Advertising news today: BuzzFeed launches membership program, BoA rebrands

Jonah
Peretti, Founder and CEO, Buzzfeed, speaks at the Wall Street
Journal Digital Conference in Laguna Beach
Thomson Reuters

BuzzFeed already sells a cobranded
kitchenware line at Walmart and has
a book club in partnership with Amazon. Now, it’s
rolling out a recurring membership program for its readers.

BuzzFeed News is asking readers to donate to the news outlet to
support its journalism. Specifically:

• For $5 a month, readers can get access to exclusive
  newsletters with some of the publisher’s biggest scoops as well
  as behind-the-scenes content.
• And for $100 a year up front, they can receive all of the
  above and a limited edition BuzzFeed News tote bag, along with
  other merchandise down the road.

The membership program comes on the heels of a pilot program
kickstarted in late August, when the company started working with
Google to test contributions directly from its audience to gauge
readers’ willingness to pay to support its stories.

It also marks BuzzFeed’s latest move in its ongoing bid to
continue to diversify its revenue streams.

Click here to read the full story.

In related news:

Jonah Peretti, the chief executive of BuzzFeed, told The
New York Times that his company could eventually merge with
other online publishers to negotiate better terms
with tech platforms like Facebook. Initial
preliminary discussions involving a few companies reportedly have
already taken place.

In other news: 

Bank of America’s CMO breaks down its new rebrand,
including its biggest logo change in 20 years. The
refresh is centered around the tagline “What would you like the
power to do?” and is the latest example of brands touting their purpose in recent campaigns.

‘We outperform all of them’: Roku is readying itself for
competition from the likes of Amazon and Comcast as the streaming
war heats up. Roku is commonly seen as the
leading aggregator of OTT content, but other content
distributors, like Comcast, have shown interest in offering
similar services.

‘Your show may be a “fantasy” but we live in reality’: Lingerie
startup ThirdLove slams Victoria’s Secret exec in a full-page New
York Times ad. This isn’t the first time
ThirdLove and its CEO Heidi Zak openly criticized Victoria’s
Secret. In the run-up to Victoria’s Secret’s annual fashion show,
ThirdLove set up an online petition asking shoppers to boycott
the show.

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