Real Media to Partner With Business Week Online

Real Media Inc., which operates a network of branded local content sites for national advertisers, said it formed an exclusive relationship to syndicate Business Week Online’s guide to personal computers to newspaper Web sites.

The guide, entitled “Maven,” is operated by NSTL, which independently tests laptops, notebooks, printers, modems and PDAs, resulting in an unbiased buying guide for business and individual buyers.

Newspapers, which can co-brand Maven’s content, will receive the guide free as well as half of the site’s advertising inventory to sell locally. Business Week will retain the other half of the ad inventory, which will be sold by Real Media’s sales force.

“This is clearly a win-win relationship,” said Real Media President Dave Morgan. “Newspaper Web sites will get a first-class buyers guide co-branded with the entrusted Business Week name to add to their technology coverage, plus free ad inventory that should be very attractive to locally based high tech businesses. Meanwhile, we will be driving higher traffic to Business Week Online.”

Real Media said this is the first time it leveraged its relationship with the newspaper industry’s online community to syndicate content. Previously, Real Media distributed content only as part of vertical sites built to help advertisers reach specific target audiences.

“The relationship provides us with the opportunity to extend Business Week technology coverage to a larger audience,” said Business Week Product Development Manager Terri Kahan.

New York City-based Real Media Inc. is a global Internet advertising sales and marketing company. Its network of more than 500 media Web sites (called REACH) can be aggregated on a regional, national or international level to deliver audiences for online advertisers. Real Media’s SELECT program builds content- specific national sites that aggregate large audiences with shared affinity interests.