Other 'Stories of Extraordinary Impact' shared by best-selling author Mitch Albom and Olympian Lolo Jones; performances by Ingrid Michaelson and "Kinky Boots" star, Andy Kelso
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today held GANNETT_FRONT 2014, the company's second annual upfront event, which showcased how it is partnering in new ways to use the power and reach of its portfolio to bring innovative solutions to the advertising community. With a daily audience of 118 million, Gannett reaches more than half of U.S. adults. This year's program was built around the transformational story of Gannett and its unique ability to generate awareness nationally while also activating consumers locally.
As part of its strategic efforts to expand and diversify its business for the future, Gannett today announced three new and unique partnerships: one with The Weinstein Company, another with General Mills' Outnumber Hunger and a third with Latitude. These partnerships focus on content development, consumer activation and data insights.
The Weinstein Company partnership is a first look content deal, giving the film and television studio first consideration for programming ideas from Gannett's award-winning content. This unprecedented first look deal allows the production studio and distributor to develop multiplatform projects. The deal provides opportunities to elevate on a national and international basis editorial that appears across Gannett's vast network of trusted brands, including the iconic and award-winning USA TODAY.
Gannett's partnership with General Mills increases awareness of and engagement in their Outnumber Hunger campaign through Gannett's powerful network of broadcast, digital and publishing properties. In addition to raising awareness through editorial content and airing an Outnumber Hunger primetime concert special on April 18, Gannett will activate consumers through digital localized ads that scale to the initiative's national message.
Also highlighted was a partnership between Gannett and Latitude to extract local consumer insights from our vast portfolio of small to national businesses to help brands build more effective marketing campaigns. The 'Local Business Index' is a proprietary research panel that will help retailers and advertisers better understand their consumers' path to purchase.
In addition, The GANNETT_FRONT 2014 featured stories shared by everyone from real-life business owners to Olympic athletes who have been successful at creating national awareness while engaging their local audiences in impactful ways.
"At Gannett, our purpose is to serve our communities -- and we do it better than anyone else, by working together," said Gracia Martore, President and CEO of Gannett. "When we find partners that are like-minded and share our purpose, we are able to create the most impact to solve business problems and generate results."
Other highlights from the GANNETT_FRONT 2014 program include the following:
Meryl Poster, President of Television at the Weinstein Company, was on hand to announce a programming content partnership that will bring Gannett's powerful local storytelling to the next level. "Our deal with Gannett gives us a unique opportunity to mine new content from the community level, where powerful and compelling stories often begin. And, for advertisers, this brings unique content marketing and brand entertainment possibilities," added Poster.
Mark Addicks, Chief Marketing Officer for General Mills, discussed Outnumber Hunger, an initiative led by General Mills, Feeding America and Big Machine Label Group; and his personal story about the issue of hunger in America. "The only way to take on hunger is to outnumber it with other people -- and sometimes the companies -- who care. That's why we are so excited to partner with Gannett to get the word out across their multi-platform network and help mobilize hundreds of communities nationwide," said Addicks.
Mat Herman, Co-Founder and CEO of Apt2B, talked about how a failed appearance on the hit show 'Shark Tank' re-confirmed that the business strategy behind his online furniture business was primed to take advantage of the digital age. Herman shared how Apt2B leveraged the power of G/O Digital, a Gannett Company, as a means to connect with new customers through local digital and social media solutions.
Three-time Olympic Champion Lolo Jones – whose hometown successes were covered in Gannett's Des Moines Register - discussed the benefits of rallying your fans by connecting to them on a local level, and building a personal brand.
Mitch Albom, the best-selling author and columnist for Gannett's Detroit Free Press best known for his inspirational stories, and Toby Barlow, novelist and Chief Creative Officer for Team Ford, showcased insights on how to inspire through stories of national importance through a local lens in order to help people understand them in a deeply personal way.
"Only Gannett can mobilize audiences through our local, national and digital properties to drive impact for our partners," said Maryam Banikarim, Chief Marketing Officer of Gannett. "We are always innovating to find new ways to leverage the power of our vast portfolio for our partners' brands."
The GANNETT_FRONT 2014 opened with a performance from the Broadway box office hit, Kinky Boots, as performed by the show's lead performer Andy Kelso, and concluded with a performance of "Be OK" and "Girls Chase Boys" by indie-pop singer-songwriter, Ingrid Michaelson, who begins her next tour at the end of this month.
