B&C's 2012 Digital All-Stars
The weather is hardly just a good
subject to make small talk about
anymore—and with all of the apps,
websites and social media integrations now
available, the Weather Channel’s Cameron
Clayton is making meteorology anything
but mundane.
“When people ask me what I do, I tell
them I’m a digital storyteller,”
Clayton says.
“Stories resonate with
people.”
Since his promotion
to executive VP of digital
product for the Weather
Channel in 2011, Clayton
has overseen a continuous
rollout of new
and relaunched digital
properties, including a
major overhaul of the
company’s website in
May. The site has consistently
rated among the
top 50 web properties, according to comScore’s
most recent Media Metrix. And it now features
a streamlined interface that users can
easily personalize.
Almost immediately after Weather Channel
launched the site redesign, it announced
the acquisition of online rival Weather Underground,
a digital forecasting and tracking
website. Weather
Underground will continue
to exist as a separate
online entity, but it
will bring content and
resources to the Weather
Channel to better inform
and connect with
their audience.
“The key to our success
has been really
listening to our users
and giving them what
they want,” Clayton
says. “It sounds pretty
simple, but it’s actually
pretty hard.”
With the constant rollout of new (and improved)
digital products, Clayton makes it
look easy. His goal, however, is not for quantity,
but to make “weather enthusiasts’ lives
easier, better and safer.”
“We’re testing things all the time,” Clayton
says, noting that, with the addition of a new
Android app to be released later this year,
the company is currently testing products
with Apple.
The “digital native,” as he calls himself, is
a New Zealander and founder of the country’s first digital ad agency, which he began
after discovering a burgeoning need for the
service in the country. In 2004, Clayton
joined the Weather Channel and quickly
rose through the ranks. Clayton also sits on
the global executive committee of the Mobile
Marketing Association.
“The challenge is, how do you tell a really
compelling story on digital platforms
and screens?” Clayton says. “That’s the fun
part.”
