Local Media Consortium and Local Media Association Announce Applications Available for Facebook-Funded Branded Content Project

Project will help local media expand and improve branded content programs through funding grant

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Feb 05, 2019, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Local Media Consortium (LMC) and the Local Media Association (LMA), two of the local media industry's most innovative organizations, have announced a call for applications, inviting media organizations to apply to participate in a pilot project focused on helping local newsrooms develop revenue streams through branded content. Through an innovative partnership between the LMC and the LMA and funded by the Facebook Journalism Project, this branded content project will provide grant money to 3-5 organizations that have achieved some success with their branded content program to expand their program while increasing revenue.

For more information and to apply, local broadcast, digital and print media companies can visit the application page. The application will close on March 1.

Branded content uses the strength of storytelling to provide a valuable benefit to advertisers while increasing audience engagement and revenue for local media publishers. This powerful revenue stream has shown to be a success for many media organizations. The branded content project is designed to help facilitate additional growth, engagement and success for more publishers of all shapes and sizes.

"Research has shown that good branded content can have a positive emotional impact on people and ultimately improve ROI for brands, advertisers and media companies," said Branded Content Project Lead Julia Campbell. "As local media companies explore new revenue streams, we are excited to be able to help the selected applicants expand their branded content programs and potentially increase revenue and audience engagement."

The branded content project is part of a $1 million investment from the Facebook Journalism Project to help more than 2,000 local newsrooms across both the LMA and LMC membership better understand, develop and implement revenue streams through branded content both on and off Facebook.

For this project, branded content is defined as any sales initiative that uses content to engage the user and is paid for by a client who participates as part of the content, helps supply the content or sponsors the content that is distributed across any platform. Native advertising articles, social videos with a sponsor tag or element, product placement, sponsored live events, sponsored collections of stories or paid video segments are examples and included inside our definition of branded content.

About the Local Media Association
The Local Media Association is a thriving and innovative association that serves local media companies (newspapers, TV, radio, directories, digital news sites, and more) as well as research and development partners in the industry. LMA assists local media companies with the digital transition via cutting-edge programs, conferences, webinars, research and training. They are intensely focused on helping local media companies discover new and sustainable business models. Learn more at http://localmedia.org.

About the Local Media Consortium
The Local Media Consortium is a strategic partnership of leading local media companies focused on increasing member companies' share of digital revenue and audience by pursuing new relationships with a variety of technology companies and service providers. The LMC was founded in 2013 to address the needs of advertisers seeking to reach high-quality audiences on brand safe local digital properties at scale. In addition, the LMC provides members with access to leading technology and content solutions by fostering key partnerships with companies including Google, Monster, Facebook and others. LMC membership encompasses more than 80 local media companies in top markets across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and includes more than 2,200 outlets. The LMC audience footprint currently spans 160 million unique monthly visitors and its member companies serve more than four billion pageviews to readers. More information is available at www.localmediaconsortium.com.

Media contacts:

Christina Gilham, 646-868-5174
[email protected]

Kristin Brocoff, 949-400-4899
[email protected]

SOURCE Local Media Consortium