 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Social media,marketing,public relations |
| Founded | Washington, DC (1999) |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Pete Snyder, Founder |
| Parent | Meredith Corporation |
| Website | nms |
New Media Strategies (NMS) was asocial media agency headquartered inArlington, Virginia. The company was founded in 1999 byPete Snyder, and as of 2011 had 120 employees. NMS was known as one of the first companies to strictly focus on social media as a form ofmarketing communications,[1] and in 2011 was described as "the largest social media agency in the world" byThe Washington Post.[2] It was a subsidiary ofMeredith Corporation, a Fortune 500media company which acquired NMS in 2007.
Pete Snyder founded New Media Strategies in 1999[3] with $150,000 from his own savings, credit cards, and the investments of friends and family. The company initially operated from Snyder'sCapitol Hill apartment before opening office space inWashington, D.C., and later moving its headquarters to Arlington, Virginia.[4] Drawing upon earlier experience inpolitical polling andmarket research, Snyder recognized that companies at the time lacked an understanding of how to interpret and respond to what was being said about them online—prompting him to establish the first Internet firm to offer online conversation analysis and real-time communications consultation to clients.[5][6] The business model was based on treating the Internet as "the world's largest focus group" and the company found its earliest business with film studios,[7] soon countingThe Walt Disney Company,ABC andBurger King among its initial clients.[3][4]
In 2005,Washingtonian magazine listed it as one of theBaltimore-Washington metropolitan area's "50 Great Places to Work".[8] Though it was created during thetech boom of the late 1990s, NMS expanded in the years following this time period, being recorded byInc. Magazine' as one of the "500 fastest growing private companies" in the United States in 2004, 2005 and 2006.[9]
In 2011, founder Pete Snyder stepped down fromNMS to start up a new company,Disruptor Capital.[10]
In January 2007, New Media Strategies was acquired byMeredith Corporation, aFortune 500 firm traditionally known for itspublishing andbroadcasting holdings. Snyder remained as CEO until December 2011.[11][12] At the time of the acquisition, a portion of the proceeds were set aside in an employee stock pool, which appreciated to $2.5 million and in 2010 was paid out to employees who had remained at the company for three years.[13] TheNew York Post described this profit-sharing arrangement as atypical in the advertising industry,[14] as acquisitions of this nature do not traditionally involve compensation of non-executive employees.[15]
NMS was integrated into Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (MXM), a Meredith company specializing in content marketing.[16]
Structured as anagency, NMS primarily operated as aconsultant which "helps firms develop marketing strategies for social media", according toThe Wall Street Journal.[17] The company specialized early on in measuring and participating in online discussion surroundingHollywood films, and an entertainment division of the organization has since coordinated online public relations campaigns forNBC and other broadcast television networks.[18] A public affairs division[4] included political and news media clients such as theFred Thompsonpresidential campaign[19] andC-SPAN,[20] and a corporate practice represents restaurant chains, retailers and companies within theconsumer packaged goods industry.[4]
NMS advised theNational Football League Players Association during the2011 NFL lockout, producing a video advertisement and an online petition entitled "Let Us Play", which addressed the threat of an expiringcollective bargaining agreement between the league and its players. A broadcast television network refused to air the ad, prompting news media to draw attention to the video onYouTube.[21] NFL players began to use thehashtag "#letusplay" when discussing the campaign on Twitter,[22] and it became the subject of media coverage for its use of online media instead of traditional media as a means ofadvocacy.[23][24] The company also engages in organizational training. It hosted a "social media day" at theNew York Stock Exchange on November 3, 2011,[25] which was held to teach members of corporations traded on the exchange how to be more effective in usingsocial networks such asFacebook, Twitter andLinkedIn for public communication.[26]
Up through 2007, New Media Strategies created and operated a series of websites dedicated to women anchors ofFox News on behalf of then-CEORoger Ailes. The agency ran blogs devoted to anchorsLaurie Dhue andKiran Chetry that linked to a portal website called Girls of Fox News. That site included suggestive screenshots and degrading commentary on the appearances of Fox News anchorsMegyn Kelly,Alisyn Camerota, andCourtney Friel.[27]