Main takeaways:

• Brian and Phillip are joined in today’s episode by Nilla Ali, the SVP of Commerce at BuzzFeed.
• The role of publishers has shifted in recent years when it comes to commerce, but is the attribution model in need of an update?
• The latest updates to consumer privacy protection are changing the way publishers are acquiring consumers.
• How are brands reaching and connecting with younger generations like Gen Z?

What is BuzzFeed Today?: Evolution Through the Years:

• Nilla has been at BuzzFeed for three years and describes BuzzFeed today as a cultural soundboard that has made huge strides with its news organization.
• Commerce has become a big part of BuzzFeed’s business and has seen success in helping people with shopping and making shopping decisions.
• BuzzFeed recently had a viral article about Millennial burnout and are covering topics that people want to hear about with a very fresh perspective.
• BuzzFeed’s investigative journalism is solidifying them in history as opposed to just a fleeting cultural relevance.
• BuzzFeed has used its cultural relevance to contribute to real journalism and to promote social welfare for us to be better as people.

Nilla’s Story: A Meteoric Rise:

• Nilla has had a meteoric rise to where she is in her career at a very young age by comparison to others in her position.
• She started her career at Ann Taylor as a merchandizer but very quickly found out she was interested in the other side of commerce and how people make their buying decisions.
• She started a position at Time Inc., where she focused on affiliate business and how content can drive commerce.
• Towards the end of her time at Time Inc., Nilla got the opportunity to work under Ben Kaufman, and from there, her career has taken off.

The Scoop on Affiliate Commerce: A Modern Model?:

• Affiliate is a more so a tool that powers commerce and lead generation as opposed to its commerce channel.
• From a consumer’s perspective, it has become much more common to see publishers creating comment that drives you to take action from that content.
• The acquisition of The Wirecutter by the New York Times was a significant shift in the industry that showed publishers that affiliate commerce could be a serious business.
• Affiliate commerce has evolved, but the model and structure has stayed the same and is how most publishers are currently powering their commerce business.

The Role of Content: Shifts in the Path to Purchase:

• Given that most businesses have mostly shifted to digital, there is an increasing need to curate the best of the best products.
• Content is increasingly driving discovery or helping validate a purchase ushering in a new era in which content plays a more significant role in development.
• Frequently there are instances in which BuzzFeed has to work directly with partners to get appropriate attribution due to the outdated last-clicked model.
• Measuring the impact of content has proven to be an ongoing challenge, and the attribution process does not reflect how customers shop.

Technical Hurdles: Protecting Consumer Privacy:

• Cookie changes, and the idea of putting the power of privacy back in the hand