Daily Deal News: Gannett Launches Groupon Clone In The Crowded Daily Deal Market

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Joop Rijk

The latest entry in the crowded daily deal market, dominated by Groupon and LivingSocial and a host of other recent entries, including Google, Facebook and AT&T is publisher Gannett. The newspaper chain announced Tuesday it is expanding nationally a daily online deals business they initially launched in 10 markets, including Cincinnati, OH; Detroit, MI; Indianapolis, IN; Knoxville, TN; Nashville, TN; Phoenix, AZ; Reno, NV; Rochester, NY; St. Louis, MO; and Washington, DC. Gannett expects to introduce the service to over 50 additional markets in the US by the end of the year.

Gannett’s strategy is to push the daily deal service in the local media it owns, both online and traditional using the considerable local sales force of its newspaper and broadcast properties that knows the local markets, the communities, and their respective needs.

Deal Chicken is similar to other online daily deals services. People sign up to get a daily email that alert them to specific discounted deals for area retailers or restaurants. The discounts are then activated based on the number of subscribers who purchased the coupon. Gannett takes a 50% cut – although it varies – and passes the rest on to the merchant.

With Deal Chicken, Gannett is trying to diversify its revenue base beyond print advertising. The publisher of USA Today and 81 other U.S. daily newspapers has been battered by a downturn that has been particularly tough on its industry. Source

About Joop Rijk

Joop Rijk, president and founder of Advanced Media Productions, did his formal studies in the Netherlands, getting an undergraduate degree in prepress technologies and typography from AGS of Amsterdam. He started his career in the newspaper industry at the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Handelsblad in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and moved to Product Marketing and Business Development in the US with Atex, Apollo/HP, Bitstream and DuPont/Imagitex. For over 14 years he has led Advanced Media Productions into becoming a leader in Internet Marketing and Web Development understanding both the digital media landscape, online market trends and the needs of businesses who want to play a key role on the Internet. View all posts by Joop Rijk →