New York Times Digital Launches Campaign for Abuzz

In its first effort to market Abuzz, the
community and knowledge-sharing property it bought back in July 1999, New
York Times Digital, the newspaper company’s digital arm, on Monday kicked
off an advertising campaign.

The ads, created by Ogilvy & Mather, will
have online, outdoor, and print incarnations, and will focus on the
knowledge-sharing aspects of the site.

Abuzz, which is currently found on NYTimes.com, Boston.com, NYToday.com, GolfDigest.com and WineToday.com, allows users to
participate in discussions, ask questions, and answer questions, about
topics that interest them.

“Abuzz represents the next step in the evolution of the New York Times
Digital network, serving as the ‘intelligent ingredient’ that brings
together the New York Times audience with that of other high-quality content
and information-rich sites,” said Martin Nisenholtz, chief executive officer
of New York Times Digital.

“We will continue this campaign into the fall, as we extend Abuzz across a
network of partner sites that complement our strategy and audience.”

The company is leveraging the print properties of its parent company for the
campaign. Full-page, four-color teaser ads will appear in the New York
Times and the Boston Globe. The ads show a variety of people from
across the country raising their hands, with copy like “Max knows” and “Anne
knows,” highlighting the site as a network of knowledgeable people.

On August 2, a four-page, four-color insert, will break in the New York
Times and the Boston Globe, followed by placement in The New
York Times Magazine. Simultaneously, outdoor advertising will appear in
both the New York and Boston markets.

“We are fortunate to be able to leverage the power of the New York
Times and the Boston Globe to introduce this campaign,” said
Nisenholtz.

“In addition, using our own owned-and-operated sites as the foundation for
this network is another great example of how a click and brick company can
effectively utilize established brands to bring a new brand to life.”

The online portion of the campaign will feature interactive banners showing
specific questions that link to a Web page, allowing people to experience
the different aspects of Abuzz. The ads will appear on a variety of health,
business, travel, entertainment and city sites from August through
September.