The Local Onliner: Topix Provides Localized Ads Via ShopLocal

July 12, 2006 -- Topix, the news aggregator owned by Tribune, Gannett and (probably) McClatchy, is teaming up with ShopLocal to distribute its retail ads to users on hyperlocal basis. ShopLocal, a provider of onliner circulars and other local ad services, is owned by the same consortia. “They have the pricing information and we have the impressions,” said Michael Markson, Topix’s VP of Business Development.

The first customer for the service is WalGreen’s, which has 5,000 drugstores around the country, and frequently has different promotions for different locations. The ads, which have been branded as “Smart Media” by ShopLocal, are sold on a premium CPM basis.

Initially, the ads will be served by zip code to users of Topix’s local news aggregations. More than 50 percent of Topix’s seven million unique visitors access local news. Eventually, Markson says the service may be expanded to reach all its users, since Topix can identify users by location, whether or not they are checking out “ Tallahassee news,” “The World Cup,” or “Diabetes.”