22 November 2009 Newspapers & Technology
www.newsandtech.com
MediaNews Group rolled out its new-
est niche publication, Live Green, Sept.
20, inserting the 16-page circular into
dailies in 29 markets.
Live Green is part of MNG's Live Better
series, which will also include
another publication, Live to
Share, that will be distrib-
uted Nov. 22, said Peter
Vandevanter, MNG's
vice president of tar-
geted products.
As its name
suggests, Live Green
focuses on topics
related to environ-
mental consciousness
and sustainable living.
The first Live Green seg-
ment reached 3.8 million
readers throughout the
markets. MNG plans to
produce the publication twice a year, in
the spring and fall.
"The model is the same in all
markets, but they each sell their own
local advertising," Vandevanter said.
"All papers do special sections, but we
needed something that was broader,
but still compelling, in order to launch
a niche product."
MNG creates a 16-page template
that the group's dailies access via an
FTP server and produce at their own
site. Editorial content is created by De-
nise Gee, MNG's editorial director for
targeted products. Sue Tracy and Kris
Carber, MNG's San Jose, Calif.-based art
director and managing editor, respec-
tively, round out the production team
for the Live Green series.
"We're using talent from within
to do this and then we also buy some
content from syndicates," Vandevanter
said.
The product appeals to MNG's
papers because there are no extra pro-
duction costs associated with printing
the publication; instead, the product
can be run within the paper's normal
press run.
"This product allows us to use the
assets of our company well," Vandevanter
said, "Because we have a lot of papers we
can create these types of things."
The success of this type of product
is a "sign of the times," Vandevanter
said, and it was a sure bet that a publi-
cation focused on green living would be
widely appealing.
"Times are changing," he said.
"This has a lot of appeal and it gave our
markets new breadth."
So, too, will Live To Share, he
believes. That segment, slated to be
produced once each fall, will focus on
ways to contribute to the community
through charitable giving.
"It's becoming more common that
people have stopped giving to their
401(k) plans and started giving back to
their communities," Vandevanter said.
All told, Live Better pubs might be
produced as many as six times per year,
Vandevanter said, although MNG has
not yet finalized plans for the series.
Unique advertising opportunity
Because individual papers sell their
By Tara MCMeekiN editor
MNG rolling out niche series in 29 markets
C
H
EC
K
O
U
T
M
Y
D
IG
ITA
LN
EW
SPA
PER
Snap-and-send vs. quick-response technology
denver-based spyderlynk for the past three years has been developing the next-generation of
interactive advertising with its snapTags. The tags have been integrated into advertising sells by
publishers including mediaNews group.
snap Tags offer major differences compared to quick-response, or Qr barcodes, accord-
ing to Jane mcpherson, vice president of marketing and communications for spyderlynk.
"our technology is not a pregenerated code, but a code built around a brand logo,"
she said. "The brand icon or logo is fundamental to advertisers and editorial because
it creates an identity or icon that readers recognize. Companies spend a ton of
money on their logo, so if they can make their logo interactive they're essentially
making their core identity interactive."
snapTags' snap-and-send technology allows readers to take a photo of a tag
contained in an advertisement. unlike Qr codes, the snapTags do not require the
reader to download an application in order to use them, mcpherson said.
when received via mms messaging, the encoding around a logo triggers
a predetermined response. a logo can have many different codes and each
code combination provides the opportunity for unique tracking. logos and
codes can also deliver a unique message back to the potential buyer.
"This gives advertisers two shots," said peter Vandevanter, mNg's vice presi-
dent of targeted products. "They can brand and send a message."
Niche continued on page 24
LIVE BETTERSeries
LiveBetterSeries.com
2
1
Snap a
photo
Send it to: 949.331.8147
or green@snaptag.mobi
Getthepicture:

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40 Produced by PageSuite