Mountain View, CA-based Zip2 Corp., a
provider of Internet solutions
for media companies, launched the “Internet Start “advertising program
designed to help local newspapers boost their online business by tapping
already established print advertisers.
The benefit to advertisers is a cost-effective means of establishing an online
presence, driving qualified traffic into their stores, Zip2 said. Zip2 fosters
Web-enabled local commerce, connecting consumers with local merchants.
“In today’s market, traditional local businesses need to be online to
participate in the electronic commerce revolution,” said Elon Musk, founder
and executive vice president of Zip2. “With Zip2’s Internet Start Program, our
newspaper partners can offer their print advertisers an easy, low-cost way to
take that first critical step.”
Local newspapers participating in the Internet Start program may immediately
begin offering an expanded online listing in the Zip2 business directory to
their print advertisers. The advertisers receive a detailed listing of their
business on the Zip2-powered sites, including details such as hours of
operation and credit cards accepted.
Once advertisers are established online through the Internet Start Program,
local newspapers can help them expand their online presence by creating full-
blown Web sites to be linked to the Zip2 business directory.
“Having a critical mass of advertiser sites in the directory linked to the
local newspaper site has the same effect as clustering complementary
businesses together on the same block,” said Bruce Murray, vice president of
marketing at Zip2. “Everyone’s site benefits from the jointly generated
traffic.”
Media companies running their online enterprises on the Zip2 platform include
The New York Times, Knight Ridder, Morris Communications, and newspapers
in
the Hearst, Times Mirror, Media General, Pulitzer Publishing and Freedom
Communications chains.