How The New York Times is building first-party data

42 unique emotions turned into signals  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏  ‍͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ [ Image ] WHAT’S GOT US THINKING | MARCH 2024 How The New York Times laid its first-party data foundation [A close-up of the exterior of The New York Times building in New York City. A light orange search bar is superimposed just under where the paper’s name appears in its distinctive signature typeface.]() [ A close-up of the exterior of The New York Times building in New York City. A light orange search bar is superimposed just under where the paper’s name appears in its distinctive signature typeface. ] [[ A few years ago, the data science team at The New York Times had an idea. If they could understand what an article made a user feel, it could become a powerful signal that could be meaningful for their advertisers. Through crowdsourcing, they were able to obtain 150,000 emotional responses from their readers. From those, they gleaned 42 unique emotions they could use to align with their advertisers’ content and messages. Consequently, the ads readers see now can feel super relevant and empathetic, because they’re tailored to the emotion solicited by the article. The results? Better attention, and higher-quality impressions for their ads — they outperform industry benchmarks by 2X. And that advertising revenue gives the publication the space to dedicate resources to stories and topics that most other organizations can’t cover. [Watch and learn](=/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=) how the team laid a foundation for the brand’s first-party data platform. And don’t miss the deep dive from Joy Robins, the publication’s global chief advertising officer, into [how ads ultimately fuel more quality content](/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=) for its readers. Ad creative experiments you need to know We talked to Google Media Lab’s Team Adrenaline and Google Creative Works about how they determine [best practices from rounds of creative experimentation]() on a platform-by-platform basis. Here’s what they say marketers should know: - Make it relevant. Relevance is key, regardless of scale. Gone are the days of creating a few 60-, 10-, or 15-second spots that can be used anywhere and everywhere. Tailoring your creative to the platform is crucial, even though it means a larger creative lift. Think of it as one brief per platform versus one brief per campaign. - Test and learn. Every brand has what it needs to experiment. Different creative assets may work best at different parts of the funnel. One surprising finding? Influencers, in particular, may help drive online sales. - Partner strategically. Creators make culture, not just content. One Google team undertook an entirely creator-led campaign — a tough sell to stakeholders. But the creator-led ads drove KPIs faster than traditional ads. The lesson? “Let the creators — the people who make YouTube what it is — do their magic.” Need some quick upskilling? We’ve got you [A line graph, partially covered by a red-filled circle, overlays a play button.](/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=) [ A line graph, partially covered by a red-filled circle, overlays a play button. ] [[ Check out our How To Think About video series for insightful lessons about today’s most effective marketing strategies from the Google experts who spend their days working on them. [Peep the playlist](/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=) Quoteworthy “As an industry, we’re in this together. … New solutions that enable a balance between privacy, marketing, and publishing will come from teams like yours.” Jason Spero, VP of Global Business, Google [Source](/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=): Think with Google, January 2024. More marketing know-how Why creators are vital to your marketing mix in 2024 [Arrow cta link](/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=) [ Arrow cta link ] [[ The AI Handbook: Resources and tools for marketers [Arrow cta link](/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=) [ Arrow cta link ] [[ Keynote video: Meeting the AI moment with action and change [Arrow cta link]() [ Arrow cta link ] [[ Marketing is at an inflection point. Here’s why that’s an opportunity [Arrow cta link](/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=) [ Arrow cta link ] [[ Future Ready with Katie Couric [Arrow cta link](/MTcyLUdPUC04MTEAAAGRuGnCS4DXipo4N5VrpOxlWFA22f_nWv5OYlQ0Odrp5MVyrJj7NyH6sYIh7butxL8_GqpI_-k=) [ Arrow cta link ] [[ Received this email from a friend? 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