GILROY
–– With new owners of the Hollister Free Lance in place,
Mainstreet Media executives Anthony Allegretti and Stephen Staloch
have named Andy Bruns the vice president of advertising for the
company’s three South Valley newspapers.
Bruns, 39, will oversee account executives handling advertising
sales
– both display and classified – for The Gilroy Dispatch, the
Morgan Hill Times and the Hollister Free Lance. Bruns, who recently
moved to Hollister, will work out of The Dispatch office, which
serves as Mainstreet Media Group headquarters.
GILROY –– With new owners of the Hollister Free Lance in place, Mainstreet Media executives Anthony Allegretti and Stephen Staloch have named Andy Bruns the vice president of advertising for the company’s three South Valley newspapers.
Bruns, 39, will oversee account executives handling advertising sales – both display and classified – for The Gilroy Dispatch, the Morgan Hill Times and the Hollister Free Lance. Bruns, who recently moved to Hollister, will work out of The Dispatch office, which serves as Mainstreet Media Group headquarters.
“I believe readers look for editorial and advertising information when they look at a newspaper. People want to know what the school board decided last night and what the price of bananas are today,” Bruns said. “I want to bring as much information as possible to our readers and give them that one-two punch of information.”
Bruns, who has a degree in journalism specializing in advertising from Southern Illinois University, says Mainstreet Media Group sales staff will be taking new advertising ideas to its customers.
Advertisers will not just be approached to continue or take out new ads with the local newspapers. Instead, the sales staff will be encouraged to provide customers with fresh ideas, new layouts and slogans to redesigned ad campaigns.
“We almost function here as a full-service ad agency,” Bruns said. “It sounds cliche but we have the best of both worlds because we can put ads in our publications that go to paid subscribers and the ones that are guaranteed delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.”
Bruns worked with the new owners of the Free Lance as the advertising director for the Merced Sun-Star.
“He is a consummate professional who understands that building revenue is a two-way street with our advertisers,” said Staloch, publisher of the three South Valley Newspapers. “And he knows that unless we bring results for our customer, then we’ve not done our job. He’s idea driven and we believe that our business is to bring the ideas to our advertisers and ensure that we are the source for their marketing and advertising decision process.”
Staloch said Mainstreet Media Group encourages their managers to be a part of the community and is confident Bruns will be an active participant in local groups and organizations.
Allegretti, Mainstreet’s president and chief executive officer, added, “Andy is a key player on our management team. He’s a people person with a strong and consistent record of growing revenue by developing a strong sales staff and implementing creative selling techniques.”
Staloch, who is also chief operating officer of Mainstreet Media Group, said the company plans to add more sales staff in the coming months. Already two new account executives are working out of the Gilroy office and another new hire is working out of Hollister.
“I look forward to more growth in all areas,” Bruns said.
Bruns, 39, has been married to his wife, Jackie, since August 2000. They have a 4-month-old son, Parker.
