Parameter1’s Eric Kammerzelt On The Magic Of A Great Tech Stack

Oct 27, 2024

Traditionally the hub of any media enterprise was the print magazine. It served as the center of every brand, from which a variety of ancillary businesses extended out like spokes of a wheel. These typically included a newsletter, a website, events, special print issues, licensed products and more.

That’s changed. Now, the print magazine still occupies a vital role for many brands, but the hub of the enterprise is the tech stack. That’s the term for the combination of software platforms that are used to perform essential business functions. The strength of the business depends on how well these platforms interact with each other.

Eric Kammerzelt.

Typically, the tech stack includes a CRM, a content-management system, a marketing platform, a lead-generation solution, subscriptions and event-registration systems, financial-management software, order fulfillment, and more. How well these platforms interact is a key determinant of enterprise success.

Over time, the media industry’s core group of suppliers was transformed as well. Once the publication printer was the most important supplier, followed by fulfillment services and maybe a paper provider, or reprints, and, of course, the United States Postal Service.

Now the supplier community is comprised primarily of technology providers. All other categories of suppliers come after that. So it’s always a good idea to hear from our tech suppliers. They’re not just solutions providers, they actually have a perspective that can’t be duplicated—they know what works and what should be avoided through hard experiences across dozens of customers. They’re not just selling a product, they’re offering an informed perspective. There’s a lot to learn.

With that in mind, in this issue we feature a conversation with Eric Kammerzelt, CEO of Parameter1, a software-as-a-service company based in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Parameter1 combines several essential components of the tech stack. Read on to hear Eric’s perspective.

Fox Tales: Tell us about the genesis of Parameter1.

Eric Kammerzelt: The Parameter1 team grew within the B2B publishing environment. The core team came together originally at Cygnus Business Media and quickly gained a reputation for applying technology solutions to business problems. We listened to editors, publishers, sales, and production teams that helped inform our understanding of what was needed.

Cygnus and later Endeavor were growing through rapid acquisitions and we needed a set of tools to facilitate this pace, apply best practices, and centralize data into one common set of systems. As our reputation grew, we were asked to license this technology. Initially we said no, as it was proprietary. However, as it was an open-sourced scalable cloud environment, we eventually said yes.

As our customers of that resulting product grew, exclusively through word of mouth, we came to a point where it demanded a dedicated effort. We formed that effort as Parameter1.

Fox Tales: You have a distinguished career in media. What led you to this path of entrepreneurship and tech solutions for the whole industry?

Kammerzelt: We have a passionate team that fell in love with media and solving problems that span the industry. Enterprises like Endeavor Business Media are really a collection of many publishers from all over the country. We found there were common problems and a common set of solutions available to these publishers. We also felt strongly that there should not be a disparity between what the larger publications could afford and what was accessible to the small mom-and-pop publishers that have small teams wearing many hats. Everyone needs platforms for efficiency, growth, and to meet growing advertiser demands.

Fox Tales: The SaaS approach is something your company emphasizes. What’s the distinction in that approach?

Kammerzelt: The model provides our customers with the software that we built, but also the service that goes along with it. Many of our customers look to us for all of their technology needs as part of their core technology stack. Others ask us to share our unique perspective across hundreds of titles to their internal technology teams. In either case we act as a business partner to help our customers achieve growth and efficiency. This relationship has been very well received by everyone we work with. We learn from our customers and they learn from us.

Fox Tales: I note that Parameter1 has a holistic approach to its business solutions. There’s content management, lead gen, identity management, native advertising and more. There’s value in getting all these services from one source. Tell us about what informs that approach, and its value to customers.

Kammerzelt: One of the most frustrating aspects for publishers is connecting disparate data sources. Content, audience, newsletter, and advertising data are traditionally separate data sources. In our view, Parameter1 looks at all of this data holistically. Here are several considerations.

1. There is power in aggregating this data together. It can form intent data, plus deep insights into the audience behaviors such as who clicked on an advertisement and what articles have they read? Then you can connect the dots. What engagements from newsletters lead to other key engagements on the website? What content is most appealing to a specific demographic? These are difficult and complex questions to answer unless you have a platform that is engineered to connect these elements.

2. While we do offer a comprehensive approach—we do have customers that choose just one element such as newsletter workflow, advertiser reporting dashboards, or just the core CMS. We have connectors to other popular ESP, CDP, CRM and even CMS solutions should the customers choose to go that route.

3. Going with a holistic approach saves time and money. Building and maintaining custom connections to various data sources is difficult and costly. The solution we offer out of the box includes all of this integration by design. This can free up internal staff to focus on other things important to the business.

Fox Tales: What’s the opportunity for media operators who use Parameter1’s SaaS solutions? Revenue? Internal efficiency? Both?

Kammerzelt: Revenue Growth

Overcoming Technical Barriers:
- We often find that revenue growth is stunted by technical challenges.
- By addressing issues like website performance and system integration, we remove obstacles to growth.
Enhanced Engagement:
- Our solutions improve practices that directly impact user engagement.
- Higher engagement typically translates to increased revenue opportunities.
New Product Development:
- We advise on new product ideas that directly grow revenue.
- These ideas often come from our diverse customer base, allowing us to cross-pollinate successful strategies.

Internal Efficiency

Automation and Process Improvement:
- We reduce manual processes and automate workflows, freeing up staff time.
- This leads to fewer errors and more efficient operations.
System Integration:
- Our holistic approach ensures that various systems (CMS, ESP, CDP, etc.) work together seamlessly.
- This integration eliminates data silos and improves overall operational efficiency.
Best Practices Implementation:
- We bring industry-wide best practices to each client, improving their internal processes.

The combination of these revenue and efficiency improvements often leads to a transformative effect on our clients’ businesses. As one of our team members noted, “It is a joy to watch the light bulbs go off once our prospective customers recognize how much of a burden can be lifted.”

Fox Tales: In a sense, companies like Parameter1 and Fox Associates have a significant business advantage that they can pass on to their customers: A broad perspective. What’s the value of using a company like Fox Associates?

Kammerzelt: Parameter1 is technical and while we speak the language, we don’t generally consult or advise sales or marketing teams. Indeed one of the frustrations for Parameter1 is that we often move much more quickly than the organizations we serve can adapt. We leave this to teams like Fox Associates that are better equipped. The synergy here is that often the ideas that Fox Associates bring to the table requires execution, which happens to be a core strength of Parameter1. Together, a publisher can achieve rapid results and best communicate those advantages to advertisers.