How ‘Today’ is leveraging ecommerce this holiday season

By MixDex Article may include affiliate links

NBC News‘ “Today” is boosting its ecommerce efforts this holiday season.

  • The show is offering a gift finder, an “interactive shopping experience that curates gift ideas by person, interest and price range.”
  • In addition, “Today” has grouped its articles on gifts, toys and shopping into a “gift guides” section of its website.
  • “Today” has also added a dedicated homepage to its “Steals & Deals” franchise, which offers viewers discounted prices on products, typically done under a “promotional consideration provided by” arrangement with the vendor.
  • The show’s “Shop Today” Facebook page, which launched this summer, features a Facebook Messenger bot and special deals.
  • The show is also prepping to launch “One Small Thing” — a shoppable video series.
  • It’s important to note that many of the show’s ecommerce efforts above involve a financial arrangement between “Today” and the merchants — typically in the form of a small commission paid to NBC for referring sales.
  • NBC clearly labels these pages with a disclaimer reading “Today editors, writers and experts take care to recommend items we really like and hope you’ll enjoy! Just so you know, Today does have affiliate relationships. So, while every product is independently selected, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the revenue.”
  • “Today” is not unique in creating content around advertiser products or referrals — and the approach is becoming an increasingly popular way for publishers and TV stations and networks to add a revenue stream.

The network is also airing matching promos for the gift guide and related content.