Naspers consolidates classified brands in Eastern Europe
Emma the new Craigslist? No — not yet
Canada’s newest group deal aggregation site
There are plenty of aggregation sites that bundle together all the group buying deals in a single web location. Canadians now have a new one.
PromotionalCode.ca last week launched its own group deals aggregation service. There’s nothing mind blowing about PromotionalCode.ca’s new offering, other than it being a part of a larger site that aggregates Internet and in-store discount codes (i.e., $10 off at The Gap), printable coupons and freebies. That makes for a nice synergy, in our opinion, though it’s not at all clear if that can cut through the clutter of similar sites – from DealBot and Yipit, to our favorite: the amusingly-named BargainMoose (although Miser McGee comes in a close second).
GroupBuyingCanada has a list of the 40 top sites it’s watching, including the aforementioned Bullwinkle site.
Shiny Ads signs Kijiji Canada
Shiny Ads, a Canadian startup which sells a self-service advertising platform to medium and large-sized publishers, has signed Kijiji Canada as a client. Shiny Ad’s service allows Kijiji users to easily place and pay for ads on the site.
Shiny Ads does not charge its clients any registration or monthly fee. Advertisers make payments through Shiny Ads and then Shiny Ads pays the publisher, rather than the other way around.
Although Shiny Ads is a Canadian company, Kijiji is its only client in Canada. Other publishers using the Shiny Ads platform include CBS Interactive, AdWeek.com and Wikia.com, all in the U.S. The company does hope to roll out its service abroad. “Engaging with other Kijiji sites globally is certainly an initiative that we are embracing and looking forward to embarking on,” Shiny Ads sales manager Michelle Tomicic told us.
Earlier this year, Shiny Ads closed a financing round of just under $400,000 from the Canadian Intertainment Media and existing angel investors. The company also received an investment of $197,000 from the Ontario government. Both investments have helped Shiny Ads expand its staff. In March, the company hired Graham Huddlestone as its director of client services. He previously held positions at AOL Canada and Advertising.com.

