By: Alexandra Bruell & Michael Sebastian, AdvertisingAge
BuzzFeed is working with two media agencies — indie shop Horizon Media and Interpublic Group of Cos.’ UM — to teach them how to produce BuzzFeed-style posts for clients and better understand the audience data behind the posts.
The partnerships are an extension of BuzzFeed’s Social Storytelling Program, which rolled out in May. The program, which is similar to agency cultivation efforts at Google and Facebook, aims to seed the market with agencies and people that will produce content as likely to go viral as BuzzFeed’s best posts.
“What’s unique about the Storytelling program is that it’s bespoke to each agency,” said Jonathan Perelman, VP-agency strategy and industry development at BuzzFeed.
Essentially, the program teaches agencies how to best advertise on BuzzFeed. Vayner Media was the first to sign on when the program was introduced. The agency has since created stories to promote GE’s Datalandia app, such as “15 Ways 3D Printing Is Saving The World.” The partnerships with Horizon and UM suggest the program is gaining traction.
BuzzFeed does not directly charge the agencies for taking part. In May, BuzzFeed said it did plan to require minimum budgets from agencies’ clients.
Mr. Perelman declined to discuss the financial arrangements of its latest partnerships with Horizon and UM.