Chicago Sun-Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Time Out Chicago, Time Out New York and Metro International Join Verve’s List of Over 140 Local Media Partners
SAN DIEGO – Verve Wireless, the leading provider of mobile publishing technologies to local media companies, today announced that the Chicago Sun-Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Time Out Chicago, Time Out New York and Metro International have partnered with Verve, joining the family of over 140 local media properties including eight of the largest media properties in the U.S. Verve’s local mobile network now covers the top 200 designated market areas across America. Additionally, Verve launched a new mobile couponing application for publishers that utilizes location based technologies, LBS.
Verve is a wireless technology developer that provides applications and services to local media companies and publishers. Using Verve’s proprietary publishing and mobile advertising system, these local content partners can extend their communities and readership onto mobile phones as well as utilize their local ad sales teams’ knowledge and existing relationships with local businesses to offer mobile ad solutions. National brand advertisers can leverage Verve’s ad platform to target mobile consumers based on a variety of targeting parameters ranging from regional down to a hyper-local neighborhood level.
The new mobile couponing application enables local publishers to offer their advertisers another way to reach customers. The application is based off the success of Verve’s SMS push alerts, but incorporates new functionality as well as advance targeting features that use location based technologies. Advertisers can send out coupons based on a variety of options, including time of day, neighborhood radius, user’s present location, and context, among others. And just like a print coupon, users will be able to redeem the coupon at the place of business.
“We have community businesses that have been advertising with us for years, and they are always looking for ways to drive customers into their place of business. They are embracing mobile advertising because it compliments their other advertising efforts, it can be measured and it is comparable to other marketing methods that they are familiar with,” said Tim Repsher, managing director of mobile product & business development for Media General. “They see how a mobile coupon campaign delivered at a precise time, to a specific area and audience generates real store traffic.”
Unlike other mediums, such as print and desktop online access, mobile can leverage a person’s location and the “always-with-you” nature of a mobile phone to provide frequent, consistent and immediate access to news and information. New data from Verve shows users are accessing news from the network consistently throughout the day beginning at 7 a.m. and growing steadily until 10 p.m. Users are accessing news just as much, if not slightly more, during the weekend than any given day of the week.
“Each day people look to any one of the tens of thousands of local media organizations for news, updates and guidance in local affairs,” said Art Howe, chief executive officer of Verve Wireless. “For these local publishers the mobile medium offers an insurmountable opportunity for brand expansion coupled with a new lucrative advertising revenue stream.”
Other Verve Wireless milestones:
* To date, traffic on over 1,000 local mobile sites managed by Verve Wireless is growing at a rate of more than 375% per month.
* Verve Wireless’ network has 1 million average daily page views
* Verve has served over 1.5 million local mobile ads
About Verve Wireless
Based in Encinitas, CA; Verve Wireless, Inc., and their proprietary Verve Local Content Gateway(TM) allow local media companies and advertisers to seamlessly extend their reach into mobile devices across all the major carriers. Verve Wireless currently works with leading media companies from across the country including dailies, radio, and local broadcast stations. For more information visit http://www.vervewireless.com.
