NBC Universal’s Women’s Lifestyle Networks (aka Women@NBCU) President Lauren Zalaznick talks to a group of women in Chicago at BlogHer about her vision.
“No matter what we did that was successful one hour a week, there were six days and 23 other hours, that our customers wanted to consume, and we had to serve them because that’s what we do,” says Lauren. That evolved into Bravo TV.
Below a short video of her on-stage talking about branding and marketing. Below the video are additional comments about her take on the future.
She lays out the game plan companies need to follow to get through tough times, how to elevate your brand and how social media fits into those efforts. She brings up examples from core brands Bravo, Oxygen and iVillage, which is currently going through an overhaul.
Lauren feels that iVillage stayed 1.0 for a long time so was surprised by a comment from someone in the audience who felt it has gone through a number of revamp.
It’s the number one women’s site above Yahoo Living and Shine. Says Lauren, “it has the bulk but it doesn’t have its voice. It’s in a voice re-activation. Today if you go the site (and all of us who are online do), you should get energy, modern, for women, today, relevance, news, information, entertainment, creativity. It should say all of those things. It is built on our vision for women and how these women want to find information and connect everyday.”
Family will be split into pregnanting and parenting. Other key areas of focus for them is beauty and fashion, diet, fitness and health and entertainment and astrology.
Community will be key part of iVillage’s home page, on every landing page and deeper into the site. Community will stay at its center and editorial will float around that.
Technology will get a lot better this fall, starting in November. Adds Lauren, “in January, there will be three new verticals, so we have a year long plan to really spruce this up.”
Key takeaways: Everyone has a different idea of what they find of value online. Know your audience, know your customer and remember that you don’t need them all.
You need a very targeted but empowered group of people who consume and love your brand. Find your fish but you know that don’t need a lot of fish, you just need the right ones.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
