Creative Loafing Group selects Drillbit as database development partner
by the Drillbit Staff  1/14/02

DETROIT, MI - Tampa-based Creative Loafing Network, the southeast's leading chain of alternative newspapers, has selected Drillbit/DesertNet as its content management and product development partner. Drillbit is a Detroit-based firm specializing in niche publishing solutions for the alternative press.

"Creative Loafing is very excited to enter the world of database publishing," says Neil Skene, Creative Loafing's senior vice president for editorial and interactive media. "The Drillbit platform is an essential part of our plans for future growth. Using database publishing and the online products in the Drillbit suite, we expect strong growth in new products built around our comprehensive, authoritative listings and reviews of things to do in our communities."

The perpetual term agreement will provide Creative Loafing with a fully managed publishing solution for its growing markets in Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Tampa Bay. The package includes DesertNet's Dispatch content management database for events, stories, people and locations; Drillbit's award-winning Metropolis™ Web site products (including interactive club, restaurant, musician and event directories); and a full suite of automated exports for print.

"Creative Loafing really appreciates the full value of our platform," says Drillbit President Tom Woodman, "We're looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship."

"From our very first conversation, I knew that Drillbit and Creative Loafing shared the same strategy about publishing and developing electronic products in the digital age," says Skene, whose experience in electronic publishing goes back to 1987. "And Drillbit was not just selling a platform but working closely with us to create financially successful businesses." He expects the first Drillbit-powered product to be launched in November in all four Creative Loafing markets.

A key component of the partnership will be the creation of new revenue streams. "Technology is just a tool," notes Woodman, "That's why our business goal is to create products that readers love while meeting the evolving needs of advertisers." Drillbit's technology-driven advertising campaigns have already won several long-term advertising contracts for Detroit's Metro Times.

"By organizing our content from the point of collection in a way that supports multiple publishing channels," notes Creative Loafing's Skene, "we can broaden our reader base while communicating with valuable niche audience segments — a critical component to increasing ad share in today's business climate."

Drillbit will also work with Creative Loafing to streamline the company's production process, and to develop new Web and print products.

"We have found a very like-minded partner with Creative Loafing," says Woodman, "And we're excited to be an important part of their future."