Canada: Newspapers launch mobile sites

Posted by Mica Swyers on July 24, 2007 at 9:39 AM

Gesca has launched new mobile phone sites for three of its major titles, La Presse Affaires, Cyberpresse, and Technaute.

Mobilito created the sites for the mobile platform: Mobile.Cyberpresse.ca, LaPressAffaires.mobi, and Technaute.mobi. All three will be accessible on the Web through the Mozilla Firefox brower.

Although Canoë and Radio-Canada already offer mobile services, Gesca will tweak its sites based on observation of its predecessors. For example, news headlines will be the first thing posted on the sites, rather than a list of categories. Users will also be able to configure text alerts on their phones for updates on predetermined subjects.

“Not being the first has let us observe what’s going on in the industry and offer the best service possible,” said Jean-Philippe Gauthier, vice-president of Gesca’s digital operations.

Although Canada lags behind in the trend of mobile websites, Gesca hopes to catch the follow their success in the US, where 42 of the top 100 websites currently offer a mobile format, according to marketing firm Rareplay.

Nevertheless, Gauthier explained that advertisers would have to wait for the mobile service due to negotiations over revenues. “At the moment, the lack of agreement between providers and the industry prevents us from posting advertisements on our mobile sites,” he explained.

Source: Infopresse (in French) through IFRA Executive News Service and Marketing Magazine