New York Times Launches Data Science Offering

The New York Times has launched a cross-functional team called nytDEMO, which will build data and technology solutions for brands using the same tools and skills used by the newspaper group.

Set up by the firm's Advertising & Marketing Solutions Group, nytDEMO (DEMO stands for data, engineering, measurement and optimization) is a collaboration between members of The Times' data, product and design, technology and advertising divisions. Several new products and tools are already in the pipeline, including a data science exploration tool called Project Feels, which aims to understand intent and predict the connections between emotions and engagement. In advance of the launch, a team of data scientists has presented Times articles to a wide set of readers and documented their responses, identifying the links between content, keywords and emotion, and building a model which predicts emotional response to any content the paper publishes.

Based on the machine learning powering Project Feels, nytDEMO has launched 'perspective targeting' as a new ad product, which allows advertisers to target their media against content predicted to evoke reader sentiments such as self-confidence or adventurousness. In addition, an AI-driven data insights tool called Readerscope is about to be launched, to summarize what The Times audience is reading using anonymized data to visualize who is interested in which topics and where they are.

Allison Murphy (pictured), VP, Advertising Innovation, comments: 'We see insights as the next frontier for The Times advertising business. Brands that work with us crave insights to guide their strategies, and The Times can play a critical role helping them understand what audiences care about now, and will care about next. We've created nytDEMO, a first of its kind team, to transform our vast audience understanding into ad products and tools, inviting brands to tap into our knowledge to drive results'.

Web site: www.nytimes.com .