MCLEAN, Va., March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) today held the GANNETT_FRONT 2013, the company's first-ever upfront-style event designed to showcase the power and reach of its portfolio to the advertising community. The event highlighted that Gannett is more than a media company: today's Gannett is focused on connecting and activating its audiences to help advertisers create deeper connections and drive greater sales.

"We have transformed our portfolio of assets and for the first time, all of our properties and products are working together," said Chief Marketing Officer, Maryam Banikarim. "With our national reach, deep local connections and data driven tools, we know we can connect and engage audiences like no other media company."

The GANNETT_FRONT 2013 also featured insights from several leaders from the worlds of politics, music and sports who shared their expertise on how they've connected communities locally, virtually and through passion points.

• Michael Slaby, former Chief Innovation and Integration Office for Obama for America in both 2008 and 2012 discussed how digital media is reinventing what it means to live local. "Everything has to be about integrating technology into what you do, but making the bridge to offline action is fundamental," said Slaby. "Because of social media, we are more connected in more ways than before. People are both producers and consumers of information."
• Troy Carter, founder and CEO of Atom Factory and Lady Gaga's manger, discussed how he connects fans virtually around shared interests and described his thoughts on how to get people engaged and mobilized. "The fans themselves have built the community and we just provide the tools to connect them," Carter said of littlemonsters.com, Lady Gaga's dedicated social fan micro-site. "The idea of this community was to get true engagement and we focused on the quality, not the quantity."
• Steve Phelps, CMO of NASCAR, and Brian Vickers, NASCAR driver, talked about how they build communities through passion points, like auto racing. "For us, engagement is critical and if we are not engaging with your passionate fan base then we are nowhere," said Phelps.  "Our fan base is very large, very passionate and very loyal. They support the products and services that support the drivers."

In over 100 markets, Gannett connects 3 out of every 4 people, and with USA TODAY reaches 8 out of every 10 people across the United States. Through Gannett, advertisers can reach and activate people nationally and locally with scale.

"Now more than ever, Gannett is focused on partnering with marketers to develop unique media and marketing solutions and custom tools to help them drive sales," said Mary Murcko, President, National Sales. "Our unique national-to-local approach, our diverse digital solutions and our trusted content affords marketers an indispensable opportunity through which they can connect with their customers."

The GANNETT_FRONT 2013 concluded with a performance by X Factor finalist Caryl Rose Sonenclar, who is from Westchester, NY, one of Gannett's 100 + local markets.

About Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is an international media and marketing solutions company that informs and engages more than 100 million people every month through its powerful network of broadcast, digital, mobile and publishing properties. Our portfolio of trusted brands offers marketers unmatched local-to-national reach and customizable, innovative marketing solutions across any platform. Gannett is committed to connecting people – and the companies who want to reach them – with their interests and communities. For more information, visit www.gannett.com.

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SOURCE Gannett Co., Inc.