Canwest Global Communications will be the exclusive Canadian provider of digital advertising solutions from U.S.-based ShopLocal.
The companies have formed a partnership that can take print-based advertising content to a digital format, which is distributed online or in-store.
Chicago-based ShopLocal already provides digital advertising and out of home (OOH) media services to retailers such as Canadian Tire, Sears, Mark's Work Wearhouse and Toys "R" Us.
ShopLocal's business solutions are used to deliver highly interactive, targeted and localized promotions to shoppers via the Internet, mobile phones and any other digital environment.
"The most exciting element of this partnership is that it delivers great benefit to both retailers and consumers," Derek Mah, general manager for online classifieds and retail with Canwest Digital Media, said in reports from Canwest.
Content from newspaper circulars and onine flyers can be collated, searched and delivered to consumers on Canwest sites, as well asw external portals like Facebook, MySpace and Lycos.com.
Canwest has already established itself as a digital signage and OOH advertising player in Australia, where its subsidiary EYE is one of the region's premier Out-of-Home media suppliers.
The company describes its business models as: Eye Drive (Large Format roadside signage), Eye Fly (Internal and External Airport signage), Eye Shop (Small Format Shopping centre signage), Eye In-Store (Visual Merchandising and Point-of- Purchase) and Eye Study (small format tertiary signage).
Operating across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom and North America, EYE provides clients with a single branded multi-format advertising solution.
EYE is 100% owned by Network Ten Holdings of which Canwest holds a 56% controlling equity stake.
ShopLocal provides multi-channel shopping and advertising services, and offers a complete suite of innovative solutions that connect advertisers and consumers - online and in-store.
ShopLocal.com powers multi-channel shopping for hundreds of major newspapers, online yellow pages and shopping sites, including Los Angeles Times, Arizona Republic, Miami Herald, Superpages.com, Switchboard and Local.com. ShopLocal is owned by Gannett Co., Inc., Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company.