Gleaner's 'First Look' website pulls advertisers

ADVERTISING AGENCIES, companies and public relations firms that liaise with The Gleaner will soon be able to get their releases out quicker. This is with the media company's website, First Look.

The site was introduced to agency representatives at The Gleaner's Advertisers' Appreciation and Agency Awards luncheon on Tuesday by Managing Director Christopher Barnes. "On this website, www.GoFirstLook.com, you are now able to upload your releases for a small fee which is waived for an introductory period, and get your news in front of many eyes," he explained.

He said the website will provide a place where consumers can conveniently search for news and information that may not have made the news. "Our aim with First Look is to, very quickly, become the site that even other media houses look to, to browse for the latest news releases," he said. Members of the online team were on hand to answer questions about the emerging site.

Barnes later revealed that The Gleaner's BlackBerry app, launched in June 2011, was being upgraded. The app was a Caribbean first and has more than 55,000 downloads, almost 90 per cent of the visits being local. He pointed out that this would be a captive market for clients of advertising agencies. "As we speak, our BB app is being modified to increase the ad carrying capacity, so sign up quick so as not to miss out on what is a great marketing opportunity," he suggested.

Barnes noted that others already advertising on the app were seeing early benefits. He also assured the representatives that the company would be offering commercial opportunities for the various video offerings that have been created since The Gleaner's media integration initiative began.

More pleasurable

"We have pushed out more audio, more videos, more pictures, more latest news online ... to make our readers quest for information that more pleasurable," he said. Barnes also said The Gleaner is looking to increase its Twitter and Facebook following. "There is again untapped potential to engage with the consuming public. We have strategies in place to grow our following significantly and we will increasingly be using social media more to push the brand." Despite the boom in digital consumption, Barnes remained confident that print will remain a staple for Jamaican news consumer. "There is still a large market in Jamaica that likes to feel paper between their fingers; a lifestyle choice (that is) to them more convenient, more accessible."