IAC
Careers at IAC
Mission
IAC’s mission is to harness the power of interactivity to make daily life easier and more productive for people all over the world.
Business segments
IAC (InterActiveCorp) is a media and Internet firm with six reportable business segments:
- Match Group: Consists of the company’s dating service units and The Princeton Review.
- HomeAdvisor: A home services digital marketplace that connects consumers with home professionals.
- Publishing: Consists of Premium Brands and Ask & Other (question and answer services)
- Applications: Consists of Consumer, which involves direct-to-consumer downloadable desktop applications, and Partnerships, which involves business-to-business partnership operations.
- Video: Consists of video websites such as Vimeo, DailyBurn, and CollegeHumor.
- Other: Consists of ShoeBuy and PriceRunner (retail websites)
History
IAC began its life as Silver King Broadcasting Company in 1986. The firm was founded as part of an effort to expand viewership of the Home Shopping Network (HSN), specifically through the acquisition of local TV stations. Two years later Silver King had purchased 11 stations; over the next few years it was renamed HSN Communications and Silver King Communications. In 1992 it was spun off as a separate entity. In 1995 former Fox executive Barry Diller took control of the company as part of a plan to use its stations to build a new broadcast network. In 1996 Silver King acquired a majority stake in HSN and took on the name HSN, Inc.
Between 1997 and 2002, the firm grew through numerous acquisitions. These included Ticketmaster Group in 1997; USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel in 1998; and the Hotel Reservations Network (later renamed Hotels.com) in 1999. Now renamed USA Networks, it acquired Internet travel company Expedia in 2001 and divested several of its broadcasting assets; this marked the beginning of its change in focus to the online world. 2003 saw the firm scooping up the shares of Ticketmaster, Hotels.com, and Expedia that it did not own, as well as acquiring a variety of eCommerce companies such as LendingTree and Hotwire. The following year it changed its name to IAC/InterActiveCorp.
In 2008 IAC separated into five public firms: IAC, HSN, Interval Leisure Group, Tree.com, and Ticketmaster. The next several years saw more acquisitions, enabling the company to build its portfolio and become the megabrand it is today. In 2016, it unveiled its realignment of its reportable business segments and announced a change of its ticker symbol from IACI to IAC. IAC now oversees over 150 brands and products. In 2015 it generated revenues of $3.23 billion.
Benefits at IAC
Business model of IAC
Customer Segments
IAC serves various unrelated customer segments that have different needs. Its two customer groups are as follows:
- Consumers: Units serving consumers comprise the majority of IAC’s offerings; they include Match Group (mostly dating services), Applications (desktop and mobile applications), Video (video websites), and Other (retail websites).
- Businesses: This primarily consists of its IAC’s Partnerships unit, which includes B2B partnership operations, and its HomeAdvisor segment, whose main customer is home service professionals.
Value Proposition
IAC offers two primary value propositions: accessibility and brand/status.
The company owns over 20 operating businesses comprising more than 150 brands and products. The diversity of these offerings provide a wide variety of options for consumers and businesses; e.g., IAC’s dating sites range from Match.com and OKCupid to HowAboutWe and Tinder.
The company has a strong reputation in the media industry because of its long and successful history. Its portfolio features some of the world’s most recognized brands, includingThe Daily Beast, Vimeo, and Ask.com. Its websites for these properties generate two billion monthly visits from 370 million unique users in over 190 countries; further, its mobile apps have been downloaded 100 million times.
Channels
IAC’s main channel are its spectrum of homepages and the various social media websites through which it markets its offerings. The company also utilizes e-mail campaigns.
Moreover, it uses offline options to promote its brands, particularly TV advertising and public relations efforts such as events.
Customer Relationships
IAC’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service nature. Customers visit its family of websites and use its apps while having limited interaction with employees.
That said, there is a personal assistance component as it does have a team of customer service staff ready to answer questions.
Key Activities
IAC’s key activities focus on platform management. The company’s operations primarily entail managing its various web properties and their corresponding mobile apps.
Key Partners
As part of its Partnerships business, IAC works with firms in the in the media, software, and other industries to design and develop personalized browser‑based search applications to be bundled and distributed with their services and products.
It also has a high-profile partner in Google, with which it has had an agreement since 2001. Under their alliance, Google provides IAC and its partners with sponsored listings and other search-related services for display on desktop and mobile platforms.
Key Resources
IAC’s main resource is its employee base in the technical and content realms. These workers are responsible for designing its websites and writing the information featured on them. It also relies on other human resources in the form of its customer service staff.
Cost Structure
IAC has a cost-driven structure. The company limits cost through significant self-service and automation and limited personal interaction with its employees. Its biggest cost driver is selling/marketing expenses, a fixed cost that is an area of heavy investment. Other major drivers are administrative and product development expenses, both fixed costs.
Revenue Streams
IAC has three revenue streams, which are as follows:
- Subscription fees: The company derives recurring fees from its membership services (e.g., Match Group dating sites)
- Product/service sales: The company derives one-time payments from its products/services for sale (e.g., ShoeBuy and Princeton Review classes)
- Advertising: The company obtains payments for advertising across all of its online properties, particularly within the segments of Publishing and Applications.
