The Associated Press (AP), a venerable news organization known for its comprehensive coverage and journalistic integrity, is set to launch an innovative e-commerce platform named AP Buyline. This initiative, which marks a significant pivot towards diversifying its revenue streams, is in collaboration with Taboola, a prominent figure in the world of online advertising and content recommendation.
Scheduled for launch on March 18th, AP Buyline represents a strategic move by the AP to bolster its consumer revenue, a critical component of its broader effort to adapt to the changing media landscape. This venture into the e-commerce domain is aligned with the organization’s recent efforts to enhance consumer engagement and advertising revenue through a major overhaul of its website last year.
AP Buyline will initially focus on personal finance products, offering recommendations across a variety of categories including credit cards, investments, insurance, and retirement savings. This foray is planned to expand in April, introducing additional shopping categories such as home products, beauty, and fashion, thereby broadening its appeal to a wider consumer base.
The content on AP Buyline, including detailed product reviews, will be produced by a dedicated team at Taboola. This collaboration aims to ensure that the content not only aligns with AP’s stringent standards and editorial style but also provides valuable, consumer-focused information. The initiative is being led by Drew Stoneman, the Vice President for Consumer Revenue at AP, indicating the organization’s commitment to this new venture.
Taboola, which became a public entity in 2021, has historically been involved in powering native advertising for publishers. However, with the acquisition of the e-commerce platform Connexity in 2021 for $800 million, Taboola has been vigorously expanding into the e-commerce sector. This includes the introduction of Taboola Turnkey Commerce, offering publishers plug-and-play recommendations for affiliate advertising, and a partnership with Time to launch “Time Stamped,” a site that has quickly garnered 3 million monthly users.
This partnership between AP and Taboola also shows the fact that even companies like Taboola know that the end of advertising is very near and they need to do something else to survive in this market. By leveraging Taboola’s e-commerce and content recommendation expertise, AP aims to create a sustainable model that not only diversifies its income but also enhances its engagement with a consumer audience increasingly inclined towards online shopping.
