• by Sara Guaglione , September 30, 2020

Gannett has sold its location-marketing platform SweetIQ to Uberall, which will become the exclusive location-marketing vendor for Gannett’s digital agency ReachLocal.

Gannett purchased SweetIQ in 2017. The SweetIQ team will join Uberall and become part of a new Montreal hub, the company’s seventh location outside its Berlin headquarters.

“There’s meaningful benefit for Gannett here,” said Todd Krizelman, cofounder-CEO of ad sales intelligence platform MediaRadar. “With their deep reach into local markets, Uberall helps them accelerate their location marketing efforts. Not every piece of technology needs to be owned. Gannett wins all the capabilities of the combined power of SweetIQand ReachLocal, without having to own all the cost.” 

More than 90% of internet users conduct online searches for local business information, according to Uberall, especially during the time of COVID-19.

Uberall’s “Near Me” brand experience helps marketers get their brands found on search engines, directories, mobile apps and vertical sites.

“In the online-offline economy, marketers of all sizes must create compelling ‘Near Me’ brand experiences,” stated Norman Rohr, senior vice president of marketing for Uberall. “That includes optimized Google My Business listings, social media presence management, directory listings, reputation management and local ads.” 

Gannett owns more than 250 local media brands.