Hartz Signs Deal With Examiner.com for Targeted Social Media Engagement Program

DENVER, April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Examiner.com has announced a deal with The Hartz Mountain Corporation, utilizing Examiner.com's innovative advertising platform, Examiner Connect. Focusing on pet health, the program will create word of mouth marketing through the creation of original and authentic pet care and health content, which is simultaneously relevant to the Hartz® UltraGuard® brand initiative and targeted consumers.

"We have a unique ability to enable meaningful conversations with consumers which can increase the relevance of a brand message for a marketer like Hartz," said Tom Woerner, senior vice president of national sales for Examiner.com. "The Examiner Connect program delivers a targeted advertising program in a customized editorial environment, with the Hartz UltraGuard message appearing adjacent to content relevant to the initiative. This is an exciting option for marketers looking to create an effective dialogue with consumers and extend that dialogue through social media."

Hartz is the latest brand to participate in the Examiner Connect marketing program created by Examiner.com, which is based on the unique relationship that Examiner.com has developed with its 72,000 content producers, in this case, more than 2000 pet and pet health writers.

"We were attracted by Examiner.com's ability to create original authentic content which is relevant to the information needs of our customer base while creating a more meaningful environment for our own product message," said Bob Shipley, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for The Hartz Mountain Corporation. "We're excited to engage the Examiner.com pet community by providing useful and relevant information to pet owners."

The Examiners will also have access to pet health experts and information provided by Hartz, but each Examiner has complete editorial independence regarding the content they choose to produce. The initial program begins April 25 and will run for 31 days.

"This effort will encourage the creation of content on the general subject of pet health," said Woerner. "Our Examiners are the trusted experts in their local communities, and through the creation of useful and meaningful pet-related content, we are able to create a more meaningful advertising environment for Hartz while simultaneously generating valuable earned media as the content is consumed by Examiner.com readers and then shared through a variety of social media."

Other successful Examiner Connect programs include brands such as IAMS, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, American Family Insurance and HGTV, resulting in increased social media "actions", message awareness and brand favorability.

For more information about Examiner.com and Examiner Connect, please visit www.examiner.com/advertise.

About Examiner.com

Launched in April 2008, Examiner.com serves 240 markets across North America and is the insider source for local. Examiner.com feeds the passion the local community has for its favorite interests, activities and establishments by connecting them with credible and informed contributors who write and share information with the passion and insights only a local insider can provide. Examiner.com is a division of the Clarity Digital Group, LLC, wholly owned by The Anschutz Company, a Denver-based investment company with a broad array of assets in print and digital media, live sports and entertainment, hospitality, film production and exhibition and wind energy development.

About Hartz

The Hartz Mountain Corporation line of pet products was born in 1932 with packaged bird food, and expanded through the 1950s into aquatic supplies as well as dog and cat products, most notably the Hartz flea & tick collar—still the #1 selling flea & tick collar for both cats and dogs. Based in Secaucus, New Jersey, The Hartz Mountain Corporation has been making pet products with love, for people like you who love their pets- for over 80 years. Hartz flea control offers pet parents many solutions to protect their pets and their homes. From flea drops to flea treatments for the home and yard, Hartz has the solution for you. Hartz's over 1,500 innovative products are sold through 40,000 U.S. and Canadian retail outlets.

SOURCE Examiner.com