Prepress
Paris-Normandie turns to ad self-service with Atex solutions
Wednesday 29. April 2009 - The French daily, Paris-Normandie, part of Group Hersant Média, selected Atex AdBaseE to offer a new digital sales channel for classified ads
Atex, the worlds largest and longest serving provider of print and digital solutions for media companies, announces the successful roll-out of the first installation of Atex AdBaseE in France for ad self-service booking. AdBaseE enables Paris-Normandie to create a new sales channel and generate new revenue streams, whilst maintaining tight control over the advertising production process.
Paris-Normandie is a local daily, part of Group Hersant Média (GHM), the leader in local news in France. In addition to local daily newspapers, GHM is a leader in the distribution of classified freesheets, and operates local TV and radio stations. The group selected the Atex AdBaseE solution to implement a new creative way to package ads through the web for its newspapers in Normandy.
One of the main goals of this project is to outsource and automate production in a particular market segment: the booking of obituaries. The web portal service offered by the newspaper is open to private parties, as well as funeral homes and agencies. Thanks to the Atex-powered functions associated with submitting and supporting ad composition, the risk of mistakes, which is a very sensitive matter, is considerably reduced, and there is significant improvement in the way production deadlines are managed. Furthermore, by providing this Atex offering through a web portal, new opportunities for ad placement are available 24×7.
In addition to full service availability, agencies can view and adjust orders at any time, enabling them to offer a quality product to their customers. Based on assisted procedures, this online solution allows customers to select the section of the publication, and the categories, add photos and graphics, choose a rate, and even print a receipt. Agencies can also easily answer relatives questions and control their budget.
Mr Michel Lépinay, Chief Executive Officer of Paris-Normandie, underlines: “With this new Atex solution for ad self-service, we involve customers in the ad creation process, offering them a new service they can appreciate. Beside this process, we considerably optimize our production practice. In a few weeks we have established a new sales channel for this kind of product, so important for local newspapers.”
“This is a great achievement for our company”, said Christian Darroy, Country Manager of Atex France, “Its the first successful installation of Atexs AdBaseE in France. Several newspapers are already interested in self-service classified ads. This project confirms our commitment to improving both processes and business opportunities for our customers. Considering the current situation in media industry, we believe that one of the main challenges for newspapers is how to get an immediate return on investment for new technologies. The high flexibility of Atex solutions like AdBaseE will gives us the chance to support publishers and to promote new business models in line with market demands.”