CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – December 15, 2008 – Endeca Technologies, Inc., a search and information access software company, today announced that Scripps Networks Digital, the leader in lifestyle and home media, has selected and deployed Endeca’s search, navigation and content publishing capabilities on the all-new HGTV.com site (see related news). The Endeca-powered experience provides intuitive, state-of-the-art capabilities to site visitors allowing them to search and explore a wealth of content, while arming Scripps’ editors and producers with self-serve tools to promote relevant, high-value content, trigger contextual ads and product offerings, and create dozens of customized topic pages. As a result, Scripps Networks Digital can extract new value from a wealth of home and garden content to deliver an engaging web experience, while creating new revenue streams.
The redesigned HGTV.com website is part of Scripps Networks’ strategy to utilize the best broadcast and web assets to support a unified yet differentiated cross medium experience. The HGTV redesign follows on the heels of the FoodNetwork.com website redesign in late September, which features many of the same Endeca capabilities.
For deployment of Endeca capabilities, the Scripps Networks Digital teams partnered with Ironworks, a certified Endeca partner and specialized systems integrator with deep expertise in online media property development. The site leverages Endeca to power a host of intuitive features for both visitors, as well as Scripps’ own editors and producers, including:
– Cutting-edge search: Includes benefits like “type ahead,” which displays possible, popular queries as the user types characters in the search box, as well as spelling suggestion/correction, and synonyms.
– Endeca’s signature Guided Navigation® experience: Offers visitors quick means to refine and sort long lists of search results and explore content of interest. For example, search results can be filtered — and content can be browsed — by criteria like content type, show, space (e.g. yard, deck, kitchen), topic (e.g. how to, tips, tools) and more.
– Content Spotlighting capabilities: Uses business rules to promote and trigger related content, contextual advertisements and even relevant products, via HGTV’s Marketplace, based on how a visitor searches and browses the site.
– Endeca’s Page Builder tool: First used on FoodNetwork.com, this tool gives editors, producers and non-technical staff the ability to create, publish, and manage dynamic landing and topic pages. For example, an editor can choose from a variety of templates and then populate with banners, navigation, images, products, advertisements, video, and other content or design elements. These elements can be wrapped around results lists or can be landing pages triggered by certain keywords or navigation selections. As demands change – seasonal shifts, new show premieres, cross-medium promotions — editors can change the content and even the layout of the pages without the need for web developer or IT resources.
“The new design of HGTV.com delivers a unique experience by revealing the full depth and breadth of online content to visitors as well as the popular on-air content,” said Sarah Cottay, vice president of software development for Scripps Networks Digital. “More than just great search and navigation technology, Endeca offers the tools needed to rapidly adapt to ever-changing requirements and create targeted revenue growth opportunities without draining our resources.”
“Scripps Networks provides a prime example of how media and publishing companies can leverage their brand, domain expertise, and content to create innovative, engaging destination sites. More than complementary counterparts to their incredibly popular cable networks, these sites are go-to knowledge centers and entertainment destinations that define the modern, multi-medium brand and set the standard for a consistent, differentiated experience,” said Brent Watson, global lead, media & publishing at Endeca. “By taking advantage of the latest search and information advances, these sites can offer a dynamic, 360 degree view of relevant content triggered based on the user’s actions and the publisher’s business goals.”
About Scripps Networks
Scripps Networks is comprised of the lifestyle television brands HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living Network and country music network Great American Country (GAC). Scripps is the dominant media and marketing company in the home, food and lifestyle categories, developing content for television and the Internet, where on-air programming is complemented with an array of broadband video, social media areas and e-commerce components on companion Web sites that attract more than 18.5 million unique visitors each month.
In addition, Scripps Networks has launched HGTV and Food Network in high definition and is aggressively developing its emerging media platforms for broadband and video on demand. Scripps Networks also acquired popular recipe Web site Recipezaar.com and Incando Corp. in order to deepen its user-generated content capabilities. Scripps Networks’ brands collectively are available in more than 170 countries and territories on all seven continents. They also are distributed to more than 1,000 outlets on U.S. military bases and U.S. embassies around the world via the American Forces Radio and Television Service.
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Nashville and San Francisco, Scripps Networks is owned by Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE:SNI), the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet. The company’s media portfolio includes: Lifestyle Media, with popular lifestyle television brands HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living Network and country music network Great American Country (GAC); and Interactive Services, including leading online search and comparison shopping services, Shopzilla and uSwitch.
About IronWorks
Ironworks is a project-based consulting firm with one mission: never fail a client. Ironworks provides the flexibility and dedication of a smaller firm combined with the broad experience and deep expertise of a large consultancy. Ironworks hires smart, honest people who measure personal success through the success of their clients.
About Endeca
Endeca’s innovative information access software helps people explore, analyze, and understand complex information, guiding them to unexpected insights and better decisions. The Endeca® Information Access Platform, built around a new class of access-optimized database, powers applications that combine the ease of searching and browsing with the analytical power of business intelligence. More than 500 leading global organizations including ABN AMRO, Boeing, Cox Newspapers, the (US) Defense Intelligence Agency, Dell, Ford Motor Company, Hyatt, IBM, John Deere, the Library of Congress, Texas Instruments, and Walmart.com rely on Endeca to power business-critical applications that increase revenue, reduce costs, and streamline operations.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Endeca has operations in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information: endeca.com or [email protected].
