Dive Brief:
- Publisher Meredith Corp. bought digital ad partner Grocery Server.
- The move comes during a year of acquisitions for Meredith, including Fit Pregnancy, Shape and Natural magazines.
- Through this consolidation of publishing and advertising, Meredith is expecting to deliver improved metrics for brands, thereby luring in potential new ad deals.
Dive Insight:
Meredith Corp. is continuing a year of acquisitions with the purchase of Grocery Server, a digital advertising group specializing in delivering location-based ads for food and retail. The two companies had a relationship dating back to last spring beginning with geo-targeted ads on AllRecipes.com that led visitors to nearby retailers with food on sale from the ingredients list. Earlier this year Meredith acquired a number of women’s magazines, including Shape, Natural and Fit Pregnancy.
Senior Vice President of Meredith Digital Marc Rothschild told AdWeek, “We've proven through a relationship with folks like Nielsen that we are able to drive people in store more frequently. They're buying more in the food category, but then they're also buying a bunch of other stuff while they're in there."
Details regarding how much the buy cost Meredith were not disclosed, but the Meredith SVP did explain that the way Grocery Server works, will allow magazines push native ads sales.
About the recent acquisitions, Rothschild said, "This helps us complete that story by delivering more purchase-intent metrics for our brands."