The Alternative Weekly Network (AWN) has re-launched its website awn.org and re-branded itself more closely reflecting its grass-roots-driven alt weekly-based origins.
Sarah Billingsley, an advertising executive whose experience at several alternative weeklies brought her to AWN two years ago as Ad Coordinator, has been named Communications Director for the Alternative Weekly Network. In addition to becoming an AWN Director where she now coordinates the 95-member advertising cooperative’s national sales efforts, Sarah assumes additional responsibilities associated with the long-time position held by John Morrison who left the company in March.
After nearly 14 years apart, the Alternative Weekly Network (AWN) and the Sacramento News & Review are once again sharing office space, as AWN has moved into the News & Review's new green building. "We are returning to where it all began," AWN executive director Mark Hanzlik says. Hanzlik adds that in addition to the physical move, the company is currently retooling the AWN website, and upgrading some of the operational processes of the cooperative.
CL's publications in Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Charlotte and Sarasota have joined the company's Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper as members of Ruxton, according to a press release issued this afternoon by Village Voice Media's national advertising firm. Under the arrangement, Ruxton will serve as Creative Loafing's exclusive representative for national print advertising and also will provide non-exclusive representation for online advertising.
The new venture, called MediaX Partners, is a national advertising and marketing solutions company that will focus on "the creation and management of integrated media programs that use the power of a fully-integrated print, online, radio, mobile and promotions platform," according to a press release. "With major brands now looking for, and expecting, streamlined network buys, creative solutions and more value for their buy, the timing has never been better for AWN to leverage its experience and take the lead in this 'new media' world," Phoenix Media/Communications Group president Bradley Mindich says. The group will be open to all AAN members, not just those currently served by AWN.
The websites represented by the cooperative now represent 8.735 million unique visitors monthly, AWN says in a release. That's an increase of roughly 200 percent over last year. AWN now handles national sales for 91 AAN member websites, as well as the sites for many non-AAN newsweeklies and magazines. "It's nice to see this kind of growth in our network, whether it's from increased visitors on alt-weekly sites, or by adding additional sites to our cooperative network," executive director Mark Hanzlik says. "Either way, we're now making an impressive imprint in the digital world, and can now take our product to market more effectively."
