Fox Interactive Media has launched four new initiatives for marketers: MySpace Lifestages, MySpace MyInsights, MySpace Recharge and IGN, RottenTomatoes and AskMen Editorial Integration.

Fox Interactive Media is launching the initiatives to ensure marketers are more efficient and relevant to consumers through the digital channel.

Utilising insights to improve buying efficiencies, MySpace Lifestages is a new tool that builds on MySpace’s targeting capabilities to allow marketers to target Australians in a range of lifestages including; when a MySpace user has graduated from university, is engaged to be married, has just been married, is pregnant, has given birth or has lost a job or entered a new job or has had a birthday.

(View the MySace Lifestages image at the bottom of this article.)

Lifestages is real-time data, which is based on users self-expressed interests on their public MySpace profiles. Users can be targeted in groups, fitting within the lifestage, for a one to three month time period.

The second initiative to launch, MySpace MyInsights, is an optimisation tool based on user interaction with campaigns. The MySpace MyInsights tool will allow marketers to understand basic demographic and geographic information on the consumers that interact with their advertisements, as well as insights into their interests across 17 categories.

The MyInsights tool can be used to provide performance data on three levels:

1. For ongoing optimisation of current MySpace campaigns to ensure increased effectiveness and relevancy through relocating the campaign distribution towards audiences that have proven to convert.
2. For post campaign analysis to understand the types of consumers interested in the creative, the marketers campaign and/or brand which can direct ongoing marketing activity through all channels.
3. As a test bed for creative executions, to allow creatives to tweak campaigns pre launch based on real consumer insights from a meaningful sample, garnered in a timely manner.

The third initiative – MySpace Recharge – shakes up the direct marketing channel in Australia. It is a program that rewards Australian consumers for their activity and loyalty in both the mobile and wireless prepaid credit recharge space and through usage of a soon to be launched reloadable prepaid Visa card.

Marketers can get involved in the MySpace Recharge program by offering relevant rewards and offers to users through their MySpace Mail or via a mobile voucher, which when redeemed will garner insights into specific consumers purchase behaviours additional to their already captured self expressed interests on their MySpace profile (through the MySpace enthusiast targeting tool). From these insights, consumers can then be further profiled into groups of brand advocates and targeted through ongoing programs.

MySpace users are targeted based on segment interest as opposed to individuals, as well as through data available in the public domain. As part of the MySpace Recharge program, users opt-in to be targeted with meaningful offers and rewards that add value to their lives. Overall it is important to note that MySpace users are receiving more relevant ads as a result of the increased targeted capabilities offered to advertisers.

Editorial integration is the fourth announcement that provides another relevant communications channel via Fox Interactive Media websites, including IGN.com, RottenTomatoes.com and AskMen.com. These large and global vertical websites now have local editorial teams dedicated to developing leading games/entertainment, film and mens websites for Australians. For marketers, this provides a unique opportunity to work with an editorial team to integrate messaging in a credible way.

To give you a taste, editorial stories that could be coming out include:

• IGN.com – IGN Holiday Buyers Guide, Year in Review 2009, and the latest games and movie reviews for leading titles.
• RottenTomatoes.com – best wedding movies, 50 best movies based on older films, 20 best movies based on musicians and comics worst to best.
• AskMen.com – top 25 cars, male appreciation month, blockbuster guide and top 10 cities to live in.

Marketers can tie into these, or work on a bespoke basis with the editorial teams at Fox Interactive Media.

Andrew Cordwell, national sales director, Fox Interactive Media explains:

“We are seeing a lot of advertisers moving to digital as the financial pressure mounts within organisations. The four new Fox Interactive Media initiatives launched today provide marketers with enhanced effectiveness through insight tools as well as new relevant channels to connect with consumers. These are simply four more reasons for marketers to include the four Fox Interactive Media brands within their marketing mix.”