KHALEEJ TIMES ON THEIR KT TALKS AND BRAND INCREASE GUARANTEE PROGRAM
Charles Yardley, Chief Executive Officer, Khaleej Times talks to Communicate about exciting developments at the newspaper
What exactly is the “Brand Increase Guarantee Program” and how does it function in real-life keeping in mind the metrics and data provided?
The BIG is a marketing program that allows the advertiser to take advantage of all we have to offer digitally on the Khaleej Times website - a trusted editorial environment, the home page for the UAE, a destination that serves the UAE community as well as reaching business decision makers and the next gen community - with a risk free money back guarantee. We don't succeed if you don't succeed.
The BIG from the Khaleej Times allows brands to measure the brand effectiveness of their campaign, using a third-party research company. If the Khaleej Times doesn’t get a lift in one of the advertisers core branded metrics we give the client their ad spend back.
What is KT Talks, and how does it align with advertisers’ or marketers’ objectives within a very dynamic and changing landscape?
The first two benefits to the marketer of our product evolution are proven relevance and a more engaged audience. The third and most important to this conversation is superior ad products, ones that build on the participatory nature, authority and scale of the Khaleej Times platform
The most exciting, branded content product, KT Talks, is the industry's first and most advanced tool for marketers who want to create, curate, and distribute their own thoughts leadership content. It is the ultimate story telling tool that connects brands and audiences
The basic premise behind KT Talks is a more organic presentation of a companies content, using the same tools as our editors as our editors, reporters and contributors, but transparently labelled so that everyone understands where the content is coming from and what vantage point.
The content is labelled, so the participant is never confused who is posting, and every post searchable, shareable and discoverable like any piece of content on Khaleej Times. It flows through the content management system just like editorial, and based on its ability to capture participant attention could quire feasibly make the most popular or most read module on the site.
Everyone says they are ready for a new data-driven brand-building yet somehow most are more comfortable in their comfort zones and the way things have always happened. Where to from here?
Building a data strategy is critical and having that capability alongside KT Talks will allow us to also serve our clients native advertising and content to the right audiences
Editorial quality and brand storytelling often end at the level of press-releases, yet there seems to be a whole bigger world out there. Any idea where this might go with Khaleej Times in the future?
Press releases are important, however, a branded content post is the ultimate story telling tool. KT Talks is a thought leadership platform not a tool to sell a particular product, its an opportunity for the client to add value, and post interesting content for our audiences
As we go into 2025, with AI being everywhere, with everyone trying to catch up with the latest changes, what does the new year bring us in terms of trends?
There are a multiple of new AI tools in the marketplace that are being used to generate content, and some of those tools can assist newsrooms in creating articles, and summarising large pieces of content. The AI can speedily analyse the data and produce streamlined stories rapidly. Ther are also AI powered tools that can help with voice and speech creating voice overs and podcasts. AI powered journalism can again help journalists in fact checking to data mining and automation of reporting. Lastly interacive and immersive AI experience swill play a bigger role in that type of content creating adaptive environments in games, and virtual worlds.
