Free Directory Assistance services, funded by pay-per-call ads, have been rolled out by a number of entrepreneurial companies, telcos and Yellow Pages. But now comes The Florida Times Union, which quietly rolled out a local version of Say Hello Inc. four weeks ago. The FTU, which has a daily circulation of 169,000, is based in […]
Monthly Archives: July 2007
CityVoter Bets on TV Partners for Review Site
July 30, 2007 – 11:34 pm
With the probably exception of Yelp, standalone review sites haven’t figured out a way to make money. In the past year, InsiderPages was sold off to CitySearch, and Judy’s Book, famously, changed its model to coupons.
So why would Josh Walker, Forrester’s former head of consumer research, dive into the game with both feet? Walker’s […]
RHDi Gets the Green Light with Business.Com
July 27, 2007 – 5:33 pm
To me, the real story behind RH Donnelley’s $345 million purchase of Business.com is it has bought itself a franchise player in former Disney exec Jake Winebaum. He’s going to get things going for RHD on the Internet side in a way that the rock hard, sales-oriented culture hasn’t really done before.
Is Winebaum and his team worth paying a super-premium on a company that grossed $60 million last year? It all depends, but probably yes.
During a conference call yesterday, RHD Chairman Dave Swanson said that the acquisition is going to move RHD’s Internet timetable “up 14 months.” RHD had previously made big Internet investments with LocalLaunch, an SEO company. The Dex acquisition was also partially related to the Web. DexKnows is a strong IYP.
Yahoo! Local under New Management
July 26, 2007 – 3:56 am
Yahoo! Local GM Paul Levine is leaving after five years for a senior job at AdBright, an ad marketplace backed by Sequoia Capital. When he arrived at Yahoo, Levine was an MBA who came from eTrade and wasn’t really a local ringer. But he was innovative, got the hang of things quickly, and took a lead role in getting sales deals done with all the key Yellow Pages players, and integrating various Yahoo! features into Yahoo! Local.
It wasn’t clear how Levine, and Yahoo! Local as a division, fit into things once Hilary Schneider arrived in a more senior position (and it still isn’t). But most would agree he was not only competitive – a prerequisite for this kind of job — but straightforward, thoughtful and interesting. Analyst-types liked him. I thought he was especially good on a Small Business Commando Webinar that Dick Larkin and I produced last August (also starring Kelsey’s Matt Booth).
Jennifer Dulski will be taking over local responsibilities as Group VP & GM, Marketplace. The position will also include responsibility for Shopping, Travel, Autos and Real Estate. Dulski, a nine- year Yahoo! veteran, most recently ran Yahoo! Autos.
Fisher’s Goals for ‘PanLocal’ (and Pegasus)
July 25, 2007 – 6:35 pm
We’re always looking to identify TV station groups that really get it and are going to push hard to compete for local traffic and advertisers online. Is Fisher Communications the one?
Last week, Fisher – a publicly traded, Seattle-based owner of 12 full power TV stations, seven low power stations and eight radio stations, purchased Mike Orren’s Pegasus News, which had developed a prototype “pan-local” site in Dallas. Pegasus has a staff of about 12 full time equivalents.
The further growth of Pegasus in Dallas, and the implementation of Pegasus News on its sites will be Fisher’s biggest online effort to date. Previously, working with Broadcast Interactive Media, it had rolled out YouTube-like Citizen Journalism efforts in several markets, letting users contribute videos on a variety of subjects.
Former Superpages Head Joins YellowBook
July 24, 2007 – 10:35 pm
I note with interest that former Idearc Superpages head Pat Marshall is taking on the Chief New Media Officer role at arch-rival YellowBook. Marshall, who has been serving on the boards of Agendize and WebVisible, will be reporting to CEO Joe Walsh, and apparently working alongside CMO Gordon Henry.
Until recently, YellowBook’s website has not really been a priority at the company. It has been one area in which Idearc has had a strong lead. In fact, Superpages’ relative strength has made it easier for Idearc to roll out independent books outside of the traditional Verizon footprint, even when it hasn’t had sales forces fully in place.
But Marshall inherits a situation in which YellowBook’s website and penetration rate among advertisers is vastly improved. About 45 percent of its print advertisers now buy into the IYP (although many aren’t aware that they have done so since it’s at the bottom of the contract – a common occurrence among IYP advertisers). YellowBook’s Internet reach program has also been getting more emphasis, although it was slow getting out the door.
AOL Buys Tacoda (and its Strong Local Ties)
July 24, 2007 – 9:46 pm
AOL reportedly beat out Microsoft and is paying $275 million for Tacoda, the behavioral targeting company that serves ads to 125 million people across 4,000 Web sites. Tacoda will likely be operated as a separate unit, complementing Advertising.com, AOL’s highly successful direct response company.
Chairman Dave Morgan, who previously founded Real Media, launched the company in 2001 to provide local media companies with behavioral targeting analytics. Morgan’s vision was to prove that local media companies boasted strong behavioral characteristics that would offset lower traffic numbers.
As Internet advertising went on a major growth spurt a few years ago, however, Tacoda switched its focus to a broader network focus representing both brands and major publishers. Today, Morgan estimates that local publishers make up less than five percent of the company’s traffic.