ShopLocal's Innovative SmartMedia Platform Delivers Highly Localized and Targeted Promotions and Brand Messages Via the Web

CHICAGO (Map) - ShopLocal, the leader in multi-channel shopping services, today announced the addition of new robust features to SmartMedia, the company's rich media platform that delivers personalized, real-time information from advertisers' local promotions and advertisements to visitors based on their geographic location, browsing and keyword usage.

Top consumer electronics retailer, Best Buy, is leveraging the latest SmartMedia features in advertisements that will appear on CNET.com. The new online banner ads will display Best Buy's most current advertised sales and promotions, with in-depth product reviews from CNET Networks to be integrated directly into the SmartMedia ads. Best Buy joins a growing list of top retailers, including CompUSA, CVS/pharmacy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Lowe's, Macy's, Office Depot, PetSmart, Radio Shack and Staples, who have turned to ShopLocal to provide a turn-key rich media solution in creating interactive, customizable, geo-targeted online promotions.

"ShopLocal's SmartMedia takes advertising to a new level by enabling advertisers to deliver highly branded, highly targeted localized marketing messages to a vast audience of consumers across the Internet," said Vikram Sharma, CEO of ShopLocal. "And users benefit by being able to view up-to-date, in-store deals and sales from top local advertisers such as retailers, auto dealers and wireless dealers; create shopping lists; print coupons; and set up email alerts, all without leaving a publisher's site."

SmartMedia offers retailers and advertising agencies a comprehensive solution with powerful features, including geographic and demographic targeting, contextual ad serving, integrated third-party content, and brand and category searchability. With geo-relevant localization, all promotional information is targeted down to the closest retail location to the viewer, and includes store address, map and phone number. This also allows advertisers to display the right product and right price to the right consumer, according to precise locality. And by allowing the integration of third-party content such as product reviews, videos, podcasts and online games, consumers have access to more information before deciding to purchase online or at their local store. SmartMedia is served via the DoubleClick Motif rich media platform.

"Expectations of online consumers are constantly heightening, and a marketer may as well not exist if the message is not exactly what they want, when they want and how they want it," said Jeff Marshall, senior vice president/digital managing director at media agency, Starcom USA. "Highly targeted, relevant messaging in a localized online experience meets those consumer expectations, and these things are what SmartMedia brings to the table for our clients."

According to a recent report from Forrester Research, U.S. retail sales based on online research is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2012, with over 90 percent of these sales in-store. "ShopLocal is a firm believer in the power of the Internet for multi-channel shopping," said Sharma. "As consumers increasingly use the Internet as their primary shopping resource it is in the best interest of consumers and advertisers to have access to product and promotion information that is real-time, interactive, targeted and personalized."

For more information or to view an online demonstration, visit http://beta.crossmediaservices.com/demo/smartmedia/bestbuy/.

About ShopLocal

ShopLocal, the leader in multi-channel shopping services, offers a complete suite of innovative solutions that connect retailers and consumers online and in-store. ShopLocal's SmartCircular, SmartCatalog and SmartMedia services enable retailers to reach their customers anywhere on the Internet with highly targeted, locally versioned offers and promotions. ShopLocal's multi-channel shopping site, shoplocal.com, provides consumers choice and control in their shopping experiences by offering the most comprehensive selection of timely online and in-store offers on consumer electronics, apparel, groceries, and more, on one easy-to-use site.

ShopLocal's customers include many of the nation's leading retailers, including Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, CVS and Sears. ShopLocal powers multi-channel shopping for hundreds of newspaper Web sites and other leading shopping sites, such as Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Arizona Republic, Google and SuperPages.com. ShopLocal is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB). For more information, visit http://www.shoplocalllc.com.

ShopLocal, ShopLocal.com, SmartCircular, SmartCatalog and SmartMedia are trademarks of ShopLocal. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link.
Vikram Sharma
http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=55894