Futures Lab update #78: Building brands and products at Vox Media

This week we learn how Vox Media combines content, technology and advertising to reach a mass audience via its seven digital brands, including The Verge, SB Nation and Vox.com.

PART 1: Quality product

As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Bankoff explains, a big component of Vox Media’s operation involves blending proprietary technology, a collaborative culture and an emphasis on the overall end product.

Reporting by Katy Mersmann, Rachel Wise and Reuben Stern.

[To skip directly to this segment in YouTube, click here.]

For more information:

In this extended Q&A, Bankoff says risk-taking also involves being willing to stop doing something that doesn’t work. He also provides more ideas about managing failure, building proprietary technology, and maintaining editorial integrity.

PART 2: Fast-moving experimentation

Vox Media’s product-oriented approach involves rapid development and iteration of new ideas. Product Manager Lauren Rabaino says it helps to innovate out in the open and to relax about getting everything perfect right away.

Reporting by Katy Mersmann, Rachel Wise and Reuben Stern.

[To skip directly to this segment in YouTube, click here.]   

Rachel Wise  
 
Video Editor

As video editor at RJI’s Futures Lab, Rachel Wise co-produces and edits the weekly Futures Lab video updates, and produces other video projects at RJI.

Reuben Stern  
 
Director of NYC Partnerships

Reuben Stern is RJI’s director of New York City partnerships and is the director of the Missouri School of Journalism’s New York program.