Commitment to Digital Reinforced with Next Generation Websites

Northcliffe Media Reinforces Commitment to Digital With Roll Out of Next Generation ‘thisis’ Websites

• 10 sites go live today with further 79 to be completed by mid-September
• Improved performance and stability combined with advanced SEO and user generated content (UGC) ensure best possible end user experience
• Advertisers set to benefit from enhanced network of ‘thisis’ sites covering all Northcliffe Media’s UK regions

London: 17th June, 2008

Northcliffe Media, regional news and information publisher and part of DMGT (Daily Mail General Trust), continued the roll out of its portfolio of next generation websites with the launch of 10 sites today. The latest sites form part of the company’s plans to roll out 90 next generation websites under the ‘thisis’ brand across its regional network. The programme, which combines the evolution of Northcliffe’s current 55 ‘thisis’ sites with an additional 35, spans the company’s entire regional network. The next generation sites introduce evolutionary design changes and enhanced multimedia content aimed at maximising interaction with end users.

The 10 ‘thisis’ sites that go live today include www.thisisTotalEssex.co.uk, www.thisisDerbyshire.co.uk  and www.thisisCornwall.co.uk and these will be joined by a further 79 throughout the summer, which cover a mixture of urban, regional and hyperlocal sites. One site is already live – www.thisisHullandEastRiding.co.uk – which was the pilot for the UK roll out and completes the total of 90. Content from Northcliffe’s pureplay jobs, motors and property partners (Jobsite, Motors.co.uk and Findaproperty) will be fully integrated into the new sites to provide users with a combination of local news, information and classifieds. New technology is being used to ensure maximum stability and performance and to incorporate industry leading SEO standards.

All of the next generation websites will incorporate extra elements to encourage user generated content – Northcliffe’s websites already receive more than 200,000 votes, story comments and community postings every month and a key aim for the company is to keep driving this figure up. In January, Northcliffe launched its first UGC site – www.thisisYourMail.co.uk in Hull – allowing users dedicated interaction with other local residents.

The new websites also offer advertisers an opportunity to capitalise on an ever expanding ‘local digital’ audience. Recent research from Survey Interactive showed that Northcliffe Media’s combined web and print monthly audience has now passed 4.7m, which will increase further following the next generation site roll out. It also found that Northcliffe’s network of local websites can deliver an advertiser an additional 27% ‘solus online’ reach over and above the existing newspaper audience. Combined with the additional reach, the new sites will carry several new commercial slots in better positions and a range of innovative ad formats aimed at maximising advertiser response rates.

Mike Rowley, Director of Digital for Northcliffe Media said: “Digital strategy is vital for Northcliffe’s growth and through the new sites we will not only be offering improved content and functionality for end users but also a great opportunity for advertisers to target these growing online communities. The recent integration across our local network of our pureplay jobs, motors and property partners now provides an even more compelling service for local audiences wanting to access news and information as well as local classified information.”

“By driving traffic to the sites through increased levels of multimedia content we will help advertisers maximise response rates, which is a crucial element of our strategy moving forward.”

The next generation website roll out will continue throughout the summer of 2008 with all 90 sites set to be live by mid-September.

-ENDS-
 
Notes to Editors
 
The ten sites that go live today are:

www.thisisDerbyshire.co.uk
www.thisisBelper.co.uk
www.thisisIlkeston.com
www.thisisSouthDerbyshire.co.uk
www.thisisGloucestershire.co.uk
www.thisisStroudToday.co.uk
www.thisisTheForest.co.uk
www.thisisCornwall.co.uk
www.thisisTotalEssex.co.uk
www.thisisPlymouth.co.uk

Press contacts for Northcliffe Media :
Nelson Bostock Communications
Nick Clark - nick.clark@nelsonbostock.com / 020 7792 7464
Bethan Thomas – bethan.thomas@nelsonbostock.com / 020 7792 7425

Northcliffe Media
Director of Marketing, Northcliffe Media – Sean Mahon, sean.mahon@northcliffemedia.co.uk
 
Northcliffe Media
Northcliffe Media has built upon its role as one of the UK’s largest regional news publishers and established itself as a fully integrated multimedia information provider in order to best serve its audience.

Operating from multiple publishing centres it publishes in excess of 100 newspaper titles each week and operates a growing network of 56 local media websites. The company continues to grow rapidly throughout Europe, with major publishing interests in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia.