• by Erik Sass , June 25, 2009

A number of big newspaper publishers have struck deals with Verve Wireless to create systems for delivering content to various mobile devices, including cell phones and PDAs. Belo, Cox Newspapers, Hearst and MediaNews Group are all using Verve to "mobilize" their content, which includes tweaking the format so it can be delivered to customers.

The Verve deals cover a number of big newspapers, including The Dallas Morning News, Denver Post, Palm Beach Post and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which went online-only earlier this year.

In addition to helping newspapers deliver mobile content, Verve is handling mobile ad serving as well, giving newspaper advertisers new options for multiplatform sales -- a key selling point for big newspaper publishers, which are desperately seeking to rebuild local and national ad revenues.

The potential for local mobile advertising has been identified as a key future growth area for newspapers, with double-digit growth forecast in coming years. Verve offers hyper-local, neighborhood-level targeting for mobile advertisers. Overall, Verve claims to have a presence in 200 media markets, including the top DMAs, allowing it to execute national and regional campaigns as well.

Verve also revealed several new offerings for its media customers, including an iPhone Web app and mobile video capabilities.

Altogether, the company claims to have increased the number of media properties it represents by 85% in just three months. It touts figures which have it reaching 3 million consumers per month, with monthly traffic including more than 47.5 million page views and over 1 million mobile video streams.