Scripps Builds On HGTV With Real Estate Site FrontDoor
By David Kaplan - Wed 12 Dec 2007 01:24 PM PST
As part of continuing efforts to expand its online market share, Scripps (NYSE: SSP) Networks’ interactive group is rolling out its first original web product, real estate site FrontDoor.com. The site, currently in beta and expected to go live next month, will use Scripps’s vast video archive of home-related content from its HGTV and DIY cable nets and online properties. Release
Deanna Brown, who left Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) to head Scripps Interactive in March, is aiming for relatively quick success for FrontDoor, she told AdAge—including attracting a couple million uniques over the next few months. Scripps is embarking on a major promotional campaign, including prominent placements across all of its websites and TV nets, and buying keyword searches related to the home-buying market across all large internet portals.
The idea: FrontDoor can build on HGTV.com, the top home/shelter category site with 4.2 million uniques last month, according to comScore. Scripps has three primary launch advertisers: Coldwell Banker, Citibank and General Motors. Brown points to an internal survey suggesting that HGTV’s users will feel similarly at home with FrontDoor; some 35 percent of HGTV.com’s audience frequented real-estate sites. Brown: “We thought, we have that category and we have that usage, clearly there’s a business plan here.” Beyond FrontDoor, Brown is mapping out a series of quarterly acquisitions and new product releases over the next year.
Posted in: Advertising, Marketing, Companies, Scripps, Media, TV, Cable & Telecom
Tags: frontdoor.com, hgtv,
