Times Journeys is an impressive combination of content, commerce & usability. Throw in the range of destinations and caliber of talent available to the New York Times, and you have a truly powerful engine of engagement. The Times can look forward to reader revenue, co-marketing revenue, and possibly a share in referral fees from travel partners.
Overall: 7.5
Gone is the creation of publisher Medium (of Twitter lineage) and Marriott. At a time when many publishers & brands are testing for the value native advertising, Gone has leapt ahead with an important experiment in packaging & publishing stories about travel that should be both brand and revenue positive, if readers embrace it. And if they do not (a distinct possibility), the knowledge gained by both Medium and Marriott will accelerate their success in the next iteration.
Overall rating: 7.00
RYOT is an innovative news platform that is on its way to becoming a lifestyle brand. By engineering a connection between each news story and the social cause underlying it, RYOT gives its 2 million monthly visitors a quick conduit to understand, advocate, and support a solution. That kind of participation builds loyalty for many readers, which is why other publishers should take note.
Overall: 6.0
The value of experimentation, speed and iteration is underscored by the recent launch of the Washington Post's new Kindle Fire App and Facebook's News Feed. Each product has a team of 16 people driving the evolution of what that product becomes - a model that other publishers could adopt when developing their own products.
Overall: 6.0
News Deeply modernizes exploratory journalism with a new platform of strong user-experience and content. What News Deeply does for dense, hard-to-understand news stories can also be of use to brands with content worth of exploration.
Overall: 6.83
The Player's Tribune is the new publishing arm of Derek Jeter, Inc. It is surprisingly personal, focused, and simple. Combine the apparently low investment in the site and brand, with Jeter's personal celebrity and surprising access to current sports celebrities, and strong revenue is likely, if still far off.
Overall: 6.33
Reader revenue is the new Holy Grail and mobile is certainly the ascendant news platform. But how can publishers break through the clutter of the millions of apps vying for customer attention? The Economist’s solution is to cover its new morning news app like it is the Second Coming. Full of value to the brand and the potential to drive revenue, Espresso could be a solid subscription driver.
Overall: 6.83
In our recent survey, 80% of those polled said they felt speed to research and launching a beta product for customer feedback was the best way to dive into a product launch, while 20% felt the quality of research, the product concept and the user experience were more valuable. Our review of Pinnion shows that we agree with the majority.
Overall: 7.5
With the increasing sophistication of native ads, brand publishing and marketing automation, advertisers are suddenly in need of pro publishing chops. Verizon's SugarString is the latest attempt at brand publishing, disguised in a UX that looks and feel like a pure-play publisher. However, SugarString lacks focus and, to many, legitimacy - a real opportunity for an entrepreneurial publisher.
Overall: 2.67
Built with Millennials in mind, Ozy packages clickable content on a webpage formatted for mobile. The opportunity for partnerships and monetization is there, and with a larger and more loyal readership, Ozy could see the revenue coming in heaps.
Overall: 6.5