Small-scale local media brands have been given a better chance at attracting ad dollars, thanks to new alliances forming among publishers. In April 2016, four news organizations announced their new group, Nucleus Marketing Solutions, which will allow marketers to extend their geographic reach. The move follows in the footsteps of other news corporations, both in the United States and Europe, who join together to broaden their scale and draw in the types of vast advertising deals that are usually only available to multi-shore news brands like The Wall Street Journal.
Nucleus Marketing Solutions will sell ads on behalf of its partners. Each of its four current participants (Gannett Co., Tribune Publishing Co., McClatchy Co., and the Hearst newspaper group), boasts a portfolio of renowned publications, including USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Miami Herald, and the Chicago Tribune. Plans are in the works to incorporate other affiliate partners in the U.S. advertising market.