There are no restrictions or regulations relating to branded content as it appears within online communities such as UBM’s Future Cities.

UBM’s Future Cities launched in mid-October as the first global B2B community discussing urbanization and sustainability. Schneider Electric was one of the site’s founding sponsors, with its Energy Management Campaign sparking particularly high interest among users. The extraordinary content produced for this campaign turned Schneider Electric’s sponsored sections into immediate hot spots on Future Cities, totaling 125,000 monthly page views and 1,000 monthly messages over the first three months. By mid-March, the client’s sections were generating 175,000 monthly page views and 1,300 monthly messages; accounting for nearly 35% of the site’s traffic and 20% of the site’s message board posts.

The extraordinary content produced for this campaign – including more than 100 blogs and 300 pieces of original content – combined with new features such as audio shows and live chats, turned Schneider Electric’s sponsored sections into immediate hot spots on Future Cities, totaling 125,000 monthly page views and 1,000 monthly messages over the first three months. Schneider was more than impressed and renewed its program for a second quarter. By mid-March, the client’s sections were generating 175,000 monthly page views and 1,300 monthly messages; accounting for nearly 35% of the site’s traffic and 20% of the site’s message board posts. Schneider Electric’s banner ads generated close to 1 million impressions, and its online events were extremely well received, generating 3,500 leads, 1,000 comments, and record-breaking attendee rates of 55%. Additionally, its whitepapers have exceeded expectations, totaling 35,000 downloads in less than six months.

The astonishing participation among users has been invaluable to Schneider Electric and its thought leadership and branding initiatives. Schneider Electric has also been able to close three new six-figure deals with attendees from its digital media events hosted on Future Cities.