SmartMoney.com, an investment news site, has named Digital Pulp Inc., New York, to handle advertising creative and strategy as part of a marketing effort to build awareness among consumers.
The Digital Pulp appointment was made following presentations from an undisclosed number of agencies. DiMassimo Brand Advertising, New York, was the incumbent on the creative account.
Billings on the account were not disclosed. An estimated $6.6 million was spent last year on SmartMoney.com, according to CMR, a New York ad expenditure tracking service.
“It's really to get the word out in a larger way about the qualities of the SmartMoney.com site,” said Lee Nadler, president/CEO of Digital Pulp, which previously handled online marketing projects for SmartMoney.com. “It has technology tools which not many people know about, so we're going to encourage people who're interested in their personal finances to go to the site and use it.”
KDM, the media wing of Doremus, New York, continues to handle media planning and buying responsibilities for SmartMoney.com, whose sibling, SmartMoney magazine, is a joint venture of Hearst Communications Inc. and Dow Jones & Co.
An independent agency, Digital Pulp focuses on building and branding online businesses. Clients include 1-800-Flowers.com, c2it by Citibank and Universal Music Group's Bluematter.com.
For SmartMoney.com, the agency will break a national print ad campaign later this spring. Ads will run in parent-owned media vehicles such as The Wall Street Journal and Barron's as well as in business trade publications. Online ads will support the effort.
“What's exciting for Digital Pulp is to brand SmartMoney.com from the Web out,” Nadler said. “We'll be stimulating users through the advertising to get a sense of what they're going to be experiencing once they get to the site.”
