SEATTLE, WA - Index Newspapers, home of Seattle’s
The Stranger and
Portland Mercury today announced an expansion of their successful alt-weekly deals program Altperks. With the addition of
Cincinnati CityBeat’s brand-new storefront, Perkopolis, Altperks now boasts a network of 10 markets throughout North America.
Altperks is a white-label service offered to alt-weekly newspapers, providing weeklies with the opportunity to offer discount deals, or Perks, directly to their readers. All deals are sold by the paper’s own sales team to local advertisers and are geared specifically toward the newspaper’s readership, with the revenue going toward print and online advertising. This provides a simple and effective way for local businesses to gain new customers, buy advertising, and build business.
The Altperks team has successfully operated in multiple markets since 2009. They know how to scale the runaway growth of the deals market to a size and speed that is manageable for both local businesses and alt-weekly sales teams. As Michelle David, operations manager for Altperks, explains, "The big thing that separates us from the big deal sites is the freedom from the high pressure, high turnover, high inventory 'daily deals' model, which makes Altperks both small-business and consumer friendly."
Cincinnati CityBeat had been running an in-house deal program for some time, but chose to switch to the Altperks platform due to its tested success over multiple markets and for the efficiency provided by its alt-weekly-focused operations team.
CityBeat’s Dan Bockrath explains, "CityBeat is very excited to be the newest Altperks affiliate. We have been experiencing success with our discount gift certificate model, but really needed to take our program to the next level. The Altperks solution gives us a high-quality, easy-to-use storefront to market and sell our gift certificates, much-needed back shop fulfillment and support, and the commitment to excellence from the organization that has been a standard in our industry."
Conceived and developed in Portland in 2009, the Altperks network includes Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Bend, OR; Hood River, OR; Eugene, OR; San Diego, CA; Jackson, WY; North Idaho; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Why are alternative papers such as
Cincinnati CityBeat a good fit for the Altperks program? Mainly, it has to do with the platform being geared to a hyper-local sense of business. Michelle David explains, "Readers already trust their local alternative weekly to keep them informed on the best stores, restaurants, and places to have fun. Experienced sales teams like those at
Cincinnati CityBeat know which businesses will resonate with their audience."
What Altperks has ultimately done is garnish an innovative advertising solution that is helping publishers and publications grow in a changing market. It boasts a competitive advantage that alternative papers need, local advertisers want, and neighborhood consumers are looking for. It is a great way to grow business, attract new clientele while simultaneously giving back to loyal readers.
Altperks is smart, successful, and simple to implement.
For information email info@altperks.com or check out
altperks.com
