AdStar Technology allows Austin American-Statesman to Merge Print and Online Recruitment Ad Sales

AdStar, Inc, the provider of e-commerce transaction software and services for the advertising and publishing industries, today announced that the Austin American-Statesman has selected AdStar’s Web-based ad transaction technology to power the publication’s recruitment classified advertisement sales. The Austin American-Statesman, which is owned by Cox Newspapers, Inc., will use AdStar’s XML Gateway to allow advertisers to self-publish recruitment advertisements in both print and online versions of the newspaper through the Web site, www.statesman.com.

AdStar recently announced a similar contract with Cox Newspaper’s Dayton Daily News, and the company also powers recruitment ad sales for Cox’ flagship newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). AdStar’s technology allows advertisers to create ads online using a variety of formatting and enhancement options; schedule the ads for publication in the print and/or online versions of the newspaper; and pay for the ads using AdStar’s e-commerce services.

The Austin American-Statesman is a marquee customer for us, and this new relationship will strengthen our position as the leading provider of e-commerce sales and service for the newspaper industry, stated Leslie Bernhard, president and chief executive officer of AdStar, Inc. Our relationship with Cox Newspapers has continued to strengthen during the past couple of years as the implementation of our technology has boosted sales of classified advertising products and services at the AJC. Cox Newspapers continues to recognize the value of integrating print and online ad strategies, and as a result, we are now working with the Dayton Daily News and Austin American-Statesmen. We are pleased with the results at the AJC and look forward to experiencing similar success with other Cox newspapers.

AdStar’s services will enable the newspaper’s Web site to offer advertisers a variety of pricing packages for a combination of print and online products. In addition, advertisers will be able to go online and instantly recall, change and/or schedule the re-publication of previous ads in future editions of the newspaper.

Started in 1914, the Austin American-Statesman has a daily circulation of more than 177,000 and a Sunday circulation of more than 226,000. Cox Newspapers, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, produces 17 daily and 25 non-daily newspapers that reach 1.2 million readers each weekday and more than 1.6 million on Sundays.