Associated Northcliffe Digital launches hyperlocal social sites

Associated Northcliffe Digital (AND) has launched the first phase of its hyperlocal sites, rolling out 23 local community sites in South West England.

Local People

The Local People network of sites is targeted at towns such as Falmouth and Bideford with a population between 10,000 and 50,000.

The sites encourage the local community to chat with each other and write and publish their own stories relating to local issues.

In May, Seamus McCauley, strategic analyst at Associated Northcliffe Digital, said the local newspaper publisher would launch an initial 30 sites in June, targeted at towns which have no local paper or site (nma.co.uk 8 May 2009).

A further 20 plus sites will be rolled out in the South West throughout the summer.

Roland Bryan, strategy director at Associated Northcliffe Digital, said, “The sites will complement the existing network of local and regional media and for the first time will create a genuinely user-generated approach to local content, giving people an online forum to discuss and debate relevant issues with other locals, and shape opinion in their community.”

AND will drive users to the network through search and online display advertising, and across as well as marketing across DMGT.

This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk