We launched Times Local Partners (TLP) to work with fast-growing global companies and help them create a strong presence in India.
Our first alliance was with Gawker Media, to launch Gizmodo and Lifehacker in India, which we launched in May. We set up a local editorial team to take up original reporting and a local treatment to global stories, and we fleshed out the properties, integrating relevant, local content with the Gawker editorial voice. We worked to make these great properties even better for the Indian consumer.
We’re proud to share the results that the initial few months have shown us. After just 3 months of working together, we’ve been able to grow the monthly reach of Gizmodo and Lifehacker by 95% and 54%, respectively, with 1.1 million unique visitors. August data isn’t officially released, but our internal data indicates continued growth in August as well.
Gizmodo and Lifehacker’s traffic growth has also translated in terms of advertising, with strong demand for both properties from advertisers in consumer sets. In our first few months, we’ve had great support from advertisers like Accenture, IBM & Micromax, and we’ve got more lined up in the months to come.
As we grow the two sites; the audience can look forward to more India centric content on technology, design, development & research in the field of science; simple solutions and hacks for a better living. We will also introduce interactive elements into the mix, to make the sites even more interesting and useful for our audience.
The success of Gizmodo and Lifehacker have been great validators for the TLP business model. We’ll soon be launching Business Insider India, and look forward to consumer reception of our next big release. We also expect to announce a few more partnerships in the coming month or two, and we will continue to look for great global companies to partner with, in the hope of creating successful India businesses with our partners.
Please see below a snapshot of the traffic growth trend so far. Thanks to Nick Denton and the Gawker team for their great support with our initial launch, but most of all, thanks to the consumers who have experienced Gizmodo and Lifehacker in India.
