Sun-Times outsourcing print, online ad production
posted in Outsourcing News and Top Outsourcing deals, Outsourcing to India |Source: www.suntimes.com
The Chicago Sun-Times and more than 70 sister newspaper titles throughout the metro area have entered into an agreement to outsource most of its print and online ad production.
The outsourcing agreement with Elgin-based Affinity Express Inc. is expected to reduce operating costs by $3 million a year at The Sun-Times News Group, which in addition to the Chicago Sun-Times includes Fox Valley Publications, Midwest Suburban Publishing, Pioneer Press and Post-Tribune.
The cost reduction, which will result in an unspecified number of layoffs as the outsourcing is implemented over several months, is part of parent company Sun-Times Media Group Inc.’s previously announced plan to trim $50 million a year from operating costs.
Cyrus Freidheim Jr., president and CEO of Sun-Times Media Group, said, “Partnering with Affinity will enable us to significantly upgrade our service to our advertisers while reducing our costs. This is one in a series of moves to make our company more nimble and efficient.”
Under the agreement, The Sun-Times News Group newspapers will outsource the internal creation of ads. However, advertising clients will experience no change in the ad-submission process, the publisher said.
Freidheim said Affinity, with production offices in India and the Philippines, was chosen because of its “extensive infrastructure and expertise in the field of advertising production for news companies,” including the Charlotte Observer and the Columbus, Ohio Dispatch.
