WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS…

In difficult economic times, it’s tough enough to stay afloat never mind growing your company. Particularly, if the primary industry you serve—publishing—is in a state of economic turmoil. Yet it’s under those exact circumstances that Wave2, a Westborough-based software solutions company, grew its customer base and hosted services business by 400 percent in the first quarter of 2009, the best quarter since the company opened its doors in the U.S. back in 2006.

The catalyst for Wave2’s success is the iPublish AdPortal — a Web-based application that automates the creative process for creating on-line Flash and print display ads. Essentially, Wave2’s software enables advertisers to create their own ads, with no assistance from a publisher’s creative staff.  

Publishers have traditionally lived off highly profitable print advertising from recruitment, autos and real estate. As publishers’ revenue from their traditional print sources declines, the challenge is to find new advertisers and develop new online, Web-based advertising products. Wave2’s iPublish AdPortal hosted service enables publishers to offer both print and on-line display ads to the thousands of small businesses in their circulation areas. This greatly reduces sales costs and eliminates production costs, enabling publishers to market deeper into the small business community. 

“Publishers have great brand awareness in their local markets and typically host websites that serve up more page views than any other site in their local circulation markets. They also offer the greatest variety of cross media ad products that are ideally suited to a small business owner,” said Brian Gorman, Wave2’s vice president of sales. “Unfortunately, most publishers find their current sales model can not sell products effectively to this market and they’ve had a difficult time capitalizing on their on-line brand awareness.    AdPortal is a totally web based ad selling system that is open 24X7 and enables them to sell their complete advertising product line from print display ads, on-line listings for a marketplace, on-line display and even search packages.” 

At present, Wave2 has signed contracts with many of the nation’s leading newspaper chains; Belo, The Boston Globe, Freedom Communications, Hearst, McClatchy, Media News Group, New York Times Regional Group, and Lee Enterprises. All of these chains have or will be shortly launching self-service advertising sites and will offer the complete line of print and on-line ad products through iPublish AdPortal.  Many of these publishers chose Wave2 as the only vendor out there who can deliver this solution. 

iPublish AdPortal runs on top of the Wave2 Publishing Platform. The W2PP is not limited to serving strictly the newspaper industry and Wave2 sees dramatic growth opportunities outside publishing.  The software incorporates a patent-pending, highly scalable and powerful rules engine, which gives the user the capability to create everything from simple printed display ads to complex multi page inserts to brochures to animated interactive advertising—all within the style guidelines that the company presets. This makes it possible for non-skilled business owners within a company or corporation to create collateral materials—and meet with compliance standards—with relative ease.

“One of the reasons we’re primed for continued growth throughout the rest of 2009 is because this Platform makes even more sense for large companies with a large independent sales forces who have to create their own collaterals,” said Gorman. “With the Wave2 Publishing Platform, they have the means to create attractive collateral materials that meet the rules of compliance and stay within the company brand.”

For more information on Wave2’s Publishing Platform and other media solutions, please visit http://www.wave2media.com or call their U.S. office at (508) 366-6383.

About Wave2

Wave2 Media Solutions Ltd was founded in the United Kingdom in January 2004, and has established itself as the leader in self-service advertising in the UK publishing market. In 2006, Wave2 opened a US office in the Boston area, located at 114 Turnpike Road in Westborough, Massachusetts. Wave2’s software is in production or under contract at many leading newspapers across the U.S., including: The Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, Bay Area News Group, LA News Group, New York Times Regional Group, Orange County Register, Raleigh News & Observer, The Sun News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Riverside Press-Enterprise and San Francisco Chronicle. Today Wave2 is realizing the fastest adoption rate of any provider of self-service solutions in the US newspaper market. 

For more information on iPublish AdPortal, Wave2’s Publishing Platform and their other solutions, please visit http://www.wave2media.com or call their U.S. office at (508) 366-6383.