PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Eagle this week is launching Talon Media, a full-stack digital marketing agency, which will become a division of New England Newspapers Inc.
Think of Talon Media as a matchmaker for both local and national businesses to connect to a carefully chosen pool of potential customers online.
It will help businesses define target markets and launch creative advertising campaigns in the digital world. Simultaneously, Talon Media’s business clients will receive access to a dashboard that is updated every 24 hours showing the metrics of these campaigns.
Gary Lavariere, The Berkshire Eagle’s chief revenue officer, will be Talon Media’s managing director, overseeing a fleet of 25 staffers that he hopes will expand.
Gary Lavariere, chief revenue officer of The Berkshire Eagle.
While some businesses in Talon Media’s pool of clients may choose to advertise in The Berkshire Eagle and its sibling publications, that may not be the case for others and is not a prerequisite or expectation for businesses seeking Talon Media’s services.
“It's really what we call extended network, or programmatic placement,” Lavariere said. “It doesn't essentially matter where it shows up. It's just really based on the ideal demographic that customers are looking to target.”
In a way, Talon Media’s mission isn’t new to the advertising and business staff of The Berkshire Eagle. For the past decade, the two departments have worked with hundreds of businesses in Berkshire County, the tri-state area and beyond to develop strategies for advertising on the Internet.
What’s changing are the breadth, type and sophistication of online advertising options. As potential digital partners expand — with the addition of streaming TV, for example — Talon Media will analyze and strategize for its clients.
“Our hope would be to work with hundreds of clients on a regular basis,” he said. “Really having them trust us to be the sole digital solutions provider for them, that would be our goal.”
In framing these highly targeted campaigns, Talon Media will be able to reach niche markets and alternative ones, such as cannabis, tobacco and casinos.
On Talon Media’s website there are case studies showing success, including a gym that gained 73 members in a competitive market and a one-month campaign that delivered nearly 1,500 impressions to a ski area’s lift ticket sales package.
“We offer incredibly transparent reporting for our clients,” he said, adding that monthly reports are typically sent to businesses showing the number of impressions and clicks. “We have an actual live reporting dashboard. Clients can go in and transparently see how their campaigns are performing.”
They will be able to see “where we're targeting, what websites the ads are serving on, and exactly what conversions they're getting from these campaigns — on a 24-hour basis.”
In the past year, New England Newspapers has launched BerkshiresWeek.com, a free entertainment website, and The B, a quarterly magazine.
Fredric D. Rutberg, publisher and president of The Berkshire Eagle, explained how Talon Media fits in with the mission of New England Newspapers.
“News gathering and distribution is an industry in America that is under serious financial stress,” Rutberg said. “Anything we can do to relieve that stress is good for the company adding it.”
Each initiative, he said, contributes to making The Eagle “strong and stable.”
For more information, please visit Talonmediaagency.com or contact Lavariere at 413-496-6347.