MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Postmedia Network Inc. (“Postmedia”) today announced the launch of the new Montreal Gazette, the second title to be reimagined as part of the Company’s bold four platform strategy. Featuring innovative and fully-differentiated products across the four platforms of print, web, tablet and smartphone, the new Montreal Gazette redefines the way news is produced, presented, consumed and monetized.
“Postmedia Reimagined is a game changing strategy, attracting the attention of the media world. It represents two and a half years of investment, the direct efforts of hundreds of employees across the country and the indirect efforts of thousands. We are incredibly excited to offer a more relevant, meaningful and engaging experience to readers, and to offer advertisers the unique ability to target their customers across four distinct, complementary platforms,” said Wayne Parrish, Chief Operating Officer, Postmedia.
The four platform strategy reflects the fact that Canadians consume different information on different platforms throughout the day, and each of these platforms - print, web, tablet and smartphone – attracts its own distinct audience. Leveraging Postmedia’s deep, data-driven intelligence about its audience of more than 10 million Canadians, these products will each provide increasingly customized news and information to their readers. Advertisers in turn will be able to engage more deeply with their specific customers, creating a dynamic new media experience.
While Postmedia Reimagined is still in its early stages, preliminary results from the launch of the Reimagined Ottawa Citizen in May 2014 are very positive. Average daily unique visitors across the three digital Ottawa Citizen platforms (web, tablet and smartphone) have grown 18% to 1,082,000 unique views between May and July 2014. Audience engagement has been very encouraging with the average user of the tablet consuming more than 13 pages per day and the average smartphone user consuming more than 20 pages per day.1
“We are blazing a trail in North American media and playing a long game. We are pleased with the results in Ottawa and look forward to the feedback from Montreal, but the real story will be told when all our brands and our audiences across Canada can experience the four platform strategy,” said Paul Godfrey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Postmedia.
All four products will continue to evolve based on a fluid and dynamic feedback loop between audiences and advertisers. The Reimagined Montreal Gazette will offer the following distinctive features:
- The print edition will have a brand new look and feel, with a greater focus on local content and more context.
- Montrealgazette.com will be faster and device-responsive, making it easier to navigate and share stories through social media.
- Smartphone content will be crisp, updated frequently throughout the day and delivered in small bites.
- The tablet app for iPad offers a rich, touch and explore multimedia experience for users to dive into, delivered at 6 pm each weekday.
“This is one of the most ambitious transformations in the 236-year history of the Montreal Gazette,” said Lucinda Chodan, Montreal Gazette editor and Postmedia’s vice-president of content for eastern Canada. “We are tremendously excited about being able to engage with our readers in deeper and more meaningful ways on all of our platforms,”
Following Montreal, the Reimagined Calgary Herald is set to launch on November 25, 2014, with more brands to be rolled out across Canada over the next 12-15 months.
Notes:
1 Source: comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform
Report, August
About Postmedia Network Inc.
Postmedia Network Inc., a
wholly owned subsidiary of Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (TSX:PNC.A,
PNC.B), is the largest publisher by circulation of paid English-language
daily newspapers in Canada, representing some of the country’s oldest
and best known media brands. Reaching millions of Canadians every week,
Postmedia Network engages readers and offers advertisers and marketers
integrated solutions to effectively reach target audiences through a
variety of print, online, digital, and mobile platforms.
To access visuals and other information regarding the launch please visit the Reimagined FTP site: https://ftp.postmedia.com/
User: Media Access
Username: mediaaccess
Password: WAedcy2
*The media access account is set to expire November 5, 2014.
