Social Media Marketing Veteran Eric Brown, Founder of the Urbane Way, Joins NCI as Social Media Strategist

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.--(Business Wire)--
Two innovators are joining forces and the result will, no doubt, be
cutting-edge. In an effort to advance its e-driven publishing strategy and
social media-based product development, Network Communications, Inc. (NCI), the
leading content producer of real estate information in North America, today
announces the appointment of Eric Brown, founder of Urbane Apartments, as social
media strategist.

Long recognized by industry experts as a vanguard of cutting-edge social media
marketing strategies, Brown will help develop new approaches to sustain NCI`s
move toward a content-sharing model built around social media tools.

Dan McCarthy, NCI`s chairman and CEO, also an early adopter of social media in
marketing, says, "I`ve long been an admirer of Eric for his practical-minded
entrepreneurial approach to using social media tools to drive renters to his
units. But more than that, Eric has demonstrated that when social media
marketing is done well, it can positively impact the brand`s bottom line. That`s
key to doing business in the modern world, and we look forward to tapping into
his expertise for a mutually beneficial relationship, and one that will greatly
help our customers achieve success in their marketing as well."

Profiled by BusinessWeek as an innovator in social media, Brown has turned his
apartment business into a social media laboratory. He has over 30 years of
experience in the multi-family business, having built and developed over 17,000
apartment units - market rate, luxury and tax credit apartments. He has
established a solid track record of effectively repositioning an existing rental
property to maximize rents and add value for investors and partners. His assets
have achieved some of the highest rents per square foot and per unit in
Southeast Michigan.

In 2003, Brown founded Urbane Apartments, an apartment community with units in
Royal Oak, Michigan. "The Urbane Way" significantly sets him apart - from
shunning traditional marketing for social media marketing to his unique approach
to underground marketing and property management, the focus is on enhancing the
residents` experience. Brown has developed Urbane MySpace, Urbane Facebook,
Urbane YouTube and Urbane flickr sites and Twitters regularly. To further engage
residents, he created the social network site Urbane Lobby for residents to
meet, trade pictures and videos as well as socialize on-line. Additionally,
Brown publishes a blog, Urbane Blog, for his residents.

Brown and NCI share a passion for innovation through product and marketing
excellence. In 2009, NCI launched CommunitySherpa, a suite of turn-key social
media marketing services and features to improve search results, increase
referrals, enhance resident retention and deliver measurable results for
Apartment Finder customers. A fixed-cost monthly subscription service,
CommunitySherpa provides property managers with a custom-branded blog, Facebook
and Twitter presence for their community, with content-creation and network
administration support, as well as detailed reporting and analytics.
CommunitySherpa is the first service rolled out from NCI`s DigitalSherpa
operations team whose mission it is to do the heavy lifting associated with
building content and managing community.

Brown adds, "This is an incredible opportunity to work with NCI. Under Dan
McCarthy`s leadership, the company has navigated some incredible challenges in
the current market environment and made astonishing accomplishments as a result.
This is not only impressive, but also shows they understand how important
relationships, innovation and content are in order to remain relevant in the
digital age. I`m looking forward to being a part of their impressive team, and
accomplishing great things together."

Staff at all NCI brands are trained in social media best practices. Every
employee in the company has gone through a detailed training program with Domus
Consulting to educate them about the power of social media networking best
practices, as well as to give them insight and experience in developing
effective and influential networks.

About Network Communications, Inc.

Network Communications, Inc. is the leading publisher of printed and online real
estate information in North America. The company was acquired by Court Square
Capital Partners in January of 2005. Its magazines are read by over 12 million
readers in over 500 markets and deliver more than one million leads to
advertisers each month. Network Communications` assets, The Real Estate Book,
Apartment Finder / Blue Book, Mature Living Choices, Black`s Guide, New Home
Finder, Enclave, Unique Homes, Kansas City Homes & Gardens, By Design
Publishing, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, Atlanta Home Improvement, At Home In
Arkansas, Relocating in Las Vegas, Colorado Homes & Lifestyles, St. Louis Homes
& Lifestyles, Seattle Homes & Lifestyles, and Mountain Living, include
publications that millions of readers around the country turn to when looking
for the latest information about the real estate and home design markets. Online
magazine content can be accessed at www.nci.com.

TMG
Tami McCarthy, 212-750-5755
tami@TMGpr.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009