche audiences of users who are passionate about a certain topic. This is the foundation of vertical ad networks, Google's content network and endemic publishers. They help marketers reach targeted consumers who are more likely to buy their products because of the content they deliver and the way in which they deliver it.

In the home & garden vertical, we have been testing a combination of contextual targeting, custom integration and supporting media as part of our campaigns for clients. Our thinking is that if we can help our marketers surround our targeted and passionate users at the right place (on our network sites) and at the right time (when they review relevant content), we'll have a winning formula.

We execute this in a rather simple way- we call it the Vertical Media 123:

1. Supporting Media: Deliver supporting banner media across sites whose combination of audience demographics and content fit our client's needs.
2. Custom Integration: Create custom branded pages to deliver branded content on the same sites where our client and editorial staff deliver product information, video, and ideas that our users find interesting.
3. Contextual Targeting: Target our client's impressions into contextually relevant categories where our users are actively looking for content about products in which our clients make and sell.

The results are incredible. For run-of-network or run-of-site campaigns, we already know our sites perform in the top echelon of campaigns because of our vertical niche. When we add in custom branded elements and contextual/category targeting, we see response rates from banners increase 50-300% in the targeted sections versus ROS/RON in the same vertical. Think about that: 50%-3X performance lift over already very targeted media buys.

We don't think it's enough for media companies to offer endemic brands a regular run-of-the-mill endemic media program. The fact is, they can get somewhat targeted inventory from any and all of the many publishers, portals and networks that exist. Without a real plan to deliver targeted results, you get lumped into a banner pricing game in which there are few winners.

Media needs to work harder. That's what the Vertical Media 1-2-3 does, delivering great results in a creative way in a niche market. We like it and think more and more of our agency and client partners will as well- what are your thoughts?