News Press Releases

MediaCentral to Launch In-House Digital Monetization Engine

FBOP | May 21, 2020

AdCentralDirect Forecasted to Deliver Average of over $5 Million in Annual Advertising Sales from MediaCentral's Digital Readership Alone

New proprietary tech-driven agency solution will connect brands to influential consumers opening new revenue channel for MediaCentral
$5 million+ in forecasted average annual digital ad sales between 2020 and 2021, with forecasted costs to achieve these sales being approximately $100,000 in CAPEX plus expected commissions of 35 per cent
Expanded revenue potential through linking to other alternative publishers

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 21, 2020 /MediaCentral Corporation Inc. (CSE:FLYY)(FSE:3AT) ("MediaCentral" or the "Company") today announced the launch of AdCentralDirect ("ACD") an in-house mobile and cross-channel demand side platform (DSP) agency that connects digital advertising inventory through one interface. AdCentralDirect will immediately provide brands access to advertising inventory on the digital platforms of MediaCentral's iconic publications NOW Magazine ("NOW" or "NOW Magazine") and Georgia Straight ("the Straight"), the Company's cannabis-specialty platform Canncentral.com ("Canncentral") and ECentralSports.com ("Ecentral"), its digital esports and egaming title. As AdCentralDirect evolves, it will look to unite additional independent alternative publications under its umbrella creating an attractive solution for advertisers looking to connect to influential consumers across the country.

"Over the next two years, AdCentralDirect intends to be one of the most effective solutions for brands looking to digitally maximize their presence in the market. In addition to optimizing our own digital ad inventory, this proprietary platform will also bring other local publications together, allowing marketers the opportunity to connect with publishers directly while increasing their CPM rate," said Anton Tikhomirov, SVP of Technology and Architecture at MediaCentral. "This venture creates a material and incremental revenue channel for our existing titles, one that previously did not exist at NOW or the Straight before we acquired them over the past six months."

AdCentralDirect will provide brands the opportunity to strategically target consumers through display advertising, video content, social media, email and push notifications, while allowing them to monitor their advertising campaigns performance in real time. Brands will have the choice to manage campaigns directly through AdCentralDirect's proprietary platform or leverage the agency's team of professional experts to execute for them, depending on the level of support they require. With Chrome and other browsers phasing out third-party cookies due to privacy rights, the ability for AdCentralDirect to offer advertisers MediaCentral's first-party data will become increasingly valuable. AdCentralDirect will leverage MediaCentral's information, gleaned from its 6.5 million monthly readers, to help advertisers more effectively target audiences through psychographics and demographics, by location and device, providing a smart solution for brands looking to connect with the Company's influential audience.

The launch of AdCentralDirect will tap into the growing programmatic advertising market, which exceeded $100 billion for the first time in 2019 and is projected to grow to $147 billion in 2021, according to a forecast from Publicis Groupe media agency Zenith. MediaCentral anticipates that AdCentralDirect will deliver over $5 million in programmatic sales from its existing digital titles between 2020 and 2021 with forecasted costs to achieve these sales being approximately $100,000 in CAPEX plus expected commissions of 35 per cent.

"The launch of AdCentralDirect is exactly the kind of inventive thinking that is going to propel our titles into modern, profitable media brands. AdCentralDirect provides us with a built-in revenue driver as we continue our mission to amass an influential audience of 100 million consumers by consolidating, uniting, and digitizing over 100 independent urban publications across North America. This is an important step as we move forward in building a leading, profitable digital publishing house," said Brian Kalish, CEO of MediaCentral.

AdCentralDirect is expected to be operational in June 2020.

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About Media Central Corporation Inc.

Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT) is an alternative media company situated to acquire and develop high-quality publishing assets starting with the recent acquisition of Vancouver Free Press Corp., the purchase of NOW Communications Inc. and the launch of digital cannabis platform CannCentral.com. MediaCentral is consolidating and digitally monetizing the over 100 million coveted and premium consumers of the approximately 100 alternative urban publications across North America, creating the most powerful audience of influencers.
www.mediacentralcorp.com
Instagram: @mediacentralcorp
Twitter: @mediacentralc
Facebook: Media Central Corp.

About NOW Central Communications Inc.

NOW Central owns and operates NOW Magazine and nowtoronto.com. Since 1981 NOW has been Toronto's news and entertainment voice, published in print every Thursday, and daily at nowtoronto.com. Reaching over 25 million annual readers, NOW has been a leading publication, defining and pioneering the independent and alternative voice for more than 38 years. NOW Central Communications Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).

www.nowtoronto.com
Instagram: @nowtoronto
Twitter: @nowtoronto
Facebook: facebook.com/nowmagazine

About Vancouver Free Press Corp.

Vancouver Free Press Corp., owns and operates Georgia Straight and straight.com. Established in 1967 as the news, lifestyle and entertainment weekly in Vancouver, the Georgia Straight has been an integral part of the active urban West Coast lifestyle for over 50 years. Reaching over 56 million annual readers, every Thursday in print, and every day in straight.com, Georgia Straight delivers an award-winning editorial package of features, articles and reviews. Regular coverage includes news, tech, arts, music, fashion, travel, health, cannabis, and food, plus Vancouver's most comprehensive listings of entertainment activities and special events. Vancouver Free Press Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).

www.straight.com
Instagram: @georgiastraight
Twitter: @georgiastraight
Facebook: @georgiastraight

About Canncentral Inc.

With unique daily content appealing to both new and experienced cannabis consumers, Canncentral is poised to become the leading digital publisher of all things cannabis. Presenting authentic news and lifestyle content through a verified lends, Canncentral is emerging as an industry leading authority on knowledge, product and insight for cannabis enthusiasts, patients and investors around the world. Canncentral Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporoation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).

www.canncentral.com
Instagram: @canncentral
Twitter: @cann_central
Facebook: @canncentral

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, expectations with respect to estimated margins, cost structures, and cost structures in the media industry. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments involving; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the media industry generally, income tax and regulatory matters; the ability of MediaCentral to implement its business strategies; competition; currency and interest rate fluctuations and other risks.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive and should carefully review the various risks and uncertainties identified in the Company's filings on SEDAR. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws.