Rival Australian newspaper publishers Fairfax Media and APN News & Media have agreed on an alliance combining Fairfax’s online classified advertising with the print classified sections of 90 regional daily and local newspapers published by APN in Queensland and Northern New South Wales.
The deal, bandt.co.au reported, will allow Fairfax to promote its classified websites – Drive.com.au, Domain.com.au and Mycareer.com.au – to advertisers in regional areas where the company does not publish a newspaper. For APN the deal gives its local and regional advertisers a national reach. Classified ads will appear in print in all newspapers published by APN under the Drive, Domain and MyCareer brands, and online on the corresponding Fairfax websites.
The details: [Link]
Fairfax chief executive and managing director, Brian McCarthy said, “This is a very significant agreement for our two companies, giving our clients the opportunity to partner with Australia’s leading publishers. “This will allow APN to offer to a vast number of local and regional advertisers access to Fairfax’s world class digital platforms, and thereby extending their reach nationally for the first time.”
Fairfax and APN advertisers will be able to bundle print and online advertising, while they will also continue to be able to buy online-only or print-only classified ads.
APN chief executive officer, Brendan Hopkins, said, “We already offer great print solutions to classified advertisers in our local markets – now we can offer them an online product with a vastly extended reach. We expect both advertisers and consumers to benefit from this alliance through potentially better monetization and stronger innovation for advertisers and a more engaging and personalised experience for consumers.”
The deal includes APN’s regional Queensland and Northern NSW publishing footprint, from Grafton to Far North Queensland, and includes the metropolitan Brisbane market within the employment category. The Coffs Coast region, where APN and Fairfax publish competing newspapers, will be excluded.
