Ad Network For Detroit Area p.20

By: Editorial Staff 21ST CENTURY NEWSPAPERS, which recently purchased three dailies, two groups of weeklies and two buyers guides in Michigan, has formed the Greater Detroit Newspaper Network, an advertising network targeted to suburban Detroit.
Frank Shepherd, president/CEO of 21st Century, projects $25 million in billings this year from advertisers who will be able to purchase space in a group of area papers with a single buy at rates Shepherd called the lowest cost per thousand in the market for run-of-press and inserts.
The network represents three dailies Shepherd purchased in 1997: the Macomb Daily, Oakland Press and Daily Tribune of Royal Oak. Weeklies in the network include the Advisor and Source papers, the Lapeer County Press and its group and the Sanilac and Lapeer County buyers guides, its most recent acquisitions. The company says it reaches 625,000 households and 1.5 million readers on Sunday.
The cluster of papers blankets six Michigan counties, including Oakland, which Shepherd called the third richest county in America, and 170 Zip codes, which can be bought individually or as a package.
The Greater Detroit Newspaper Network will be headquartered in Royal Oak and headed by Tina Waelichli, regional advertising director, who will supervise a staff of eight sales reps. The network will also operate a research facility to generate market data.
Shepherd says the network provides thorough coverage of suburban Detroit, while the jointly operated Detroit News and Detroit Free Press concentrate on the city and Wayne County.
The Detroit Newspapers' penetration in Oakland County "is only 10 percent. They don't have much outside their core market," Shepherd said.
The Macomb Daily and Oakland Press grew during a bitter strike against the Detroit papers, and "we've held onto those gains for nearly two years," Shepherd said. He said he is seeking other acquisitions to expand the network and wants to reach 1 million households by the end of this year.
"In effect, we let the people who are in favor of the maximum amount of
flamboyance try their ideas out."
?(? John Craig, editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)[Caption]
?(E&P Web Site: http://www.mediainfo. com)
?(copyright: Editor & Publisher January 17, 1998)