From ClickZ. Full story here

Yahoo's partnerships with newspaper publishers - including one of its biggest scores, Gannett - are chugging along. The company continues to consider new ways of working with its so-called consortium of local media partners. For instance, as Gannett begins testing Yahoo's ad management system, Yahoo is exploring expansion of the relationships into the daily deals space.

"We continue to talk with the leaders of the consortium about lots of opportunities, and the deals space is certainly one," said Lem Lloyd, VP of Yahoo's Newspaper Consortium, during a talk with ClickZ News late last month. "I wouldn't be surprised if you see something along those lines later this year."

Yahoo already partners with daily deals providers like Groupon, LivingSocial, and Gilt City for its "Local Offers" channel.

"To the extent that opening up more traffic and distribution can enable [newpaper partners] to accelerate growth in the daily deals category, Yahoo is an attractive partner for them," said Lloyd.

Gannett Digital owns properties in the local retail arena such as shopping circular provider ShopLocal and CouponClipper.com. It told ClickZ in December it has tested its own social commerce programs pairing local advertisers with consumers seeking nearby deals.

But Yahoo's newspaper partnerships are entrenched in display advertising. Yahoo gradually has been integrating partners like Gannett onto its APT ad management platform, the roll out of which has sputtered since its unveiling in 2008. For instance, while Gannett initially planned to begin testing APT late last year, the company only just began in the last few weeks, according to Jack Williams, president of Gannett Digital Ventures.

The hold up was due to a series of upgrades Yahoo made to the system - some that would have affected the integration with Gannett. The publisher decided to wait to begin training employees on APT until the upgrades were complete. "Otherwise ...we would be duplicating the work," said Williams.

Despite the hiccup, one Gannett paper site has been converted and another is in the works. In all, the firm will test "several" paper sites and one TV site in about four markets, Williams said. For now, Gannett is using the platform to manage the Yahoo inventory it sells to broaden the reach of its audiences for local advertisers.

Companies like Gannett use the platform to view available inventory by advertiser segment in their DMAs - for instance, luxury SUV buyers in Phoenix. From there, they can create ad packages for clients. Gannett is assessing various aspects of the platform, including inventory management, ease of use for ad input, and ad trafficking.

When Yahoo finally signed Gannett as a partner in July 2010, it was a significant win for the company. Yahoo had already aligned with around 40 newspaper publishers as part of its newspaper consortium, representing around 800 paper sites. Today, Yahoo counts its newspaper partner sites at closer to 900 (the Gannett deal brought in over 80 sites, adding new local markets for Yahoo), and has incorporated broadcast television sites from partners including Media General, Freedom Communications and Gannett. Although the Gannett deal is very similar to that of Yahoo's other newspaper partners, technically Gannett is not a part of Yahoo's Newspaper Consortium.

"Probably 80 to 90 percent of our markets are well ahead of the [projected] numbers," said Williams.

During Gannett's Q4 2010 earnings call last month, the company reported, "the partnership is working as planned," and said 39 sites - just about half - are selling Yahoo inventory, and "several" others plan to complete the setup process by the end of March. In addition, Gannett said all of its seven targeted broadcasting markets have launched the Yahoo program, culminating recently with Arizona's KPNX and its azcentral.com site.

That setup process involves training local Gannett sales staff on how to sell Yahoo inventory. "We train them on Yahoo behavioral targeting and Internet advertising, and trends that we're seeing," said Lloyd.

Though the broadcast sites Yahoo works with have lots of video content, the company is only serving display ads around that content at the moment, rather than in-stream advertising. For Gannett, that could change down the road, according to Williams. "I don't know why we wouldn't consider that if it's feasible," he said.

Also in the future, Gannett could consider using the APT platform to serve its own inventory. "That's a longer term process," said Lloyd, "That's really more up to them."

It looks like this is going to become an ongoing theme of concern for newspapers. Coupon sites like Groupon continue to grow at astounding rates, offering advertisers another option and, presumably, depleting  marketing budgets off the businesses who use them. The secret to their success - advertisers pay for results, not impressions. Mediabids' per inquiry program (www.mediabids.com) has had success in measuring the results produced by publications and  paying publications based on measured calls. Will daily newspapers see the light and begin to offer a program that competes with Groupon and the other coupon/group buying sites? I guess we have to wait and see but if classifieds (Craigslist,), real estate (realtor.com) and employment (Monster.com) are any indication, I wouldn't bet on it.  Full story here.

Consumers Seek Online Coupons in November

Coupon sites ranked as the top gaining US web category for November 2010, according to [pdf] new comScore MediaMatrix data. A record 44 million Americans visited a coupon site during month, up 40% from October 2010. Groupon ranked as the number coupon site with 10 million unique visitors (up 54%), followed by CouponCabin.com with 8.8 million visitors, representing a 400% increase from the prior month. Coupons, Inc. came in third with 6.4 million, while BlackFriday.info saw 5.4 million, up nearly 1,000% month-over-month. RetailMeNot.com rounded out the top five coupon sites with 5 million visitors, up 20%.

 

ChicagoShopping.com - a website operated by the Chicago Tribune - announced a partnership today with Groupon

Full story in The Chicago Tribune here

The recently launched ChicagoShopping.com announced a partnership with Groupon, a shopping website that offers a daily deal on the best local goods, services and cultural events in more than 300 markets around the world.

ChicagoShopping.com, a product of the Chicago Tribune Media Group, will feature one new local deal each weekday on the site’s homepage.  The ChicagoShopping deal-of-the-day powered by Groupon is a unique offer exclusive to the Chicago Tribune Media Group. 

“If you like Groupon deals, you’ll now like them twice as much,” said Belinda Englman, General Manager of ChicagoShopping.com.  “By registering at ChicagoShopping.com, you’ll have the option to sign up to receive the exclusive Groupon offer in addition to the feature Groupon highlights on their website each day.  It’s the ultimate opportunity for Chicagoland deal-seekers.” 

"We're excited to offer something special to users of ChicagoShopping.com just in time for the holidays," said Sean Smyth, vice president of business development at Groupon. 

With ChicagoShopping.com, Chicagoans can enjoy fantastic value, flexibility and convenience with access to discounts on hundreds of offers from thousands of their favorite brands.

 “We’re connecting with Chicago deal seekers and shopping enthusiasts to help them find a smarter way to shop,” said Englman.  “For our advertisers, ChicagoShopping.com is yet another solution within Tribune Media Group’s portfolio to expand their reach in the local market.  Apart from providing our advertisers with a new vehicle to extend their current advertising offerings, ChicagoShopping.com also represents a unique opportunity for Chicagoland’s small businesses to reach relevant audiences at the hyperlocal level.”

In addition to ChicagoShopping.com’s Deal of the Day powered by Groupon ChicagoShopping.com lets you personalize your shopping experience and stay informed of exclusive VIP shopping events. Instead of presenting thousands of options with no search customization, once you sign-in, ChicagoShopping.com will find the best deals for you that fit your needs - from deep discounts on your favorite brands to limited time offers from thousands of stores and more. The site also features relevant editorial content focused on shopping tips and advice.