New study from Classified Intelligence

Editors: Jim Townsend and Peter M. Zollman of Classified Intelligence are available for interviews or more information. See below for details

Local publishers that aggressively respond to Craigslist can maintain strong classified advertising products despite the fast growth of the powerful free-advertising Web site, a new study by Classified Intelligence reported.

The study, based on almost 18 months of research, followed classified advertising services in 12 markets in the United States and Canada, beginning when Craigslist launched sites in those markets. The goal was to determine what happens to paid-ad volumes when free-ad Craigslist enters a market.

The 31-page report, ìCompeting with Craigslist: Local publishers show how,î was released today. Itís a follow-up to two earlier reports by CI, ìCompeting with Craig: Strategies and tactics for battling Craigslist and its counterparts,î published in 2004, and ìFree classifieds: They’re all the rage, but where’s the money?,î published in 2005. Todayís report includes 36 charts showing ad volumes in each of the markets studied.

ìHow can a paid-ad publisher compete with ëfree?í Thatís a question weíve been asking, and trying to answer, for the last three years,î said Jim Townsend, editorial director of Classified Intelligence. ìBy carefully tracking Craigslist and its local competitors, and interviewing classified advertising executives in markets where Craigslist launched new sites, we found ways several publishers stayed in the game ñ while publishers who didnít respond to this new competition lost market share.î

The study tracked ad volumes on Craigslist and several local sites, including the leading local newspaper. It found that Craigslist grows rapidly in the merchandise category, which is integral to traditional classified advertising publishers because of the ìcommunityî factor it brings to their print editions or online sites. Craigslist grows more slowly in the real estate and recruitment categories, the other two tracked by CI, but still overtakes traditional advertising in some markets.

While Craigslist won listings almost immediately after launch in the 10 English-language markets CI studied, ìit was essentially dead on arrival in the French- and Spanish-speaking markets we tracked,î Townsend said. Even so, the report estimates, Craigslist will generate $40 million to $50 million in revenue in 2007 from the handful of large markets in which it charges nominal fees for certain ad classifications.

ìWhile we looked at 12 markets, the lessons we learned apply anywhere,î Townsend said. ìTo compete with Craigslist, traditional publishers have to be aggressive, offer services to their advertisers that Craigslist canít match, and build local audiences through a wide range of tactics that we recommend in this report.î

The markets covered in the study: Baton Rouge, La.; Greensboro, N.C.; Ithaca, N.Y.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Mobile, Ala.; Montgomery, Ala.; Pensacola, Fla.; Puerto Rico; Quebec City, QC, Savannah, Ga.; Toledo, Ohio, and Victoria, B.C.

The report is available for sale through the companyís Web site, ClassifiedIntelligence.com, and was distributed to Classified Intelligence clients as part of the companyís continuous advisory service.