Drillbit builds niche ad campaign for Detroit Metro Times: signs Detroit Institute of Arts to yearlong contract
by the Drillbit Staff  6/29/01

DETROIT, MI - Drillbit, a firm specializing in niche publishing solutions, recently developed an innovative cross-media ad campaign for Detroit's Metro Times alt-newsweekly. The campaign - called GET DEEP - reuses existing content to engage the niche readers that advertisers value most.

"Truth is, today's alternative newspaper readers have an extremely wide variety of interests," says Drillbit president Tom Woodman, "Our GET DEEP campaigns allow advertisers to reach just the readers that care about their products."

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) - one of the country's most respected art museums - has already signed an exclusive yearlong agreement to sponsor the campaign's DEEP ART component. "DEEP ART talks directly to local art lovers," says Woodman. Future GET DEEP components will serve blues fans, jazz aficionados and other distinct communities within the Metro Times readership.

The hallmark of GET DEEP is an integrated blend of both Web and print. For example, the DEEP ART campaign starts with DIA-branded print ads. "We use print to tell the paper's entire readership about Metro Times' comprehensive online arts calendar," notes Woodman. "Meanwhile, Web visitors see actual DIA events whenever they search for arts-related things to do."

Due to the campaign's highly targeted nature, Metro Times is handpicking its ad partners. "Unlike standard print ads, each business gains an exclusive connection to a specific community," says Woodman. "It's a win-win situation for everyone," adds DIA Group Director of Communications Annmarie Erickson, "With DEEP ART, the DIA can talk directly to Metro Times' arts audience - and they're the very same people looking to hear about our events."

Metrotimes.com was built using Drillbit's award-winning Metropolis™ and DrillPress™ products. "Our Web site now allows us to communicate directly with specific portions of our readership," says Metro Times publisher David Jost. "We couldn't have sold the DEEP ART campaign without it." "We're really proving a point with this campaign," notes Woodman, "From a revenue standpoint, we're showing that a newspaper's Web site is far more valuable as a niche builder than as simply a way to put content online."