The New York Times Company last year unveiled an ad tool called Ricochet that allows brands to staple their online ads to stories as they move across the internet and social media. Now, other prominent publications like The New Yorker and Forbes have signed up to use the tool too.
If you’re unfamiliar, here’s how Ricochet works: a brand pays the New York Times for special versions of its story links in which a certain ad will always appear next to a given story. The brand can then distribute those stories on its website and on social media in the hopes of generating buzz. In practice, this might involve a blueberry seller paying for its ads to appear beside Times’ stories that discuss anti-oxidants or healthy eating.
The ad tools appear to have proved popular as, in a Wednesday news release, the Times said that Forbes, Conde Nast, Ad Age and PEOPLE would begin to use Ricochet too.
For the publishers, Ricochet offers a way to make money from long-tail content. Meanwhile, the tool offers brands a way to use content marketing to spread the word about a topic in the news or about one of their own products.
Michael Zimbalist, VP of R&D operations at the New York Times Company, told paidContent last year that Ricochet is a “very simple product” that clients will be able to use in an off-the-shelf fashion.
Content from the new titles, which also include sites like Ars Technica and Vanity Fair, will be available on Ricochet as of May 1.
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