Welcome to the first edition of StumbleUpon Innovators, a weekly interview series with publishers, platforms, and digital media experts. Each week we’ll investigate strategies, new tools, and trends with some of the brightest minds in the business. Our aim is to provide you with actionable practices to improve your content choices, distribution, marketing, monetization, and more. (Don’t have the StumbleUpon app yet? No worries. It’s right here!)
If you have suggestions for a future participants, please contact Andrew Levine at [email protected].
StumbleUpon Innovators Q&A with Andrew Budkofsky, EVP of Sales & Partnerships at Digital Trends
Please introduce yourself and your company.
My name is Andrew Budkofsky and I’m the EVP of Sales & Partnerships at Digital Trends.
What is Digital Trends all about?
Digital Trends is the largest independent tech site on the Internet. We reach over 20MM uniques a month; focusing on technology for the way we live. Our world class editors cover news, reviews and insights on the latest in technology.
Who is your audience and how do you reach them? How do you find new audiences?
Our audience is broad because after all, who isn’t interested in technology these days?! We’re producing content that people search for, and share. News and reviews on the latest and coolest products in the technology space today.
What’s your publishing and/or content marketing strategy?
We write and produce over 80 pieces of content a day in both editorial and video. It all has the same tone which is to speak to people in a way that they will understand. Because our content is so popular, other publishers use our content to fill their technology coverage needs. Sites like CNN, Amazon and Yahoo! all promote Digital Trends content.
What are your biggest challenges and how are you tackling them?
We’re focused on raising our brand awareness for both B2B and B2C. We have a concise strategy in place for ’15 to make sure our editors are out there talking about their expertise.
What are your best tips and tricks for publishers and brands?
Make sure you let the writers and editors who know their audience maintain the voice and positioning of the content, especially if you’re doing native executions.
Rapid Fire with Andrew Budkofsky
What is your media diet?
I read a ton of industry trades, especially those specific to the tech industry and the verticals like Automotive who are using tech as a competitive differentiator. I still love the videos that Defy Media produces (being that I worked there for 7 years) and I’m never one to shy away from a good prank video.
Who do you admire?
Other than my wife? LOL. I’ve been fortunate enough to work some great mentors in my career. From people like Larry Divney to Charlie Collier, they taught me a lot about how to treat people, be a good leader, and work hard to achieve success.
Who’s your dream client?
I’m a sucker for big brands. When I walk onto a corporate campus like Nike, or Ford, I get caught up in the history and the “cool factor” of how brands like those changed our world.
What’s one thing that your coworkers don’t know about you?
I tried out to be a sportscaster on ESPN and made it to one of the final rounds in the competition. It was for a show to name the next play by play caller, but it ended up never airing.
How can people reach you?
I’m an animal on email! [email protected].
About StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon is the leader in online content discovery, serving more than 500 million monthly recommendations and connecting millions of users to new and entertaining web pages. The platform generates personalized internet experiences based on user likes and interests and helps people discover the best of the web. Founded in 2002, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York. Don’t have the StumbleUpon app yet? No worries. It’s right here!
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Connor Brooke.
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