NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 2008--NYTimes.com announced today the launch of a new marketing campaign (nytimes.com/conversations),
designed by The Times's marketing team to illustrate the depth of the
site's many offerings from its high-quality journalism and extensive
multimedia features, to the scores of interactive extras available to
readers.
The campaign centers on 12 original unscripted videos with celebrities
about their favorite must-visit destinations on NYTimes.com. The
personalities are Kenneth Cole, Padma
Lakshmi, John
Leguizamo, John Cameron Mitchell, Isaac Mizrahi, Bebe Neuwirth,
Cynthia Nixon, Dr.
Mehmet Oz, Lynn Redgrave, Eric Ripert, Ben
Stein and Justin
Tuck.
Each vignette is complemented by a drop-down menu that relates to the
personalities' interests to illustrate the interactivity between users
and NYTimes.com. Examples include:
-- Mr. Ripert's discovery that it is unnecessary to stir risotto, learned
by watching a Mark Bittman cooking video;
-- Ms. Nixon's filling out an online ballot for a reader poll on Tony Award
favorites;
-- Mr. Mitchell looking at The Times's movies section and realizing he can
purchase movie tickets on NYTimes.com; and
-- Dr. Oz's observations on the comprehensive list of more than 3,000
health topics available that he uses to help stay on top of the latest
news.
"The goal of this campaign is to powerfully convey the wide range of
interactive multimedia features that make NYTimes.com much more than
just the newspaper online - and to do it in a way that is engaging,
viral and, we believe, unique," said Yasmin Namini, senior vice
president, marketing and circulation, The New York Times.
The elements of the campaign are easily sharable through e-mail and
social networking sites, allowing users to extend the campaign's
message. The videos will also be accessible on The Times's Facebook
page (Facebook.com/nytimes)
and YouTube
channel (YouTube.com/nytimes).
The campaign was designed and produced in-house, working with Douglas
Keeve, a renowned photographer and documentary maker, who directed
the videos. His previous work includes "Seamless," a collaboration with
Vogue's Anna Wintour, and "Unzipped," a critically acclaimed profile of
Mr. Mizrahi. The Times also commissioned Your
Majesty, a New York-based marketing company, to help create the
microsite.
According to Nielsen Online, NYTimes.com had 20.3 million unique
visitors in the United States in October 2008, and was the No. 1
newspaper Web site in United States, a position it has long held.
The
New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with
2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the
International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 16 other daily
newspapers, WQXR-FM
and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com,
Boston.com
and About.com.
The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting
and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com
CONTACT: The New York Times Company
Pat Eisemann, 212-556-8719
eisemp@nytimes.com
or
Carolina Valencia, 212-556-5936
carolina.valencia@nytimes.com
Source: The New York Times Company
