Industry Trailblazer Sets Newest Course



As more people turn to cable TV and the Internet to learn about current events, many newspapers are quickly adapting and deploying new strategies to engage readers through their websites. According to the Readership Institute, instead of making improvements, the greatest opportunity for newspapers lies in innovation.

The Naples Daily News, Neighborhood America’s hometown newspaper, is no stranger to innovation, as the winner of several EPpy’s - Editor & Publisher awards honoring the best websites offered by newspapers, TV, and magazine companies – and a widely recognized leader in their industry. Their website deploys innovative multimedia storytelling, which includes videos, images, and the ability for readers to comment on stories. So it only seemed natural that the Naples Daily News collaborate with another leader, Neighborhood America, to build an enterprise social network.

The Naples Daily News is one of 20 E.W. Scripps Co. owned newspapers, and the first to select our technology solution to power the following two groundbreaking initiatives.

Prep Zone - an online community centered on local high school football that provides a place for people in the community to post videos, images, and interact with others, with the ability to rate and comment on the postings.

Stage Your Place - an online community where people can gather and share ideas on redecorating in order to sell their local homes.

Our technology solution allows the Naples Daily News to better engage readers and makes it easier for staff to manage the submissions, while keeping up with the fast-paced media environment. These initiatives are poised to set the standard for how other newspapers and publications across the nation interact with readers. Neighborhood America is privileged to be a part of this local partnership, with national implications.

Video Case Study: Nexxus

Neighborhood America captures the excitement of a star-studded night and a leader in salon hair care's foray at building a mobile community of customers. Click on the picture to watch a 2-minute video case study and discover how Nexxus rocks the fashion world.

A Way to Share a Passion
By Kathy Boyd, Corporate Communications

What do quilters, interior designers, horror fanatics and fitness buffs all have in common?

It’s unlikely that a 72-year-old grandmother that spends her day quilting will befriend a bodybuilder, or similarly, that two people who enjoy watching scary movies, but have never met, will randomly strike up a conversation at the grocery store. So what brings them together?

These are unique individuals with unique tastes and life experiences who are scattered throughout the world, and what they all have in common is a passion. Whether it’s never missing an episode of “Design Star” on HGTV or never missing a workout session at the gym, they have discovered a way to share that passion through enterprise social networks powered by Neighborhood America.

Successful enterprise social networks are “passion-centric” communities, a niche alternative to the most popular sites like Facebook or MySpace, which draw a wide audience. Whereas Facebook and MySpace profiles focus on a person, passion-oriented communities focus on an area of interest. And at the enterprise level, those interests must be leveraged to support strategic business objectives.

It has been Neighborhood America’s experience that enterprise social networks thrive when its participants are excited about what the community is about. For example, how excited do you get about grocery shopping? Most of us probably deplore this weekly ritual and would never consider investing more of our time to visit an online community focused on the chore. But, think a little deeper within that space. Do you enjoy good wine, organic foods or cooking? The difference is that we start tapping into passions…and they’re fun!

Companies such as Scripps Networks, Comcast, and Rodale, who have launched successful enterprise social networks with Neighborhood America, understand the potential awaiting them when they can tap into that passion – and wrap it around a clear business outcome. And by successful, we mean not simply attracting eyeballs. We mean driving revenues and business results as well.

Scripps launched an HGTV.com initiative, “Rate My Space,” and in just 15 weeks community membership soared to 20,000 and fueled over 10 million page views. Every new page of content participants upload creates new advertising space and generates new advertising revenue. In fact, Neighborhood America’s solution paid for itself in just over three months.

Launched on Halloween 2006 and currently ranked as the top online horror website, Comcast’s "FEARnet" brings together fans of fear, individuals who enjoys the chills and spills of film’s most bloody and frightening genre. The FEARnet community enables its members to interact with like-minded individuals in an enhanced enterprise social network, while sharing user-generated horror clips and films, discussing favorite films, rating submissions and providing additional comment. FEARnet boasts more than 45,000 members and 11 million page views since its inception.

Men’s Health magazine, published by Rodale, launched “Transform 2007,” which features participants willing to dedicate 8 weeks to building a better body. Participants post pictures, comments and interact with others who are trying to accomplish the same body goals. Almost immediately, Rodale experienced a 10% increase in website traffic during what are historically their slowest months.

Enterprise social networks powered by Neighborhood America give consumers a community that provides helpful information related to their common passion and an audience to share their own content and success stories. In the end, the brand gains loyal customers and a viral audience that continues to grow.

Go Behind the Scenes

Still wondering how Neighborhood America's technology solution works and how it enables organizations to achieve their business goals? Click on the picture to take a short tour.

"Yahoo Mash"
by Emerson Direct Marketing and Communications Group

A pioneer in the digital marketing arena has something to say about Yahoo's experimental social networking website, and how Neighborhood America is ahead of the curve.

Read the short blog entry here.

"Cary Seeks Online Input on Development Plans"
by WRAL-TV

Neighborhood America's customer, Town of Cary, featured on local TV news for using our technology solution to generate more public input on proposed developments around town.

Read or watch the story that aired here.

Where Industry and Academia Meet

Neighborhood America attracts Florida Gulf Coast University’s (FGCU) brightest minds and job seekers, and now the high tech company returns the favor. The Software Technologies Distinguished Lecture Series opened September 27th with a talk by Scott Theroux, senior director of product development, on “Enterprise Social Networks: Designing Web Applications for Scalability.” During this lecture, Theroux presented two examples of how corporations are using Neighborhood America’s services to facilitate collaboration, and demonstrated the technology and infrastructure strategies needed to support these applications.

FGCU together with the Economic Development Council of Collier County, a Neighborhood America customer, organized the series of lectures; mainly to spread awareness in the community and educate the general population about the accomplishments of software related high tech companies located in the area. Theroux is one of 8 community leaders chosen from Southwest Florida companies that specialize in software development and services. The lecture series continues through December.

For more information, visit http://lectureseries.fgcu.edu.

The Trust Factor: Harness the Power of Social Media Effectively



Savvy companies are embracing social media to connect with customers, reach new demographics and interact with employees, prospects, analysts, competitors and shareholders. In fact, all areas of corporate life can benefit from leveraging this technology, ranging from product development to customer retention.

On October 11th, the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association (SFIMA) will draw big names to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to educate companies about how social media is affecting the marketplace, how panelists and their clients have used social media to further corporate goals, and how companies can implement social media as part of their marketing plan. Among the invited panelists is our CTO David Bankston. North America/Asia Pacific chair of ad:tech Drew Ianni will moderate the panel. Bankston is expected to share our customers’ experiences and success with social media.

The SFIMA audience is comprised of experienced agency and corporate marketing professionals focused on advancing their understanding and application of interactive marketing.

For more information, visit http://www.sfima.com/.

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