Case Study

J. explores branded advertising through Branded Content Lab

Opening new revenue streams through branded advertising

By Kirsten Staples

April 17, 2025

J. The Jewish News of Northern California, widely known as J., developed a branded content lab to generate both digital and print revenue. Through this experimental process, J. aimed to strengthen its financial future while continuing to serve the needs of its unique community. The lab was initially funded as part of a grant through The Lenfest Institute for Journalism’s Beyond Print program.  

Overview: 

J. has recently worked to address a challenge that is familiar to many publications: an aging readership and declining print revenue. By expanding its offerings beyond traditional advertising through a branded content lab, the publication hoped to replace some lost print income. 

“Most of our advertisers are nonprofits, senior homes, and educational institutions. They use digital and print ads to list events and celebrate success, but we heard from many that they also had a need to tell a more compelling story about their organization,” said J. CEO Jo Ellen Kaiser. 

“The objectives [of the project] were to learn how to sell this kind of content and to build capacity to create it if necessary. The goal was to supplement declining print revenue with revenue that could be digital as well as print,” Kaiser said. 

J. identified a need for branded content among its advertisers to help them tell more engaging stories about their organizations and to assist in broadening revenue streams in the process.  

Why this matters:  

Traditional print display ads are increasingly less appealing to advertisers, and publications like J. are aiming to use sponsored content to meet different needs for advertisers. The organizations that typically advertised with J. wanted to share intricate messages or stories with the publication’s audience, but the topics often did not meet its criteria for what it considered newsworthy.  

“Our community enjoys hearing about and reading about success – especially stories about innovation and stories about younger Jews who have connected to their Jewish identity. The kind of branded content we seek fulfills those criteria,” Kaiser explained. 

Addressing this need is not only important for continuous adaptation and survival of the publication, but also to keep loyal advertisers and meet the needs of their audiences. 

Strategy:  

The main strategy behind implementation of the content lab was to hire a specialized branded content expert to reach out to J.’s advertisers in an effort to understand their needs. Based on the information gathered during these interviews, the content specialist then created a branded media kit aimed at spotlighting how J.’s branded content lab could meet the needs of advertisers.  

As a proof of concept, J. created two free pieces of branded content for two of its longtime advertisers — a local summer camp and museum — to learn how to sell and create these types of advertisements.  

“In these two instances, our consultant interviewed the organizations, wrote the content, got photos, and then we published it to web, print, and social media. The experience helped our salespeople see what we could do, and became examples we could use in our sales kit,” Kaiser said. 

Kaiser explained that after implementation, results were not immediate. Given the opportunity to repeat this part of the strategy, a stronger focus on interviewing the advertisers could have improved their results. Additionally, involving the sales team directly in these interviews may have helped to integrate them more fully in the process so they could pitch the branded content as an opportunity to meet the advertisers’ needs. 

Team involved:  

As CEO, Kaiser led the project and was heavily involved. J.’s publisher oversees its print issue and all advertising across platforms, and he was also in all the meetings. The outlet’s two full-time commissioned salespeople were also involved. 

J. also hired Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, the founder of boutique content firm Storymade Studio, to develop the project.  

Results:  

J. recently made its first branded content sale — a local Jewish camp will be advertising a food and wine retreat for adults in May.  

A key reason it’s taken time to build the branded content business was J.’s timing. It launched the project in fall 2023, which Kaiser called “an unfortunate time.” 

“The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023 when Hamas invaded Israel. There was an immediate outpouring of dollars and support for Israel that has only grown stronger within the Jewish community,” Kaiser said. 

Kaiser further explained that local Jewish nonprofits began to see a drop in funding following the outbreak of the war in Gaza, as funds were being directed to Israel. J. faced challenges in securing branded content buyers as several key advertisers were forced to reduce their marketing budgets following these concerns. 

What they learned:  

Recognizing the increased funding of Jewish organizations working on Israeli causes, J. has shifted its focus to engaging with these organizations as potential advertisers. While the publication previously lacked strong sales relationships in this sector, it is now actively working to establish and strengthen those connections. 

On the operations front, the project also encountered challenges in motivating the sales team. It was initially expected that the sales team would be eager to sell branded content, as it is considered a higher value sales item. However, the sales team struggled to fully grasp the branded content sales pitch as it was a new type of product for them.  

Next steps:  

In addition to strengthening new sales connections with potential Israeli advertisers, J. is not giving up on its push to sell branded content. 

J. is working to better equip its sales team to pitch the branded content. Its publisher got personally involved to add a sense of urgency. It also combined its branded content media kit and its main media kit in December 2024 to make it more accessible.  

It put $60,000 worth of branded content into its fiscal year 2025 budget, an J.’s goal is to sell two pieces of branded content — $10,000 worth — by the end of the current fiscal year in June, Kaiser said. 

“We now have some nibbles,” she said. 

How to implement this strategy: 

Through the successes and challenges of J.’s branded content lab, Kaiser said they have come to realize that creating a new revenue stream takes time. They are continuing to work toward their goal of branded content and focusing on organizations that have the funds to put towards advertising. 

Kaiser recommended that other organizations looking to implement new advertising streams, including branded content, make sure they take the time to fully educate their staff internally and partners and potential advertisers externally to get them on board.  

Added resources:  

• Here is J.’s media guide, which includes more details about its branded content offerings.  

• The Local Media Association’s branded content project has resources, case studies, and more about building a branded content strategy.(Though J. found them more commercially focused rather than on the nonprofits and community organizations who are its primary advertisers.)  

• The Beyond Print Toolkit offers tips and best practices for starting to experiment with branded content.  

Organization overview:

• Organization: J. The Jewish News of Northern California 

• Owner: San Francisco Jewish Community Publications, Inc. 

• Target audience: Jewish community in the Northern California area, covering arts, religion, food, events, and news 

• Digital Subscribers: 15,000 

• Print Subscribers: 14,000 

• Print Status: Digital newsletters six days a week; Print issue is biweekly