Archant is teaming up with fellow regional group, the Aberdeen & District Independent, in an attempt to win sales from rival Northcliffe Newspapers' Aberdeen Press & Journal.
The collaboration comes in the week that the Office of Fair Trading announced Northcliffe Newspapers is to pay a fine of £1.3m for predatory pricing in an attempt to force the Aberdeen Independent out of the market.
The deal will involve the free Aberdeen Independent offering display, recruitment and classified advertisers as an add-on package in the three Scottish weekly paid-for Archant titles, The Buchan Observer, Fraserburgh Herald and The Ellon Times.
Archant's existing sales team will continue to operate with advertising secured through the joint operation.
Archant NE Scotland regional director, Michael Robertson said: "The alliance between our high-penetration paid-for titles and the mass distribution city newspaper will give us a cutting edge in the fiercely contested market place in north-east Scotland."
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