Media.net SPM Case Study 2016-17

STRATEGIC PROGRAM MANAGEMENT CASE: ADDING FEATURES TO AN ESTABLISHED SITE About Us Media.net is a leading global advertising technology company that develops innovative products for both publishers and advertisers. Since its founding, Media.net has made substantial investments in its business and built one of the most comprehensive portfolios of advertising technology in the industry across search, mobile, display, native, local, products and video. Its platform and products are licensed by some of the largest publishers, ad networks and other ad tech companies worldwide. By market cap, Media.net is one of the Top 5 largest ad tech companies worldwide. By revenue, Media.net is the second largest contextual advertising business worldwide. Media.net has 800-plus employees in key operation centers across - New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Zurich, Mumbai and Bangalore. Media.net’s US HQ is based in New York, and Global HQ in Dubai. CASE BACKGROUND Online real estate market has grown exponentially in the last decade, and it has become a flourishing industry for newcomers. It is also a crowded market with many established players like Magicbricks, 99acres.com, commonfloor etc. Not only buying and selling property, but rentals and short term stays come under the umbrella of these big players. Considering the shortage of any new avenues other than the ones already in use, like property, rentals, roommates etc, companies are now trying to think of innovative methods to attract customers and build a sustainable competitive advantage. For the purpose of this case, you are the Product Manager of such a hypothetical established player, let's call it "PropertyParadise.com" (Our hypothetical site can be assumed to be identical in functionality and user-base to the market leader(s) in the industry, which are Magicbricks, 99acres.com, commonfloor). As the product manager you are responsible for the initiatives mentioned below. Please provide the best set of responses that you can in this context. PART 1  Suggest new features that should be added to propertyparadise.com site or its mobile apps. List the highest-impact feature that can be added for each of the goals listed below: o User Acquisition o User Engagement or Retention o Monetization

Expected Response  Three features. A name and a 2 sentence description for each of the three.  Please explain (50 to100 words) why each feature is the highest impact feature for its chosen goal.  A maximum of 1 page of text  From your suggested 3 features, select the highest value feature that you can identify. Describe in detail your chosen feature’s value proposition both to the user and to the site/app. 1. Please ensure that you: a. Provide UI mocks and explain the feature in detail b. Identify the goal that you are trying to achieve. c. Describe how this feature facilitates this goal d. Identify the metrics that would help you measure whether the feature is achieving its goal or not e. Identify the metrics that may be negatively impacted and explain how you would monitor them 2. Additionally, attach a blog post introducing (and pitching) the feature to the site's users. Expected Response  Blog Post: A maximum of 300 words  Feature Mockups: Create wireframes/high fidelity mocks using a prototyping tool such as Balsamiq and export to static images. (Free trials at http://balsamiq.com/).  Feature Descriptions, Metrics and Commentary: A maximum of 2 pages of text or 10 slides in addition to the blog post and mockups. PART 2 You have been tasked with creating an additional revenue stream for propertyparadise.com – propose an additional monetization mechanism. (You can select a feature from the 3 you have suggested above, or pick a new feature altogether.) 1. Describe your proposed scheme. Make sure to include details of the new product features that would have to be built, the marketing strategy you would follow, and the partnerships you would look at, if any of these were relevant to your proposal. 2. Build and present a 3 year revenue estimation model for the feature. Make sure you provide all calculations underlying your assumptions in as much detail as is available to you 3. What are the metrics that you would track to ensure that this feature is performing adequately? Also list the first areas that you would investigate if these metrics were not performing as expected and the changes you would make to improve performance. 4. Would your monetization feature have any (even minor) negative impact? If so, how would you measure this? What processes and metrics would you use?

Expected Response Monetization Mechanism Description, Metrics and Commentary: A maximum of 2 pages of text or 10 slides in addition to a single calculation sheet for the revenue-estimation model. EVALUATION CRITERIA This submission will be used to shortlist you for subsequent rounds. The following criteria will be used to judge your submission: ● Structure of the document ● Articulation, language, written communication skills ● Strategic thought process ● Usability of the proposed features ● Depth and precision of research ● Rationale used to support arguments ● Feasibility, practicality and effectiveness of the recommendations Additionally, we will take a deep dive into this case during the interview rounds.