Semafor CRO discusses building a direct relationship with readers for better ad performance. Origins of Semaphore and transition from prestigious media organizations. Revenue mix and language gap between CROs and CMOs. Dynamics between publishers and social platforms. The significance of a gong and the state of online news publishing.
Developing direct relationships with audiences and advertisers leads to stronger performance for publishers.
Distinguishing brand safety from brand suitability and incorporating customized metrics can protect quality journalism while addressing brand concerns.
Deep dives
Semaphore's Approach to Growth, Audience Development, and First-Party Data
Semaphore, a digital news media company, has focused on growth, audience development, and first-party data. They prioritize reaching specific audience segments, such as world leaders and decision-makers in policy, finance, and media. Semaphore aims to provide a differentiated and quality experience, separating news from analysis and opinion. They seek to address the decline in trust in news by offering transparency, competing perspectives, and a high-quality reader experience.
The Value of Direct Relationships and Focusing on Quality
Semaphore emphasizes the importance of developing direct relationships with audiences and advertisers. They believe in building deeper, more strategic partnerships based on reaching specific audience segments rather than pursuing mass scale. With a focus on quality and engagement, Semaphore ensures that brand partnerships align with their target audience, offering high performance and stronger audience relationships.
The Challenges of Brand Safety and Advertiser Concerns
Brand safety is a complex issue that publishers, advertisers, and technology companies need to address. Semaphore employs brand safety measures to protect the reader and advertiser experience, working closely with partners to ensure ad quality. However, they believe that the tools and approaches currently available for brand safety can be blunt and need more refinement. A shift towards distinguishing brand safety from brand suitability and developing more customized metrics can help protect quality journalism while addressing brand concerns.
Balancing Revenue Streams and Embracing Events
Semaphore has embraced a diverse revenue strategy, balancing advertising partnerships, sponsorships, and live events. They have seen significant success in their event business, delivering engaging experiences and building strong relationships with stakeholders. By providing niche, highly engaged audiences, Semaphore offers advertisers opportunities to connect with key decision-makers and industry leaders. The revenue mix has shifted to a 50/50 split between advertising and live events/sponsorships, reinforcing their commitment to quality journalism and community building.
Reaching a scaled audience is important for publishers, but scale at all costs is just a race to the bottom in disguise. When publishers have a deep and direct relationship with their readers, advertisers see stronger performance, says Semafor CRO Rachel Oppenheim.
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