Condé Nast Grows Its Digital Media

In the coming year, thanks to the aggressive efforts of its digital entertainment division, media giant Condé Nast Entertainment’s plans to release 2,500 original online videos for such iconic brands as the New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. Helping to lead the company’s growth is Ross Clark ’10, senior director of business development and strategy for the division, Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE). Since it launched in 2013, CNE has built up a library of 4,000 videos, garnered an impressive 2.5 billion views, and consistently ranks among comScore’s top five lifestyle platforms each month — but Clark says that’s just the beginning.

Here, Clark talks to Columbia Business about Condé Nast Entertainment’s digital pipeline, appealing to a millennial audience, and the future of media.

Tell us about your role at Condé Nast Entertainment.
CNE creates and develops digital video, film, and television. My work is varied. I do everything from work on our distribution deals with major partners like YouTube, AOL, and Yahoo to sourcing partnerships for CNE’s The Scene, a curated video platform, to building enriching partnerships with YouTube stars like makeup artist Kandee Johnson.

What are your goals for Condé Nast’s video, film, and TV, offerings?
I’m really focused on continuing to grow The Scene in the verticals of music, comedy, and sports. In late April, at our 2015 Annual Digital Content NewFronts presentation, we announced 10 new partnerships for The Scene, including Warner Music Group, Pitchfork, Red Bull, The Onion,and College Humor.

What in the pipeline most excites you?
I have always been a huge fan of the New Yorker and love how they are bringing the brand’s voice to video. I also love our CNE channel, The Scene Presents, where we present more edgy documentaries and short films. I also am really excited about our plans for the music vertical on The Scene. In April we announced partnerships with Warner Music Group, Pitchfork, Billboard, and LoveLive. We are growing the platform’s music category and will add a great variety of music video, performance, and lifestyle content.

We are also always thinking about and evaluating new distribution platforms. In fact, this year we are launching two virtual-reality series [with interactive 3D experiences], thanks to a partnership with technology company Jaunt.

What websites do you visit every day?
I’m a news junkie, so I start my day with a rundown of different news sites. For industry news, it’s a mix of media and tech sites — Deadline Hollywood, TechCrunch, Digiday, VideoInk. I love the New York Times, and I’m reading it throughout the day. I also take a look at the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, and the New York Post.

I’m also on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat constantly. I read a bunch of music sites and blogs. I love The Continuous Lean, which is a men’s lifestyle site — sort of a below-the-radar secret.

What are some tips for creating engaging, original video content?
At CNE, we are fortunate to work with such iconic brands as the New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair, and Vogue — to name a few. Our strategy is “always-on programming,” meaning it is always available and constantly updated with timely and shareable content.

Also, we have an amazing development and production team that taps into the needs and wants of our millennial audience. For example, we appeal to our millennial audience’s different moods: we offer content for when they want to feel creative, connected, and inspired; when they want to learn something; or when they want to escape. It’s really about putting our audience and their needs at the center of our programming strategy.

Apart from your own CNE videos, what online series or films are your favorites?
I’m a huge music fan, so I love watching music and performance videos on YouTube. I really love what NPR Music is doing when it comes to digital video, especially their “Tiny Desk Concert” series. The Times “Op-Doc” series are always well done — smart and moving. And I’m always following what’s popping up on YouTube from a viral, social perspective. 

What’s the future of media?
Take a moment to think about this fact: more content was created yesterday than you could consume in a lifetime. We have so much choice. I believe that the pendulum is swinging back to quality, with great storytelling power, and the future of media will be about taking this quality and amplifying it across new platforms and new forms of technology. Virtual reality is a platform that is becoming mainstream this year, and it will be interesting to see how it will change our viewing experience.

How did your experience at Columbia Business School prepare you for your career in media?
You get such incredible access to the resources of New York City — being able to go with the Media Management Association to visit with leaders of both new and traditional New York–based media companies, for example, or having amazing speakers come to campus. The School also has one of the strongest alumni communities in the media and entertainment industry. It’s truly an amazing experience.

I took some great classes in media and entertainment. Professor Jonathan Knee’s classes, in particular, stand out. Columbia Business School is so strong in the finance and strategy areas, too, and classes like Advanced Corporate Finance with Professor Laurie Hodrick were great in teaching the fundamentals of how to value a business.

Why did you decide to go into media in the first place?
To be honest, I could never see myself doing anything else. I’ve always been a voracious consumer of media in all forms — music, film, TV, books, magazines. I wanted to connect that personal passion with my professional life and have been lucky enough to do just that.