• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 12, 2007

Career site Monster.com is expanding its relationship with Internet Broadcasting, a network of local TV sites, to power some 120 co-branded career sites in 108 markets nationwide.

Monster has provided career-related content for the education, technology, business and family sections of IBS Web sites since early 2005. The initial network served over 60 major TV stations--including all stations owned by NBC, Hearst, Cox, and the Washington Post Company.

The new sites, expected to launch in the coming weeks, will feature Monster's search and matching capabilities, career advice and various tools such as a resume builder and salary center. In addition, employers have the ability to post jobs and access a resume database to find candidates. Markets within the relationship include New York's WNBC.com, Chicago's NBC5.com, L.A.'s NBC4.tv, and TheBostonChannel.com.

To drive traffic, Internet Broadcasting will provide Monster with inventory of co-branded TV ad spots, along with online ads and integrated content placements. The original co-branding effort was promoted with local TV spots, along with online ads for the career pages.

"Our relationship with Internet Broadcasting has successfully increased Monster's local visibility through a trusted distribution channel--the local news station," said Doug Klinger, president of Monster North America. "Extending our media alliances across 120 broadcast and online media channels--nearly doubling the scope of our previous agreement--will accelerate our localization strategy."

Long seen as a huge growth market, local online marketing has been a hot topic at this week's Search Engine Strategies Conference in New York.

"You know exactly what you're getting and who you're targeting," said Tessa Wegert, a digital media strategist at Web marketing and business consulting firm Enlighten. By Wegert's estimation, the local ad market grew 30% last year, and is on pace to exceed that level of growth this year.

Reiterating the point was Anna Papadopoulos, interactive media director at Euro RSCG 4D, who works primarily on branded auto and finance campaigns. "This year, local advertising is taking center stage," Papadopoulos said.