ABOUT US
History
Contra Costa Marketplace Magazine was first created in 1996. We grew from a home-based business into a magazine read by over 100,000 readers each month. The motto behind our publication is that it must be local, positive, and insightful and bring a sense of community. We have kept that going for over 26 years. We have also had the pleasure of having very loyal advertisers throughout these years as our readership patronizes our local businesses over and over again due to the very local nature of our magazine.
Our Publication
Contra Costa Marketplace is direct mailed to over 50,000 homes and businesses in Hercules, Rodeo, Pinole, El Sobrante, Richmond, San Pablo, and El Cerrito. We know that many other free publications in town do not meet the significant criteria of guaranteed delivery as they are just picked up at stands. Therefore, we direct mail to all homes and businesses in these areas, so your advertising is seen.
We hire local writers to ensure our content stays local and accurate to the area. They are dedicated to large events in Contra Costa communities, people and businesses, arts, community services, service clubs, and local restaurants, all specific to our region. In addition, we specifically designed it with a built-in "shelf life." Studies show the calendar of events, recipes, articles providing details and phone numbers, and the convenient size gives reason to keep it and refer to the magazine throughout the month.
To ensure our advertisers reach the audience they want, we chose the expense of postage and the "guaranteed delivery" and therefore direct mail our magazine each month for delivery by the first weekend of the month to ensure our shelf life for our advertisers is reached.
We are proud of the Marketplace. We constantly hear how so many people read it and love it.
Our publication has various sections the group advertisers for the ease of our readership to find local businesses. Every issue has the following sections:
- Home & Garden
-- Learning Connection
- Real Estate
- Dining Out
- Calendar of Events
Marketplace Magazine also has yearly special sections with editorial to support the advertisers in these issues:
- Hercules Spotlight
- Shop Local, Shop Pinole
- Give Local (for non-profits)
- Get to Know Richmond
- El Cerrito Round-Up (June & December)
- Holiday Celebrations
At Marketplace, we also give back to our community by publishing a non-profit or service club feature to get the word out about their cause and how one might donate monetarily or volunteer their time. We also provide non-profit rates to businesses with a 501c3 to advertise all year long, in addition to our annual Give Local section that hosts a myriad of local non-profits all in one section in November.
We are grateful for the opportunity to serve West Contra Costa's readers and local businesses.
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