BoardingArea + EX.CO: What Winning a 2023 Digiday Media Award Still Teaches Us
Award: Digiday Media Awards – Best Use of Video (March 2023)Subject: BoardingArea’s network-wide video transformation with EX.CO Executive Summary In March 2023, BoardingArea and EX.CO were recognized by the Digiday Media Awards for building one of the travel publishing industry’s most successful distributed video strategies. It demonstrated that thoughtfully integrated contextual video could materially improve…
Award: Digiday Media Awards – Best Use of Video (March 2023)
Subject: BoardingArea’s network-wide video transformation with EX.CO
Executive Summary
In March 2023, BoardingArea and EX.CO were recognized by the Digiday Media Awards for building one of the travel publishing industry’s most successful distributed video strategies. It demonstrated that thoughtfully integrated contextual video could materially improve publisher economics while strengthening—not degrading—the reader experience.
The results were significant:
- Average 27% revenue lift per individual site
- 20% monthly revenue increase across the BoardingArea network
- Longer reader sessions
- Improved article recirculation
- Increased discovery of existing editorial
- Better contextual advertising performance
Those outcomes remain highly relevant today, particularly as publishers search for sustainable monetization beyond search traffic and as AI changes how audiences discover content.
The Challenge
BoardingArea operates more than thirty independent travel publications. Each site maintains its own editorial voice, design language and loyal readership. Traditional syndicated video often feels disconnected from editorial content, leading to:
- poor engagement
- lower completion rates
- intrusive user experiences
- limited advertiser value
The challenge was to introduce video without making the sites feel like generic media properties.
The Strategy
Instead of treating video as a separate product, EX.CO embedded it directly into the editorial ecosystem. Every video player was customized for the individual publication. This included:
- site branding
- colors
- logos
- layout
- contextual recommendations
Content discovery became part of the reading experience rather than an interruption. EX.CO further connected RSS feeds with machine-learning recommendations to surface relevant videos automatically. Advertising became increasingly contextual rather than broadly targeted.
Why It Worked
Several strategic principles stand out.
1. Existing Content Became New Inventory
Instead of requiring large video production teams, existing editorial assets generated new video experiences. One article became multiple monetizable assets. That dramatically improved the return on existing journalism.
2. Recirculation Improved
Readers naturally discovered additional content. Rather than exiting after a single article, they moved deeper into the network. Longer sessions created additional advertising opportunities while strengthening reader loyalty.
3. Context Beat Interruption
Advertising aligned with what readers were already consuming. Contextual relevance improved monetization without relying exclusively on audience profiling. That lesson has only grown more valuable as privacy regulations continue reducing third-party targeting.
4. Every Brand Stayed Independent
BoardingArea did not sacrifice the personality of individual publishers. Each publication retained its own identity while benefiting from centralized technology. That network effect remains one of BoardingArea’s structural advantages.
The Measured Results
The program produced measurable commercial outcomes.
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Average revenue lift per site | 27% |
| Monthly network revenue lift | 20% |
| Reader engagement | Increased |
| Content discovery | Increased |
| Session duration | Increased |
| Editorial recirculation | Increased |
Perhaps more importantly, these improvements were achieved without introducing an intrusive experience for readers.
