APN selects Wave2 Media Solutions for Real Estate Self Service Advertising

APN News & Media has turned to Wave2 Media Solutions to supply its new generation real estate self-service advertising system.

Real estate advertising is a key part of APN’s business in Australia and New Zealand and relationships with the real estate industry are continually being fostered by innovative partnerships and initiatives. Terry Kirkland, Programme Director at APN Australian Regional Media, said APN had considered a range of systems for its real estate self-service advertising.

“After a comprehensive process of technical assessment, system demonstrations and visits to Wave2 users in the UK and USA, we believe the Wave2 platform best suited our requirements,” Mr Kirkland said. “We see Wave2 as a strategic supplier that can deliver a trans-Tasman solution upon which to build for the future, and look forward to working with the team on the development and rollout of the new system.”

It was important for APN that the chosen solution met the requirements in both Australia and New Zealand.

APN’s existing systems required a boost to customer experience in terms of functionality, efficiency and scalability. Due to the geographic spread of the regional businesses the solution needed to be low maintenance in terms of ongoing training, as well as a simple and useful tool for customers.

At the heart of the real estate system is the Wave2 Publishing Platform (W2PP) which builds ads for both print and online delivery.

W2PP is a platform independent, highly scalable and automated system that incorporates its own powerful rules engine. Given a set of styles and design rules, it automatically constructs a multi-channel document – from a single advertisement to a multi-page document such as an advertising flyer or newsletter.

W2PP incorporates Adobe’s InDesign Server to achieve rich creative output and to provide the customer with an easy template system for both print and online applications. The addition of the Wave2 Rich Media Engine optionally extends the capability to Adobe Flash formats for animations and video.

APN has also licensed the AdPortal and Inventory modules, this combination will give real estate customers a powerful yet easy to use interface through which they can create their full and multi-page ads. Whilst AdPortal is Wave2’s complete website for self service advertising, Inventory enables the real-estate agent to efficiently manage large volumes of property. This combination removes the boundaries between print and online, saves cost by automating the creative process, and helps drive new revenue by offering services to the publisher’s customers.

2 Wave2 Media Solutions managing director Chris Hodges said: “We are delighted to be working with APN on its real estate production needs for its market leading newspapers and web sites. We believe the system will help save costs and generate revenue for one of the region’s major companies.”

About APN

APN News & Media Limited [ASX, NZX:APN] is the largest media company in New Zealand, where it owns The New Zealand Herald, the country’s largest newspaper. APN is the largest radio and outdoor advertising operator in Australasia as well as one of Australia’s leading regional publishers. In Asia, the Company has market leading Outdoor positions in Hong Kong and Indonesia. APN has been listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since 1992 and on the New Zealand Stock Exchange since 2004.