How a Newspaper is Fending Off Groupon

In light of the overwhelming success of Groupon and LivingSocial, a program created by The San Diego Union-Tribune is, according to DigiDay Daily, giving them a run for their money. The Daily Deal program at the Union-Tribune negotiates discounts with local merchants much like Groupon and LivingSocial.

The edge that the Daily Deal maintains, however, is its front-page placement on the newspaper which is seen by over 1 million subscribers weekly. In addition, the Daily Deal reaches the Union Tribune’s online audience.

DigiDay Daily also notes that the Union-Tribune’s Daily Deal is one of the biggest revenue generating programs across all San Diego media and the largest daily deal program among newspapers nationwide. Much of its success, according to Vin Vacanti, CEO of Yipit, a daily deals aggregator, is because businesses don’t see it as advertising–instead the Daily Deal is geared more like a sales commission paid to the newspaper. This enables businesses of all sizes–even small local restaurants–to leverage the Union-Tribune’s wide demographic.

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