Features New Look, Functionality;
Innovative Ways for Advertisers to Engage Consumers
New York, NY, May 20, 2008 – RD.com (http://www.rd.com) today revealed a redesigned and reconfigured site that offers users an extraordinary depth of content – approximately 10,000 articles on more than 300 topics, including web exclusives, book and magazine content – as well as many new ways for users to engage with the site and with each other around topics of shared interest.
RD.com worked with the Brooklyn-based web design firm Huge Interactive to create a streamlined environment where content is distributed through seven main channels that reflect the core aspects of the Reader’s Digest brand: community, optimism and humor. Each channel presents advertisers with numerous messaging and branding opportunities; many also offer advertisers the chance to sponsor features designed to promote national and local grassroots causes advanced by readers. The channels include:
* Make Your Mark – an interactive platform to share, connect and act that enables users to energize each other through their efforts to make a difference in their communities. It includes stories of “Make it Matter” grants, a program funded by the Reader’s Digest Foundation, and The Weekly Challenge, which inspires individuals to commit to different levels of action to change their own perspective and improve the world around them.
* Your America – uplifting stories about inspirational people and the best thinking about important issues of our time
* Living Healthy – articles that focus on nurturing all aspects of a healthy life and empowering readers with critical knowledge
* Advice & Know-How – smart ideas and tips for life’s special experiences, from travel to holidays to making a house a home
* Laughs – family-friendly jokes, cartoons and funny photos and videos from users
* Games & More – free online games, contests and sweepstakes
* In the Magazine – articles from the current issue of Reader’s Digest
RD.com is also introducing two blogs that will be featured on the homepage: “Loose Cannon,” by Reader’s Digest Washington Bureau Chief, Carl Cannon, offers an insider’s view from our nation’s capital; and “Healthy Dose,” by Health Director, Julie Bain, discusses the latest health news and brings a fresh perspective to the conflicting medical reports and studies that appear on a regular basis. The blogs will go live on May 21.
“By utilizing our vast reservoir of content, we’re able to create branded environments that allow our advertisers and our users to connect in ways that are tailored to meet the needs of both,” said Steven Schwartz, general manager, rd.com. “The rd.com audience has always shown a high level of engagement with the brand, from submitting an average 17,000 jokes each month to lobbying Congress on issues we’ve written about. rd.com delivers to advertisers an active, passionate consumer who responds enthusiastically to the positive messages and calls to action they’ve come to expect from our brand.”
From February 2007 to February 2008, rd.com experienced a 65% growth in site traffic due primarily to promotion with Reader’s Digest magazine.
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RD.com is the website of Reader’s Digest magazine, which reaches nearly 40 million readers each month in the United States and twice as many worldwide. The magazine is published worldwide in 50 editions and 21 languages, and reaches readers in more than 60 countries. It is the flagship of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., a global publisher and direct marketer of products that inform, entertain and inspire people of all ages and cultures around the world. Global headquarters are in Pleasantville, N.Y.
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