I blogged recently about the many possibilities I see for news organizations to pursue new revenue streams. I mentioned calendars as one, citing Wimgo, the events site developed by The Oklahoman.
Some points I should have made in that post are that your organization doesn’t have to start from scratch on every project yourself and that you can find a revenue stream by developing a good solution yourself and then offering that solution to other media companies. This is exactly what Wimgo is doing, so an organization seeking a robust calendar can partner with Wimgo and focus on developing its own solution somewhere else.
Wimgo was launched in 2008 with a clever set of TV commercials that explained the distinctive name, short for When I’m going, Where I’m going, Why I’m going.
In an email exchange, Rob Wescott, Wimgo’s chief product officer, answered my questions (and explains Wimgo in greater detail in a video here):
How is Wimgo doing?
We transitioned Wimgo to a national product in September, at the same time we enhanced the business information and social layer of the site. Traffic has been steadily climbing, we have had business claims in all 50 states and we are about to onboard our first media partner in Denton Texas, the Denton Record Chronicle, an A. H. Belo property.
Our growth strategy is tied to partnering with local media companies to “own” the brand in their market. We operate the site and the local media company markets and sells the product. The relationship is a revenue share.
Who’s in charge of that?
We have set-up Wimgo as a separate company, Wimgo, LLC, owned by our parent company The Oklahoma Publishing Company. Christopher P. Reen, also the executive vice president of The Oklahoman, is the President of the LLC. I am the Chief Product Officer of Wimgo, LLC.
I see it’s expanded to lots of other cities and now sells tickets. Is it getting traction in other cities, or is it still strongest in OKC?
We are still strongest in OKC and Tulsa — where our roots are. However, 50% of our traffic now comes from outside of Oklahoma. Each month we add users and businesses who are engaged in the product from all over the United States. As we add more media partners, we expect this to grow exponentially.
Did you expand into other cities on your own, or with media partners there?
The site is live nationally, and we accomplished this on our own. But, it is the addition of media partners like the Denton Record Chronicle that is critical to expanding adoption.
Can someone tell me if it’s making money (would love to know how much if someone can say)?
Just going national in September, we are still in start-up mode. We expect to be profitable within the next 12 months.
What sort of traffic does it get?
The site receives 150,000 unique visitors and about 500,000 page views. Each month, our SEO strength grows and we receive more and more search engine referral traffic. We expect, and are seeing, this number to escalate quickly as we add partners and grow in authority.
How do the ticket sales work?
Ticket sales and other programs are affiliate programs with third-parties. For example Open Table, Ticketmaster and Fandango. Any sale that originates from Wimgo.com, we receive a commission. This is a very small number right now, but will grow with us. It’s all about stacking the nickels. Buttry note: I like this echo of John Paton’s call for newspaper leaders to stop whining about exchanging print dollars for digital dimes and start stacking the dimes.
Is that a significant revenue stream, or is it mostly ad-supported?
Tickets are a small piece of revenue. The bulk of our revenue comes from advertising and the Daily Deals component which is live in Oklahoma City and launching in various other cities shortly.
This week’s Wimgo highlights video is below:
Steve,
You are always forward looking and never willing to settle for what is already on the table. Really looking forward to meeting you at the NNA convention in September.
I like the combo here of ads plus ticket sale commissions. I remain increasingly doubtful that ad revenue will carry the future.
It is not just that ad bucks are spread really thin, it is that advertising-dependent enterprises cannot really let the object of the advertising guide the design and evolution of the experience–people do not want their experience interrupted. They do not want to be forced to share their attention, that is for sure. That is a huge downside to advertising-funded enterprises.
An advertising-free experience will be challenged when it comes to being paid. But at least it can have a single focus on the those who would otherwise be the focus of unpleasant advertising.
I remain attracted to trying to imagine an experience people will be using every day everywhere and costing 25% or so of what they spend on a cell phone or their cable TV … That could be a really profitable enterprise as it would use the other guys infrastructure … like Google does … and Facebook does …
I have a sense that a calendar will be part of that experience, though one more personally integrated with the rest of the world as well as uniquely personal.
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Steve:
Sorry to see you’ve been snookered. Ask anyone in Oklahoma City about Wimgo (who isn’t picking up a check from OPUBCO) and you’ll quickly find out that it is greeted either by shrugs or mockery.
It’s funny to see them dance around the question of profitability. It’s been a big hole that money has been thrown into for years and years, while company continues layoffs down to the bone.
Other sites do what Wimgo does better for the audiences who are looking for that information.
So much for great ideas.
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I have no first-hand experience with Wingo. Looking at the site offers no surface reason to doubt your report, though. Your audience focus is what appears to be absent when arriving at the site for the first time.
Steve, though, is not likely snookered. He is opportunistic with regard to revenue options, and Windo is an option which he readily admits is not proven.
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