Pulling in niche audiences requires providing specialized content, of course.
In addition to bigger ad formats, the redesign's specialized content streams could keep users glued to the site longer, marketers said.
But the huge upswing of Web users -- more than 60percentt of all computer-equipped Americans go online regularly, many drawn to sources of specialized content (the Hubbell, for example), and to decidedly human "chatline" conversations -- refutes this assertion.
The alliance will create a new imprint, called Random House Audible, that will try to convince consumers to download from the Web audio material, ranging from existing Random House books to historical material, like speeches, to new, specialized content like business books.
The idea, according to Yusuf Mehdi, who is in charge of marketing for MSN, is to make it easier to sign up for MSN and for improved features like Internet search, access to specialized content areas and electronic shopping.
"If we don't provide readers with some specialized content that informs them in an area where they might have a narrower and high interest," he said, "somebody else is going to do it".
Also, Officemax.com will make a concerted effort to sprinkle specialized content throughout its site, says Feuer.
