The Google News Initiative Data Lab is helping a select number of media companies unlock opportunities in programmatic data, business intelligence and marketing.

At the Selling Digital Marketing Services conference, attendees will learn what these companies are working on with the GNI Data Lab, a partnership with Local Media Association and Deloitte, on their top takeaways.

What is the Data Lab?

The GNI Data Lab is enabling a group of news organizations to transform their businesses through responsible data use. Those companies include:

  • The Seattle Times
  • WFSB-TV (Meredith Corp.)
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer
  • NBC Universal Owned Television Stations
  • St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Lee Enterprises)
  • Tampa Bay Times

Those organizations are undergoing a 12-week-long program to understand and improve their underlying data capabilities. They are getting support to build and test new digital advertising strategies and LMA will be sharing best practices with the broader community of news organizations.

That sharing will start at Selling Digital Marketing Services when lessons from the Data Lab will be on display. 

Here are three early learnings

1. Break down silos

• The opportunity: Many local media companies have built impressive programmatic display ad operations, yet still struggle to use programmatic data to also improve direct sales performance. Some companies are beginning to break down those silos down, though, with promising early results. 

• What you will learn: Tampa Bay Times, for example, is merging its programmatic and direct display ad management to better manage yield and sales channels.

2. Create insights, inform decisions

• The opportunity: Learn who is using business intelligence to regularly inform product, pricing and other decisions, including a disciplined approach to experimentation.

• What you will learn: One media company that has used data exceptionally to develop audience is now extending that data-informed approach to advertising, developing new strategies like dynamic pricing.

3. Build effective marketing strategies

• The opportunity: Articulating your audience’s value to advertisers is vital, but often a challenge for many sales reps.  Similarly, demonstrating post-campaign results is needed to retain and grow customer relationships over time.  

• What you will learn: Find out who is making it work, and how, including from media companies that are leveraging first party data to create value and clearly show customers that value.

You can still register for Selling Digital Marketing Services, a partnership of LMA and Borrell Associates, July 31-Aug. 1 in Chicago.