JEGI Represents Travidia in Sale to Media Consortium
New York, Nov 17, 2011 A consortium of eight leading media and publishing companies – Advance Digital, A. H. Belo Corporation, Cox Media Group, Gannett Co., Hearst Corporation, MediaNews Group, The McClatchy Company, and The Washington Post Co. – today announced the formation of a joint venture in connection with the launch of a common online shopping platform to help advertisers reach consumers making purchasing decisions.
This new venture includes assets from its acquisition of Travidia, a leading developer of online shopping solutions, including Find n Save, a full‐service shopping platform for local media affiliates. Christopher Tippie, an industry veteran who was the founding executive director of the Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium, will serve as acting CEO of the new joint venture. The new company will adopt the Find n Save brand. Financial terms of the Travidia acquisition were not disclosed.
The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (www.jegi.com) of New York, NY, the leading independent investment bank for the media, information, marketing services, and technology sectors, represented Travidia in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor.
“This initiative among the countryʹs leading media companies and publishing brands provides advertisers a unique opportunity to reach consumers through a simplified and standardized advertising platform. Advertisers can target audiences across participating local newspaper markets through digital display ads or with digital circulars,” said Mr. Tippie, who served as consultant to the effort. “By leveraging the existing expertise of Travidia, we are able to offer our local and national clients a consistent, easy‐to‐deploy advertising solution.”
With todayʹs announcement, advertisers can reach 19 of the top 50 local markets, and the new company plans to add another 21 of the top 50 local markets within the next four weeks. Find n Save affiliation is available to any local daily newspaper in the U.S. By the end of 2012, Find n Save will be in place at an estimated 250 newspapers. By the end of 2013, an estimated 400 newspapers are expected to be Find n Save affiliates.
Discussions also are under way with several other media companies that have expressed interest in joining this new venture.
“We have enjoyed working with these world class media brands for years and applaud their efforts to come together to solve their customers’ needs and drive more traffic to our clients’ stores and online circulars,” said Christopher Cope, CEO at American Communications Group (ACG), the second largest print media agency in the U.S., representing such national retailers as JCPenney, Michaels and Belk.
The Find n Save platform is tailored to local audiences, offering digital coupons, daily deals, digital circulars, and other advertising products designed and managed by the local affiliate for maximum impact. Specialized Find n Save solutions, such as “Search Boost,” “Advertiser Landing Pages” and “Featured Offers” will also help advertising clients meaningfully connect with local shoppers.
Christian Hendricks, McClatchyʹs Vice President for Interactive Media, said, “We have been rolling out Find n Save across McClatchy’s markets since late last year. It is a powerful and efficient platform that has proven to be highly effective in linking advertisers and consumers. Our advertisers have realized important benefits and immediate value in using this consistent digital platform.”
Matthew Spahn, President and CEO of planitretail, an agency for Radio Shack and other major retailers, said, “Circulars continue to be a key driver of traffic in today’s retail environment. By creating this joint venture, these eight media companies are affording advertisers a unique, scalable and turnkey solution for
local consumer engagement across all platforms – print and digital.”
About Advance Digital
Advance Digital, based in Jersey City, NJ, is a leading creator of highly interactive, online communitybased news and information web sites created in alliance over 25 newspapers affiliated with Advance Publications Inc. For more information, visit www.advance.net.
About A.H. Belo Corporation
A. H. Belo Corporation, headquartered in Dallas, TX, is a distinguished newspaper publishing and local news and information company that owns and operates four daily newspapers and a diverse group of web sites. For more information, visit www.ahbelo.com.
About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Atlanta‐based Cox Enterprises, is an integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. For more information, visitwww.coxmediagroup.com.
About Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. is an international media and marketing solutions company that informs and engages more than 100 million people every month through its powerful network of broadcast, digital, mobile and publishing properties. For more information, visit www.gannett.com.
About Hearst Newspapers
Hearst Newspapers is the operating group responsible for Hearst Corporation’s newspapers, local digital marketing services businesses and directories. For more information, visit www.hearst.com.
About Media News Group
MediaNews Group, Inc. is the nationʹs second largest newspaper company as measured by circulation, with headquarters in Denver, CO. For more information, visit www.medianewsgroup.com.
About McClatchy
The McClatchy Company is a leading news and information provider, offering a wide array of print and digital products in each of the markets it serves. For more information, visit www.mcclatchy.com.
About The Washington Post
The Washington Post is an award‐winning news source that provides reporting and analysis about the politics, policies, personalities and institutions that make Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.washingtonpost.com.
About Travidia
Travidia, Inc. is a leading provider of Internet marketing management and digital advertising publishing services for top newspaper companies and their local advertisers. For more information, visit www.travidia.com.
About The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc.
The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI) of New York, NY is the leading provider of independent investment banking services for the media, information, marketing services and technology sectors. Since 1987, JEGI has completed more than 500 high‐profile M&A transactions for global corporations; middlemarket and emerging companies; entrepreneurial owners; and private equity and venture capital firms. For more information, visit www.jegi.com.
