LookSmart Launches Print Advertising Campaign

San Francisco-based LookSmart, a category-based Web directory, launched a year-long print advertising awareness campaign targeting potential Web site partners, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and media buyers.

A series of full-page advertisements begins this week in The Industry Standard and Red Herring followed by advertisements in Business 2.0, Upside, AdWeek, AdvertisingAge, BrandWeek, MediaWeek, Boardwatch and Inter@ctiveWeek. Spending was not disclosed.

“This advertising campaign will increase awareness that LookSmart delivers a high-quality audience for advertisers, and unique co-branding opportunities for our potential partners and ISPs,” said Val Landi, vice president of marketing and media services for LookSmart.

Created by San Francisco-based Rathje Chadwick & Company, LookSmart’s advertising agency-of-record, the advertisements feature the word “Look” to leverage the strength of LookSmart’s name and to build awareness of LookSmart as an alternative to other Web sites.

The ads targeting Web site partners convey the key advantages of partnering with LookSmart versus “You-know-whoo” and other sites, while the ads targeting media buyers communicate LookSmart’s ability to reach a high-quality, female- skewed audience.

LookSmart hosts what it calls “the world’s largest editorially reviewed database of Web content” with 800,000 site listings in 24,000 categories.