Marriot is a marketer with both the mandate & resources to experiment with new ways of connecting with an audience of younger potential customers. Medium is a 2-year old digital news site, replete with all the topics, functionality, vision and audience one would expect from the founders of Twitter. Together, they have created Gone, a story site that is solely sponsored by Marriott and focused on travel. It is this narrow scope that sets Gone apart from failed efforts like SugarString. It is an experiment between publisher and advertiser that is full of potential for both.
News publishers – legacy and digital – should watch carefully. Gone is a solution to a B2B customer problem/opportunity: Marriott needs a publishing vehicle – something that capitalizes on its knowledge about travel -- that has scale & legitimacy beyond standard paid advertising, and Medium has the confidence and imagination to quickly create a narrowly focused publication around Marriott’s expertise and marketplace. The result is a collection of stories (not so much news) that can be marketed, sold, read, shared, scaled, developed and iterated without a lot of disruption to either Medium or Marriott marketing. It is a compelling experiment in the evolution of Native Advertising & Branded Content.
Thanks to Lucia Moses for her Digiday article “Inside Medium’s newest native ad gambit.”
Overall rating: 7.00
Value to Brand: 6 The value of Gone to the Medium brand is uncertain at best. But for Marriott, reaching an audience of younger travelers via Medium (and its general proximity to the Twitter-verse), with behind-the-scenes stories about travel, is a big opportunity to show its authenticity, expertise and value to readers.
UX: 6 With content & functionality well focused on a single topic – travel, Gone is a simple and strong experience for readers. Granted there is not much content yet, but it is easy to see how Gone could grow while steering clear of the abyss that recently swallowed Verizon’s SugarString.
Revenue Potential: 8 The revenue from Gone will come from multiple angles, if the content is excellent, unique and authoritative (which seems likely). The publisher will benefit from Marriott’s sponsorship and, as Gone takes off, possibly from complimentary sponsors such as an airline or bank. For Marriott, Gone should increase time-spent, leads, and customer insight that all lead to increased booking and a more effective marketing spend.