PORTLAND, Ore/PRNewswire/ -- Portland based start-up ForkFly has received a significant, though undisclosed, investment from Cowles Company (Cowles), a media holdings company out of Spokane, Wash. ForkFly is a mobile marketing platform that brings affordable geo-targeted advertising capabilities to small businesses. Cowles owns and operates The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane, one of ForkFly's more than 50 media partners.

The Spokesman-Review launched their partnership with ForkFly in November 2011, and saw immediate results. Stacey Cowles, Publisher of the Spokesman, said, "As a customer, we've been thrilled with the response to ForkFly in our market.  The platform lets us be local, mobile and social marketing experts for businesses we have had a hard time selling to in the past.  The bonus is this opens the door to selling our websites and traditional products."

The investment from Cowles comes at a time when ForkFly is expanding their team and preparing to add new features to the platform. "We have huge plans in the coming months," ForkFly Founder and CEOPaul Wagner said. "We launched our first media partner beta just 13 months ago.  We've learned a great deal since then, and our platform reflects this.  We're confident that there is no better way to monetize mobile in the traditional media space than through our platform."

But the investment from Cowles isn't just about growth. Wagner says he's thrilled about what it represents in the grand scheme: a strong affirmation of the value of ForkFly's digital products. "Nobody is in a better position to serve the needs of small, local businesses than the media companies that have existed in those communities for generations.  Those relationships still matter and give traditional media players a significant, though largely underutilized advantage against outside competitors.  Our role is to provide technologies for newspapers, radio groups and other forms of traditional media that will enable them to expand their reach into the rapidly growing mobile commerce space."

www.ForkFly.com 

About ForkFly
ForkFly is a marketing and promotional platform. Through strategic partnerships with media outlets, ForkFly gives small businesses affordable access to digital media. Merchants can leverage digital advertising, mobile technologies, social media networks, and a creative distribution strategy to find new business, engage customers and build brand loyalty. Consumers use ForkFly to find deals, and get perks, rewards and other incentives from local merchants.  For more information, visit www.forkfly.com.

Contact:  Tami Wood 
Tami@Forkfly.com 
503-449-2781

SOURCE ForkFly