The Orange County Register has called off a venture with rival the Los Angeles Times to deliver advertising inserts.
The Register now plans to go it alone.
The move comes two months after the Times announced another distribution deal with Advo Inc. of Connecticut. That deal touched on Orange County and several other markets covered by the pact between the Times and the Register, said Keith Gilpin, director of direct sales at Freedom Orange County Information, the Freedom Communications Inc. unit that publishes the Register.
“It complicated our agreement,” Gilpin said of the Times’ deal with Advo.
He declined to give specifics.
The Register called it quits after 17 months with the Times. The pact was a multiyear deal, Gilpin said.
“We feel now we’re in more control of our destiny on what we offer to our customers,” he said.
The Register’s new local advertising insert program, called “OC$aver This Week,” starts July 20 and 21, about a week after the pact with the Times’ winds down.
Freedom moved on its plans as to not lose advertisers to the Times and Advo, according to Gilpin.
“Clearly, we don’t want that to happen,” he said.
The Register plans to bring distribution and packaging of preprint advertising inserts in-house by next year and likely will hire people to handle the work, Gilpin said. He didn’t say how many.
Previously, the Times handled those operations at its facilities.
The Register’s effort is designed to give insert advertisers more “flexibility” in delivery and households they want to target in OC.
“This new program gives us the opportunity to more readily adapt to their changing targeting objectives,” Gilpin said.
OC will be the program’s “niche,” according to Gilpin.
“Southern California, in general, is the most competitive market in the country for insert delivery,” he said.
The new program will reach the same, and, in some cases, more OC households than the Register’s old pact with the Times, Gilpin said. Nearly 1 million homes will be reached, he said.
About half of the inserts will be delivered with a newspaper. The rest will come through the mail.
Inserts will come on top of the Friday edition of the Register delivered to homes. Non-subscribers will get them on top of local community papers or via direct mail on Thursdays and Fridays.
Freedom still expects to see “double-digit growth” in direct mail sales despite the changes, according to Gilpin.
“It’s a shift in gear for us midyear,” he said. “But we’re still planning for a big year and strong growth.”
Freedom Buying?
In other news, Register parent Freedom Communications could be among possible bidders for Los Angeles newspapers owned by La Jolla-based The Copley Press Inc.
The papers are the Daily Breeze, Palos Verdes Peninsula News, The Beach Reporter and More San Pedro.
The Daily Breeze recently reported that Copley is “exploring strategic alternatives” that could result in the company selling its South Bay publications.
Scott Flanders, chief executive of Freedom Communications, told the Daily Breeze he doesn’t comment on potential transactions and declined to say whether his company was interested in buying Copley’s Los Angeles papers.
Flanders said he had a “great deal of respect for the readership and circulation and advertising base that has been built by these properties, particularly in the face of stiff competition from the L.A. Times.”
Freedom recently bought a TV station formerly owned by L.A. Times parent Tribune Co. in Albany, N.Y., and is considering other acquisitions, Flanders said.
“We are interested in growing in Southern California, but only in markets that are contiguous to our existing markets,” Flanders told the Daily Breeze. “We are looking at other properties both in Orange County and in Southern California.”
Creative Lab Adds Work, Worker
Lake Forest-based Creative Lab hired a new worker after picking up several accounts.
The marketing shop said it beat out other local agencies in a review for work for The Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach.
Tony Serna, vice president of creative for Creative Lab, said the shop has done work for Hilton before, including helping promote the remodeled Hilton Costa Mesa.
“The Waterfront is looking for even better results,” Serna said.
Creative Lab also recently walked away with advertising and marketing work from The Credit Union Direct Lending and expanded business with American Express Inc.’s travel division.
Creative Lab initially was tapped for one project for American Express, Serna said, and expanded to a campaign spanning multiple markets.
“The success of the first piece quickly established our relationship,” he said.
Creative Lab hired Cecile Gualberto as a new account executive to handle the new business.
The shop gave its own marketing a face-lift.
Creative Lab recently redid its logo, business cards and Web site, Serna said.
“Our old site had numerous pages to click through,” he said. “The goal was to get to our home page and have all the information you’re seeking right there.”
El Pollo Loco Pushes Summer Item
Irvine-based El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. is spreading the word about a summer menu item, tequila lime chicken.
The Mexican fast-food chain launched a multimedia campaign, which includes TV and radio spots, to promote the chicken.
El Pollo Loco’s campaign features English and Spanish language commercials, as well as marketing materials for the restaurants, including roof banners and window stickers.
