NZ Post's new venture picks Fronde

Fronde Systems CEO Ian Clarke. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand Post's directories venture, Localist, has selected Fronde Systems as its technology partner.

The start-up venture, chaired by former Kiwibank boss Sam Knowles and headed by former Yellow Pages marketing director Blair Glubb, aims to target small- and medium-sized Auckland businesses with its mix of directory listings and social media elements.

It estimates the value of local advertising to be around $600 million a year and that 40 per cent of searches by consumers were for products and services in their own suburb.

Fronde's James Valentine said being a start-up meant the project brief "was a bit of a blank canvas". "We have to understand what the business is trying to achieve and help identify the various technologies that can help deliver the overall solution."

While Localist would rely on some knowledge and expertise built up by New Zealand Post, it would not be integrating with any of the company's IT systems, Valentine said.

"If we chose to integrate into some legacy systems or some existing systems it's by choice because it gives us an advantage as opposed to being forced to, which is quite nice," he said.

The cost of the Localist project has not been disclosed.