Zvents' Local Push Is One to Watch

Author: Ken Doctor, Affiliate Analyst

“Local” has long been the newspaper companies’ turf. The web has partly unraveled that long-standing relationship as Yahoo!, Google, AOL, MSN, Topix, and others all produce local sections and increasingly try to attract local advertisers. Start-up Zvents, three years old, now powers more than 150 US newspaper websites’ “local events” sections, with more than 100 additional sites in the pipeline. It’s the biggest local events vendor for the US regional newspaper industry, and is preparing to launch a new “paid listings” product in April 2008. That enlarges the definition of local events to include advertising itself. Outsell believes the new product, built on Zvents’ existing base, demands the attention of publishers eager for internet ad growth in their local communities. This report takes an in-depth look at Zvents and contains:

- Company highlights, including history, product and business models, and target markets;
- Details of the competitive landscape, including threats and opportunities;
- Analysis of what factors make Zvents unique;
- Essential actions for News publishers that want to pursue a “local” strategy.