As much as I like reading consultant’s and theorists, I like to know what companies are thinking & what plans they have…the actual working part of on-line.

While some people are concerned about where the money is on-line, one executive I’ve been following has not just smart ideas, but has achieved often the hardest part of any marketing part, the ‘Implementation’ bit, and in both internal and external ways. Changing a company’s culture is often the hardest.

Beth Comstock, is NBC Universal Digital’s President of Integrated Media. She was formally with GE overseeing the ‘Imagination at Work’ culture and advertising changes.

To start with she’s looking at how NBC can do business in iPods, MySpace and YouTube (think that article was written before Facebook). NBC then bought iVillage. The objective was to buy a ready made audience, one that is not a TV site audience. She then spent 3 days work shopping ideas with the site’s 36 moderators (understanding the core working element of the site, v. smart) and the focus was on social networking applications (yes, Laurel, there are believers!)

Internally, technologies have been standardized at NBC. A typical part of a large company is often different business units operating with multiple formats. Simple but often hard to initiate.

Comstock is an advocate for the consumer, she says, and her focus is these three questions.

Can we make money ? Do Users want it ? Do we have the rights?

TV has lots of disposable content and one of the biggest issue is rights, then length of shows. It’s a 3 minute land of entertainment. Webisodes of The Office and Battlestar Gallatica have been created to satisfy. Without cannibalising the existing show it can now be stretched out to iTunes, streaming, mobile and then distribution. It’s a long tail of sales.

Comstock’s other focus is the creative side. There are many opportunities for experimentation and boundless new partnerships, she says.

Articles. Fastcompany

Mediaweek

Womens Biz