» The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that it is extending its Enlace brand into the Tijuana market. Starting last Friday, EnlaceExtra, a weekly Spanish-language publication filled with event listings and entertainment information for the San Diego region, was delivered to 100,000 upscale households in Tijuana. Rita Jurczyk, director of major media sales for the Union-Tribune, said market research found that people cross the border into San Diego for two major reasons — shopping and recreation. Enlace Extra is designed to be a low-cost advertising option for San Diego merchants looking to reach these consumers.
» Last Friday we published a Sounding Off column by advertising professional Marcelo Salup on the effectiveness of social media sites as social, advertising and branding platforms. Salup concluded the article by writing: “Social? Yep! Media? Not quite yet.” In a recent article, Folio Magazine’s Jason Fell refers to a study called “A Sense of Place: Why Environments Matter”, conducted by Harris Interactive. The study examined how consumers perceive content in different online environments, and whether those perceptions impact consumer responsiveness to advertising. Harris polled more than 2,900 adult U.S.-based online consumers about their perceptions about three environments: media properties (such as ESPN.com, NYTimes.com, etc.), portal channels (i.e. AOL News, MSN Money) and social networks (Facebook, MySpace, et al.). What was most interesting is that, despite all the hype around social media right now, only 23% indicated that they trust content from social media environments. The ratio is much higher for media sites (72%) and 60% for portal channels.
» Le Monde in new hands. Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that French newspaper Le Monde is going to be purchased by three French entrepreneurs called Matthieu Pigasse, Pierre Bergé, and Xavier Niel. 90% of the newsroom supported their offer, which was competing with a joint offer by France Télecom, the weekly Nouvel Observateur and Spains’ media group Prisa (which already owns 15% of Le Monde). Le Monde had been going through significant financial difficulties.
