Posts Tagged ‘SuperMedia’

New Online Destinations Create Local Marketing Opportunities For Small Businesses

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

In my article posted on Search Engine Land this week, I discuss how advances in digital offerings are presenting small businesses with a growing range of possibilities for where to spend their ad dollars. Additionally, I discuss how owners these days are faced with the difficult task of determining how to link old and new initiatives into cohesive strategies that deliver the strongest rates of return for their businesses.

Since the start of the year, we’ve shared announcements from several major Yellow Pages companies including SuperMedia, Dex One Corp., The Berry Company, and Yellow Pages Group about new services, partnerships, and acquisitions that provide small business with the means to combine the most recent digital marketing possibilities with traditional print and online options that they’ve used for years.

Today, it’s not just about Internet Yellow Pages, which millions of small business already know and use. I’m also talking about new vertical web sites including digital coupon sites, shopping comparison sites and user review sites that are among the latest drivers of local leads and are increasingly being added to the portfolios of various Yellow Pages companies.

For my thoughts, check out my Search Engine Land column here.

March 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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SuperMedia Expands Successful SuperGuarantee Program

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Recently, we’ve talked about the tough times facing many of our small business advertisers and the important role that Yellow Pages will play in ensuring their recovery.

In a clear win for small businesses nationwide, YP provider SuperMedia announced yesterday that it is continuing and expanding its successful SuperGuarantee program, which provides consumers with added confidence when hiring contractors, plumbers, auto body repair shops and thousands of other service-based businesses.

The program, launched last year, ensures that customers of participating SuperGuarantee businesses can rely on SuperMedia to help resolve any service issues they experience—or SuperMedia will reimburse the customer up to $500 of the cost of labor for the service. The continuation of the program speaks to how well it has succeeded in generating new sales leads for SuperMedia’s clients.

SuperMedia is also expanding the program to include an auto-specific offering that provides a free powertrain limited warranty covering many automotive components up to $3,000 for consumers who find and purchase qualified vehicles through Superpages.com or EveryCarListed.com, the company’s vertical auto website. Additionally, the company is expanding the capabilities of its mobile applications so that users can sign up for SuperGuarantee, register for service appointments, and file claims—all from their mobile devices.

SuperMedia is also creating a new ShieldPower program that gives small business clients more ways to advertise themselves as part of SuperGuarantee, including the ability to use the SuperGuarantee logo on the front door of their businesses, on their Web sites, business cards, TV ads, and more.

For more on SuperMedia’s announcement, click here.

March 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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BIA/Kelsey: YP Executives Express Cautious Optimism for 2010

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

BIA/Kelsey offers an analysis of recent Yellow Pages companies’ earnings calls that show some signs of optimism from executives such as SuperMedia CFO Dee Jones and Yell Group CEO John Condron about their outlooks for 2010.

According to the piece, the rate of decline in Yellow Pages print revenues has started to bottom out. The two executives also agreed that the negative performance of Yellow Pages’ print units is due in large part to the tough economic climate rather than a significant long-term shift in print usage and that confidence overall is increasing.

Even as Yellow Pages companies continue to add new digital and mobile services, partnerships, and acquisitions to their offerings, print remains a component of the product mix that helps local businesses generate sales leads.

For the full post, visit the BIA/Kelsey blog by clicking here.

March 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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Australia’s Sensis Announces Carbon Neutral Certification

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Our Yellow Pages member from the Down Under, Sensis, made a major announcement last week that’s generating headlines in Australia.

In what Sensis describes as a world-first for a major directory publisher, the company’s Yellow Pages and White Pages directories have been certified carbon neutral through the Australian Government’s Greenhouse Friendly program.

In short, this means that Sensis will offset emissions generated throughout the complete lifecycle of its Yellow Pages and White Pages print and online directories—including their production, use, disposal, and distribution—by taking part in Greenhouse Friendly accredited programs and projects in Australia.

The company will also work to identify and reduce its largest areas of environmental impact. According to Sensis CEO Bruce Akhurst, the company is also hoping to cut its operational greenhouse gas footprint by 5% annually.

Here on the Western Hemisphere, Yellow Pages companies have also introduced various programs and changes to help improve the environmental impact of their directories. Here are just a few:

  • Earlier today, the UK’s Yell Group announced what it’s calling the most significant revamp of its directory in more than 40 years: the introduction of a smaller compact version to replace its traditional larger format.
  • Last year, we announced YellowPagesOptOut.com, a site that helps consumers simply and effectively stop directory delivery or adjust the number of directories they receive. All major publishers have also  introduced their own opt-out programs.
  • SuperMedia and DexOne have launched efforts to put consumer choice and recycling information on the covers of their print directories. They are also sponsoring recycling programs in their local areas.
  • No new trees are necessary to produce Yellow Pages. Publishers use recycled newspapers, telephone books and leftover woodchips from the lumber industry.
  • The basis weight of directory paper has been reduced by 11% over the past five years.
  • Yellow Pages are printed with vegetable-based ink that poses no danger to ground water.

Our members are constantly looking for additional ways to reduce our environmental footprint. Sensis’ announcement is another step in the right direction for our industry.

February 10, 2010 | 2 Comments
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CNN: Has Twitter Peaked?

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I came across an interesting article on CNN.com that questions the future of Twitter, which had enormous growth in early 2009 but has not seen its user base expand for nearly six months, according to several Web analytics firms.

In the article, one analyst suggests that Twitter may be a victim of its early success. After users flocked to the site to follow celebrities, athletes, and news organizations, some had possibility decided the site simply wasn’t for them. Others say that maybe there’s too much chatter on the site now for it to still be useful.

Yet Twitter and its supporters say that existing users are using the site now more than ever. According to Twitter CEO Evan Williams, Twitter saw its highest usage day ever following the earthquake in Haiti. Additionally, some experts think that the use of mobile devices and third-party programs like TweetDeck are skewing Twitter’s numbers lower – and that in fact its user base is still growing.

Several Yellow Pages companies have embraced Twitter. For example, SuperMedia launched its own handle, sp411, which provides local search results via the site. Other YP members, such as Yellow Pages Group, have launched their own handles as well as a channel to communicate with their customers.

It will be interesting to see how Twitter evolves to stay top of mind for users.  Whatever its path or future success, it’s clear that social networking is here to stay and that its impact on local search is real.  That’s going to make it harder than ever for local businesses to keep up with the trends and where our industry’s multichannel, platform agnostic direction can play a significant role.

February 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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The Berry Company Transforms, Expands Digital Offerings

Friday, January 29, 2010

It’s the last day of a very busy month for Yellow Pages companies.  We came out of the gates of 2010 with a number of important stories about the transformation of our industry, from SuperMedia, R.H. Donnelley (soon to be known as Dex One Corp.), and AT&T.

So it’s no surprise that yesterday, The Berry Company announced that it was entering into contracts with two Web site development and search engine marketing companies, Yodle, Inc. and Web.com Group Inc. These partnerships will help Berry to further expand beyond its traditional roots in print publishing to become an integrated provider of both print and digital local search services.

Earlier this month, Berry announced a transformative effort to put it in a stronger position to assist small businesses in developing a multi-platform approach to their advertising, including print directories, Internet Yellow Pages, web sites, search engine marketing optimization and video.

I think the comment from Scott Pomeroy, Berry’s president and CEO, in his announcement this week was a great statement that reflects what’s going on in our industry at large.  He said, “The launch is the culmination of the strategy and plans we have been working on for the past two years.  We are expanding our legacy role as a print yellow pages publisher to become a local search services provider in order to meet our clients’ need for leads from the many sources consumers use today as they search for local businesses.  We have spent the last year re-engineering every aspect of our business, which we believe will fundamentally transform how we operate and serve our clients.”

I’m looking forward to seeing all the news of the past month turn into real results for Yellow Pages companies, and for our advertising customers as well.

January 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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R.H. Donnelley To Exit Bankruptcy By End of January

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Yellow Pages publisher R.H. Donnelley is set to emerge from bankruptcy later this month after a U.S. court approved its reorganization plan. The move comes just two weeks after Idearc—rebranded SuperMedia—announced that it had exited bankruptcy.

R.H. Donnelley, which publishes 75 million Yellow Pages directories annually, is counting on new online and mobile offerings to help fuel its growth as consumers increasingly use those platforms for local search.

The Yellow Pages publisher is already making headway into the digital space. As we’ve noted, the company currently lists 11.5 million businesses online through its DexKnows.com Web site, supplies content for YellowPages.com, and has deals with search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

Additionally, it is offering online video advertising and reputation management for companies seeking to improve their online customer reviews, Reuters reports.

In a press release, David H. Swanson, chairman and CEO of R.H. Donnelley, said “R.H. Donnelley will become a stronger entity, better positioned to helping local businesses address their marketing needs.”

For more, read the company’s release here and a Reuters article here.

January 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment
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Idearc Starts 2010 Fresh with New ‘SuperMedia’ Brand

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

A new year means a fresh start for all of us, but I am especially interested in what 2010 will mean for Idearc given its announcement yesterday that it is exiting bankruptcy, launching a new name and board of directors, and listing on the NASDAQ.

The company’s new brand – SuperMedia – ties together the brands that consumers will more commonly recognize like SuperYellowPages, Superpages.com, and SuperGuarantee.

A recent Reuters piece said that the company will take advantage of growing opportunities for small business on online and mobile platforms. As a sign of its dedication to these platforms, the company has named new members to its board from leading tech companies such as Tivo and Microsoft.

While SuperMedia still does about 85% of its business through its print directories, the company said it expects to develop a more hybrid ad model. Current projects include expanding its popular local search sites such as everycarlist.com into new segments, looking for new opportunities for its mobile applications, and planning new partnerships with Internet companies.

In a company announcement, Scott Klein, CEO of SuperMeida, said “Our new name symbolizes the rebirth of our company and along with it the ability to continue to deliver innovative ways that will change the way in which we help match buyers with sellers.”

What a great thought to start the year on.

January 5, 2010 | 2 Comments
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