DealSwarm Puts Cox into Group-buying Business

Atlanta-based Cox Media Group is introducing a Web-based group-buying discount program called DealSwarm, which will soon offer bargain hunters in Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Dayton, Ohio, and Seattle online discounts of 50% or more on local dining, entertainment and other services from some of the most popular local businesses.

Cox publishes daily newspaper in Atlanta, Austin and Dayton and owns KRIO television in  Seattle.

Customers can quickly register at www.dealswarm.com to receive daily e-mail alerts about discount offers in their area. In the next few weeks, daily DealSwarm deals will be available for purchase.

The DealSwarm site will give customers access to local retail discounts not found elsewhere, according to Cox, and will help local advertisers and businesses promote themselves to existing and new customers. DealSwarm is scheduled to roll out in other major markets nationwide throughout 2011.

DealSwarm makes money from customers who buy vouchers for deals featured on the site, sharing revenue collected from the sale of a voucher with the merchant offering the discount associated with the voucher.

"Different from others in the group-buying space, our local media properties in each DealSwarm market bring unprecedented marketing power with established readers, viewers and listeners," DealSwarm Vice President David Shipps said in a statement. He added that business partners benefit from the promotional opportunity without upfront costs.

Cox will promote the program on its radio, TV and newspaper Websites, Facebook applications and Twitter accounts in each market and through their respective e-newsletters on the day that deals are available. Additional exposure will come from some on-air advertising.

Cox Enterprises' Cox Media subsidiary is an integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. With $1.8 billion in revenues, company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 86 radio stations, four metro newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. It also owns and operates Valpak, a large direct-marketing company.