Latest / WOI Unfiltered / The Evolution of Celebrities & Branded Content w/ Tracy Parker- Epi 29
Transcript
- Emily Fisher: Hey, good morning, Jenna. How you doing? Jenna: Good morning. I am great. How are you? Emily Fisher: I'm doing well. I was just telling our guest I feel like I'm doing my best Steve Jobs today in my black. maybe that Jenna: Yeah. Emily Fisher: means I'll come across really intelligent today. Jenna: I'm feeling a little bit sad. I normally wear black and you guys, I'm like not in the club today. Emily Fisher: Yeah. Well I know. Sorry. Tracy and I planned it. Well, I let me Jenna: Mm-hmm. Emily Fisher: introduce Tracy Parker. We're so fortunate to have her today. Not to date any of us, but some folks on our team have worked with her for a couple decades. She's had a super storied career. Right now, she's the Midwest integrated director for McClatchy Media's entertainment and lifestyle brands, where she helps connect advertisers with some of the most recognized media properties in the industry. she's been Us Weekly, Winter Media, OK Magazine. So she brings a really unique perspective on the evolution of publishing, audience engagement, and the intersection of editorial and branded content. Her platform is very much something that folks need in the marketing mix. So welcome, Tracy Parker. It's so great to have you today. Tracy Parker: Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Emily Fisher: Well I Jenna: We are so excited to have you. Emily Fisher: I wanna start with a little backing up of your experience, Tracy. everything goes in circles. And McClatchy recently acquired A360, so now you're kind of back in the world of Us Weekly. You've always been lifestyle and entertainment, but you've had this really excellent career, and McClatchy is a multi-platform publishing environment. What initially drew you to this industry, to media, and what has kept you here through so much change? Tracy Parker: Yeah, no. wow. I I've really seen a lot over really truly twenty-five years, which is scary to say out loud, but what originally drew me to media was just a fascination with learning about different brand strategies and which approach to meeting their audience would really connect based on the different brands. And my career has really been in print. I always just I love magazines. I think of each magazine is almost like a little present. You know, it's a concentrated environment gonna be focused on something you're really passionate and interested about and you know opening it up as like a little treat. I always like to refer to it as you know candy without the calories, just this little indulgence for you to, you know, take a moment and enjoy. And when it comes to the brand messages within the printed media, what I love is that it's usually something that really complements the environment and it's not interrupting your experience. So if it sparked joy and speaks to you and you're interested you can stop and pause and learn a little bit more about it or you can simply you know take the page and and flip it over. it's really complementing you know the experience. So I just love How all the platforms have now evolved. And so now in addition to print, we have digital and social and video, and the core principle is really just finding that moment that's best to meet the audience in. And now we just have more platforms to do it on. So that's been the consistent thread that I just find really fascinating. Jenna: I have to just pause and tell you, Tracy, and I think I said this when we spoke before, but when you just said that little treat moment when I was in my twenties living in New York, you know, making peanuts for money, I remember Us Weekly was my little treat. Like I would go and get it every Friday and that was my little present to myself. You know, the five Tracy Parker: Right. Jenna: dollar present to myself where I was like, This is gonna be in my entertainment for the next few hours or, you know, over the weekend and Tracy Parker: Totally. Jenna: It was exactly that. Just like a a minute to unplug and just kind of like flip through and look at the fashion and pretty pictures and, you know, random recipes in there and all of that sort of stuff. So Tracy Parker: Right, or when it came to your mailbox and you know, be able to like not even leave your home and just have this gift delivered to you is so fun. Jenna: Yes. It it's the best. I love it. I I don't do that anymore, but I do feel like in the age of digital there is always that little like it's almost like a little snap break. Like click on it for a second. Yeah. Tracy Parker: Mm. Absolutely. And calorie free. So you're just you know Emily Fisher: That's the best part. And Jenna: Right. Emily Fisher: Tracy, I'm with you. There's nothing quite like nestling in with a good magazine. you know, whether or not it's the last thing you do during the day before you go to bed or on the beach. But Tracy Parker: I don't know. Emily Fisher: I I don't quite get that experience from the phone, I know that's where we are, and it's great and it's fine, and certainly it's convenient. but it's there's nothing like holding it in your hand. Tracy Parker: Totally. Emily Fisher: Yeah, so how do you feel like audience consumption has changed from those early magazine days? Do you think we're gonna see a time when they come back? Everything retro seems to be new again, but obviously we live in a very social first world. how has that helped publishing, the multi-platform approach? Tracy Parker: Yeah, I know consumption is so different than when I first started because I think What's really crazy is way back when the only way you could get those behind the scenes photos and those breaking stories were through the weekly magazines, where now with social and digital, like the access that audiences have to that content is instantaneous. But back in the day, the franchise that us us is so known for is, you know, stars, they're just like us. Like that is part of Jenna: Ajá. Tracy Parker: pop culture's vernacular. But that started with us, and it started Emily Fisher: It does. Tracy Parker: from the content of showing a celebrity, you know, pumping gas or in the grocery store because those weren't photos that you could just, you know, hop onto their own social media page and and see. You didn't get to see celebrities like living everyday lives. And it actually, you know, drove a huge paparazzi culture, if you recall, which was actually, you know, super scary Yeah. Jenna: Not the safest culture, Tracy Parker: Not the safest. And that was because there was such demand for those photos. I remember back in the day, I there might be people that don't even know who I'm talking about, but when Brad Pitt and Angelina, when that story first came out, for people who don't know who are referencing, Brad Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston, Rachel on Friends, and Jenna: Well Tracy Parker: he was filming a movie with Angelina Jolie, and there were all those rumors that they were getting very close. And then us had A cover photo of Brad and Angelina together on a beach in Africa. You know, it was a distant paparazzi shot. But the head of my company at that time looked at me and said, This story is gonna drive our new sand sales for the next five years, just you watch. And he was right. Jenna: my gosh. Tracy Parker: It was, you know, it was wild. But you know, to your point, like from thankfully the paparazzi culture was basically eradicated, you know, with social media. So now what's how it's evolved is really the relationships now that us has with our talent with celebrities to be able to get you know access and perspectives that aren't available on their social media feeds is really what becomes valuable now to our consumers and how we can leverage those relationships. So like our audience loves Bravo liberties for example, you know, reality T V, Bravo, those are our A listers. And we have super strong relationships with talent from that world. So we get the call, about news stories, perspectives, and that becomes exclusive content that our audiences can't find anywhere else. So it becomes like really, really engaging. And that also translates to our branded content opportunities that we do with talent. So when we can actually leverage our relationship, secure talent, put branded messaging, you know, into those stories, we're getting exclusive photos, exclusive sound bites that are heard anywhere else and that's really powerful and and it's been really fun to to work in that space now as we've evolved. Jenna: I have so many personal questions I want to ask you that Emily Fisher: I shall Jenna: I will not go down the rabbit hole Emily Fisher: have Tracy Parker: my gosh. Jenna: of. Tracy Parker: Right. Jenna: But okay, sticking sticking to the theme, right? And we're coming at this from the lens of us as PR professionals. And Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: in our world has shifted, right? So it used to be we were just Pitching you guys, and we might have a big program that we were doing with a celebrity attached to it, and we would pitch you guys to do an interview with that celebrity. And then things started to shift a little bit. And, publications like your publications started to introduce branded content. Can Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: you just put that into context for the layman, for anyone who's not collaborated on branded content? What does that Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: mean? What does that look like? Tracy Parker: So branded content is it's made very clear when you're engaging with the story that this is a partnership opportunity, but it's taking the tone, the voice of our editorial product and integrating the branded message into the story. And what's great for PR is that we usually have two rounds of approval where you're able to actually review the content, make sure that you're very, you know, your key messaging, your Copypoints are being included, but what's beneficial is that we're working together so closely that the tone of us, which is what our audience looks forward to and what they why they come to the magazine, is maintained. So it still feels like what their experience is that they have come to expect. And we make sure that, you know, so much of our content is focused on the celebrity lifestyle, and it's like how to get this lifestyle. That's why our audience, you know, really looks in the magazine too. It's not just, let's just see what they're doing. It's like how could I have this as well? So when we're able to take your brands and your products and and incorporate it into the content in a way that makes it like something accessible for them to get this celebrity lifestyle, like use this product and you will live this lifestyle too. It's super engaging, super successful, and it really drives sales. We've seen that time and again versus just kind of hoping that your story gets picked up because of this awesome talent or this awesome partnership, but then you don't really control what's said about it either. We've seen that happen a lot too, where something you know gets picked up and it's like barely even mentions that the talent's a partner to a certain person. Right. Jenna: It's the very last line. It's the very last line. I mean Tracy Parker: And it doesn't say anything about the break. You know, so Jenna: That was always the expectation. If you Tracy Parker: Right. Jenna: had a celebrity attached to the campaign, it was always managing expectation with the clients that, hey, they're gonna write a story about XYZ thing that the celebrity's doing. You're gonna be in the very last line or maybe paragraph if you're lucky. That that was always what it was. Tracy Parker: So you manage expectations, w which is great to do that. Smart. Jenna: well, I mean you just knew. But so Tracy Parker: Right. Jenna: when we talk about branded content, obviously there are branded articles, what some people refer to as like advertorial articles. but you also do a lot with video now, right? What what does that look like? Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. So we can take our biggest franchise, celebrities that are just like us, what's in my bag? twenty five things you don't know about me, and we can work with our partners to incorporate the brand messages into a what's in my bag feature, for example. we can work with talent that the brand's already working with and you know go deeper and have the the video content of your talent sharing the almond that's in her bag. and that's what we've done like really successfully. And it's you Jenna: Yeah. Tracy Parker: know, as long as it maintains the tone of of us, like our audience Emily Fisher: Yeah. Tracy Parker: is super responsive to it. And they can tell if it becomes more like a sales pitch or, you know, in in a different tone. But that's our role and I and we do a really good job with that, with really finding the way to make it something that is a service to our audience. Emily Fisher: Well, and think the other interesting piece is all the data you sit on, Tracy, with your audience Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Emily Fisher: segmentation. I mean, you know exactly where those messages are reaching within the Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Emily Fisher: consumer landscape. And you know, as as a earned media specialist here in PR, you you certainly have a very good idea about who is reading what from that earned content perspective. But what are Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Emily Fisher: some of the key advantages that branded content have when it comes by the way of audience segmentation? Thank you. Tracy Parker: Yeah, we have a really big database of you know, first party d data is so so important. So having our own consumer base where, we have often subscribers for to our newsletters, to all our content and you know, we can really tap into that to serve it up and in exactly the place that your key target, you know, wants to be reached. I think first party is more important than ever right now, especially with the substacks, you know, and and the success you're seeing, our audience is telling us like we will pay they want trusted voices sending them content. because there's so much out there now that it it's it's worth a premium to pay or for sure, you know, subscribe to content that is trusted. So that's what we have access to to serve up for our brand new content messages. Emily Fisher: On that note, too, I mean, you mentioned Substack and you know, We're riding this wave of AI creator Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Emily Fisher: culture that's been around for a while. What do you see the future of branded content as? I mean, how how on top of all these segmented properties do you need to be? I imagine that you at McClatchy are pioneers in this space, anything that's bubbling that is Tracy Parker: I mean there's so much noise that I think and it and it's crowded and there's so much just changing. I think at the very heart of of this is just maintaining the relationship through all those different platforms. again, like even you know, with AI making sure that the connection is authentic and the voice is what our our audience, you know, knows and can see through if it's not truly coming from us. So I think that the thing that's very exciting is all of these ways that we can really, you know, leverage, but we have to make sure that we maintain that relationship. So whether it's through our our newsletters and through our first party data, just maintaining our relationship through all of this, all these changes. Jenna: Well, you know what's funny is you just we were talking about social creators Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: and You know, you could at some point see them as competitors to you, but in the vein of Bravo liberties. I'm also seeing social creators grace your covers which is is really interesting. Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: Have you started to see them as assets for you as well, where you're working with them because they're working with brands more? Tracy Parker: Yeah, absolutely. I have been really passionate about that because they become you know, it's kinda it's as we've watched it develop i it kind of becomes this question of who's a celebrity now. You know, Jenna: Yeah. Tracy Parker: us cover celebrities, but like now Emily Fisher: Yeah. Tracy Parker: that has changed so so much over the years. It went first it went from, you know, the big movie and T V stars to the, you know, reality show stars. That was are they are these really celebrities? Well, clearly, yes. And now it has like now transferred even into the influencer space where those influencers do become celebrities. They have huge followings. They huge brand partnerships and deals. So our audience is interested in them and w if we can weave in their partnerships and their sponsorships that they have going on and tell the story about about that, it's really interesting to our audience as well. So we have, you know, leaned in in that way as well. Jenna: Yeah, I mean I just Tracy Parker: Which is something to think about, right? So if like your client is has a big podcast deal or a big, you know, something else going on, us weekly can be used to help cover that partnership. So Jenna: Well, so so I was gonna say, can we go back to talking about almost like the logistics of how this works? Because Tracy Parker: Right. Jenna: I think for the layman, it just appears as like more content that Us Weekly is providing or that any of these publications are providing. Tracy Parker: Right. Right. Jenna: But for us, I I remember, you know, when when this first started to come out on the PR side, we were like, We gotta get in on this. This this is great. This is how to, you know, we can still get that earned piece, but also you can amp it up with the other side. Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: The digital agencies and the advertising agencies were also wanting to get in on it. And I think it's still a little bit tricky about, you know, who owns it. And and really my perspective now is it's it's a collaboration because it is paid, but it's not paid at the same dollar amount that you would say traditional advertising, costs you. but you can't just it's not like traditional advertising where you just hand over the ad. and hand over the money and you know, here you go, run this. You have Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: to have that editorial lens. You have to be Tracy Parker: Amen. Jenna: able to provide the right messaging and work with your editorial team to get that story right and to make it feel really natural. Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: Who do you guys end up working with the most? Like how does that typically work in terms of who you're collaborating with? Tracy Parker: Yeah, we do work client direct, but a lot of the agencies are now taking on those projects. So, you know, of course a lot of the more traditional advertising agencies do have content teams where that's a hundred percent of their focus. And then we've had s so much success working with PR agencies. I mean, back in the day when we first started, this a paid media budget didn't really exist. It was so, so rare. And we were able to secure partnerships with talent for l for like five thousand I mean it's like so little, you know, it was very much Jenna: And he's on the door. Tracy Parker: like a barter situation I remember working with someone from the Bachelorette franchise and we did a, a play date for a diaper brand, with the kids and waterproof diapers and we basically were able to say, like, we will guarantee A little bit coverage, a little bit of this and you know, we barely had to to pay anything, so we've, you know, been since twenty fifteen really working closely with PR agencies on these executions, but we've seen paid media budgets become more and more comment on on on a lo on a lot of the campaigns. Jenna: So talk to us about, and I'm just gonna throw out like a random numbers because I wanna kind of contextualize this for people who are listening, because I think there's a lot of curiosity around it, right? So Tracy Parker: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Jenna: if I'm working with a small brand and Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: I, you know, I I might have $10,000. If I'm working with a large brand, I might have $200,000. Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: What can you get for, you know, that really tiny budget versus what could you get for something a lot, a lot larger? Tracy Parker: Yeah, totally. That's a great question. So for a smaller budget, we could work together to put together a newsletter, an email blast to our often subscribers that we have a huge open rate, huge engagement engagement with this audience to really deliver your the message in URL. We could do a social post, we can work sometimes on a digital article. so we can definitely, you know create a menu of opportunities Some really turnkey opportunities are branded content, digital articles and social posts. So it's that's a pretty easy lift where we can work with you to execute that. And then also even we can do sponsored editorials. So if you have a partnership already or a new brand product coming out, we can cover the story and then guarantee share a voice so we could create surrounding media if you didn't have your y your own digital media to s surround the article and we can also give a guaranteed impression amount around that article which is really great because you're guaranteeing that even though your story gets picked up, you're guaranteeing impressions around it. for the higher budgets, when we have a little bit more lead time, we can work with you to ta secure talent if you don't currently have talent. We can sometimes we create in real life events our back. We can do happy hours, we can do screenings, we can create the video content. We have a beautiful studio in New York where we can do a commercial. Grade c video production. We can do Zoom interviews, you know, so we can really I love when we have a little more lead time and bigger budgets, but with the smaller budgets and you need like a last-minute impression boost, we can execute really quickly too. And that's where we come in sometimes too at the end of a campaign. It's like I need a million more impressions, how am I gonna get it? And we can jump in and help in that way. Jenna: I love that. The flexibility is huge. Tracy Parker: Yeah. Very, very flexible. But we love the opportunities where we can be part of the brief in the beginning and the priority for campaigns. So partnership we just executed a really fun partnership with Madison LaCroix and Woodford Reserve. this it the goal was to have an at home derby party and to have a bottle of Woodford Reserve in like every home In America, for the Kentucky Derby. Jenna: Yeah. Tracy Parker: So we were able to secure Madison LaCroix from Southern Charm, who is completely iconic and basically like the voice, like the narrator of that show. And she did self-shot video in her home showing how she was going to get ready for her derby party. She shared her decor. She shared what she was going to wear. Like it wasn't look at Madison's like nice life. I wish I could have that too, but it was here's what Madison's doing, you know, these are the drinks she's serving her friend. Now you go have a similar lifestyle as well. Go host a similar event for your friends and grab your bottle of Woodford put on your fascinator hat and you can have the same experience. So being able to maintain that tone too of accessibility to the celebrity lifestyle through us as content and through our partners' content is what drives sales. It's so successful. That's all. Emily Fisher: yeah. Jenna: All right, Tracy, last question from us. We ask every guest, we ask ourselves all the time. But you know, our agency was founded on creating impact. And sometimes that's for our clients. Sometimes it's for our own agency. Sometimes it's personal. Tracy Parker: Mm-hmm. Jenna: So if you take a look back at your last week or two weeks, what would you say is the most impactful thing that has happened in your life? Tracy Parker: wow. well in terms of impact I think I would have to go more on the on the personal end of this. I actually have my daughter home from college for the summer. She just finished her freshman year and I started a new hobby. I've started playing Mahjong, which I don't know if that's on your radars, but it's you know really Jenna: Love. Tracy Parker: super Emily Fisher: I haven't started but a lot of friends are into it. Tracy Parker: Totally. It's Jenna: Yes. Tracy Parker: so popular. And it took me, I was a little bit of a reluctant reluctant participant because it's hurts your head and it's you can't really socialize with and chat. but I was able this week to teach her and three of her friends how to play. they, you know, wanted to take a night, set aside, get a lesson and you know, it's just something that I'm really passionate about and I think when you're able to You know, find something that you're passionate about, share it with others. I mean, that's like the goal of. everything. So and it's just very reflective of what I love about my job, what I love about home. You know, it's a screen-free time to just use your brain and Emily Fisher: Я Tracy Parker: engage and share energy with others. And so I'm glad to be able to spread Mahjong to the new generation and give them the opportunity to, you know, disconnect and have that time together. but also I do think it is just loop looping it back into work life too. part of what I love so much about these branded content. Content opportunities and just being able to share what we love with our audiences and others. Jenna: I love that so much. Emily Fisher: Tracy, great answer. Yes. this was so much fun. Thank you for joining us today. and we'll be in touch. Tracy Parker: awesome. Yes, thank you for having me. Jenna: Thanks so much Tracy. Bye. Tracy Parker: Bye.