Industry News
Industry news results are for the last 12 months. Full access to the news archive requires membership.
- 02/11/2010 - Ad Ventures Acknowledged As A Fast Growing Bulldog Businesses
Ad Ventures, Inc., a leading directional marketing advertising agency, is among the businesses selected for the inaugural class of the Bulldog 100: Fastest Growing Bulldog Businesses. Sponsored by the University of Georgia Alumni Association, the Bulldog 100 is a program that will determine and award the 100 fastest growing businesses that are owned or operated by UGA Alumni, each year. Rankings are based on compounded annual growth rate of revenues for the past three years.
- 01/15/2010 - RHD Ready to Exit Bankruptcy With New Name
This week R.H. Donnelley's reorganization plan was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross in Delaware, setting the stage for it to exit bankruptcy within the next few weeks.
- 01/07/2010 - YPA and ADM Become One
In an email to the industry, the Association of Directory Marketing (ADM) and the Yellow Pages Association (YPA) have formally merged, effective January 1, 2010.
- 01/05/2010 - Idearc Emerges From Bankruptcy As SuperMedia, Inc
Monday Yellow Pages publisher Idearc Inc. emerged from bankruptcy protection with a new name the company changed its name to SuperMedia Inc.
The company's Chapter 11 plan was approved by a bankruptcy judge in Dallas last month and went into place Dec. 31. The move cut its debt to $2.75 billion from $9 billion and wiping out any existing stock holders.
SuperMedia's banks and bondholders will receive new common stock in the company, which was spun off from Verizon in 2006, in return for reducing the debt.
- 11/12/2009 - Front Row Solutions Announces The Release Of Version 3.0 Of Its Sales Productivity And Accountability Software
Front Row Solutions announced the release of version 3.0 of its sales productivity and accountability software today. The latest update includes seamless calendar synch capability with Microsoft Outlook, a new mobile browser for smart phones and expanded data entry features for remote sales and client notes via sms text message. Many of the new features were specifically requested from Front Row's existing client base and represent the most comprehensive update of Front Row's feature-rich platform to date, enhancing the dynamic real time sales force management tools associated with the software.
- 10/05/2009 - Alternative Financing ... Money For Media Buys
Yellow Pages Finance.Com (YellowPagesFinancialServices.com) was created to fill a void between Advertisers, Publishers and CMRs. Leveraging the strength of the Yellow Pages Value Proposition, YellowPagesFinancialServices.com provides financing to those businesses who want to finance their existing media buy, upgrade their existing media buy, or bundle several mediums to increase consumer awareness and build traffic to their Web site, or foot traffic at their location(s).
- 10/05/2009 - BIA/Kelsey: Digital Word-of-Mouth Driving Results for SMB's
The rapid growth of digital word-of-mouth through online reviews and social media presents a challenge for small and medium-sized business owners, who are often unaware of the online conversations taking place among consumers. BIA/Kelsey predicts this will change as SMBs adopt more sophisticated marketing practices that require advanced communications platforms for e-mail, reputation and presence management (ERPM). The firm forecasts revenues for ERPM to grow from $460 million in 2008 to $3.1 billion in 2013. The number of SMBs using ERPM will increase from approximately 500,000 to nearly 4 million during the forecast period. BIA/Kelsey plans to offer comprehensive coverage of this topic over the next few months during two upcoming webinars and its Interactive Local Media 2009 (ILM:09) conference in December.
- 09/28/2009 - ATD-Austin Selects Innovectra
ATD-Austin, a leading independent directory publisher for nearly 40 years, announced today the company has launched a new Internet Yellow Pages web site at www.theredphonebook.com and www.atd-austin.com through Internet directory software pioneer, Innovectra Corporation.
The company, which produces over 500,000 telephone directories annually in Greater Austin, Victoria and other areas located in South Central Texas and along the Gulf Coast, is providing ATD-Austin directory users more ways to easily locate local merchants and service providers. "Search, find and share is the name of the game," said Michael Doran, Sales Director at ATD-Austin. "It doesn't matter how consumers like to shop because they can use our phone books, our web site, major search engines, cell phones or their favorite social networking sites to access businesses in the Red Phone Books", added Doran.
- 09/23/2009 - BIA/Kelsey Releases Fifth Edition of Global Yellow Pages
Released today, the fifth edition of "Global Yellow Pages™: BIA/Kelsey's Outlook & Forecast" indicates revenues from print and online directories will decline 1.2 percent globally from $30.9 billion in 2008 to $29.1 billion in 2013. A 5.7 percent decline in print revenues from 2008 to 2013 will be somewhat offset by a 15.2 percent increase in online revenues.
- 09/22/2009 - Kelsey Group Name Change to BIA/Kelsey
BIA Advisory Services will now be known as BIA/Kelsey, representing the culmination of BIA's acquisition of The Kelsey Group last October and the complete expanse of services the combined company now offers to multi-delivery platforms, including traditional and interactive media, the online local marketplace, and mobile advertising. In addition to its respected and known industry reports, industry analysis, financial valuation and consulting services, BIA/Kelsey is launching expanded offerings that include ad spending reports, mobile and digital research, multiplatform strategic advice, financial valuations and sales training.
- 09/02/2009 - Yellow Book Acquires YP One
Yellowbook, a national leader in the local search industry, announced today that it has purchased the Texas and Louisiana directory assets of ypOne Publishing, the 10th largest independent yellow pages publisher in the U.S.
- 08/28/2009 - Pioneer Directories Selects Innovectra to Launch IYP Product
Pioneer Directories, a leading telephone company directory publisher in the Midwest, announced a new partnership agreement with Innovectra to launch all of its online directories at its new Internet site www.midwestyp.com.
"We are excited to be building an online directory and community based portal in and around the markets we serve. Innovectra delivers the right combination of platform capabilities, publisher services and digital media solutions for our business customers. We feel that the ActivImpact platform is the perfect compliment to our Yellow Page product", said Paul Jacobs, President of Pioneer Directories.
- 08/12/2009 - Canpages Inc. Acquires PhoneGuide Print and Online Directories
Canpages Inc., Canada's fastest growing local search firm, announced today that it has acquired Texas-based ypOne Publishing's PhoneGuide print and online directories in Ontario.
The acquisition results in a growth of Canpages' advertising base by more than 7,000 new customers as it consolidates PhoneGuide's 19 print directories that currently serve several parts of Southern Ontario. The acquisition also means an increase in Canpages' revenues by $9.2 million.
- 08/11/2009 - Innovectra Selected To Power The Beach Book Online
The Beach Book, Inc., the leading Yellow Pages publisher for The Outer Banks from Carova Beach to Ocracoke Island, NC, has selected Innovectra Corporation as its Internet Yellow Pages services partner. The companies are launching a new Internet directory portal for local residents, area visitors and vacationers who use the Internet to search directory listings and find business profile information.
- 08/06/2009 - Walhstrom Morphs Into Geomentum
Geomentum extends and enhances the best-in-class resources and massive buying clout of Mediabrands’ current hyper-local agencies; NSA Media (Print), Wahlstrom (Local Search and IYP) and Outdoor Services (Out-of-Home).
- 08/03/2009 - Consolidated Communications Selects Innovectra To Power Internet Yellow Pages
Consolidated Communications has selected Innovectra Corporation to become its new Internet Yellow Pages services provider. The companies are launching a new Internet directory portal featuring a powerful keyword, listings-based search engine, for the Official Phone Books published by Consolidated Communications.
"Based on our assessment, the Innovectra platform will enable us to offer our small business customers a better Internet directory and local search solution" said Jim Bristow, Vice President - Directories. "Were in the business of helping directory publishers connect online consumers with local merchants," stated Thomas C. Lewis, Innovectra president and CEO. "Introducing Local Search and eDirectory applications into the mix increases the value of the traditional Yellow Pages programs," he added.
- 07/16/2009 - Sunshine Pages Acquires Bayou Pages
The Sunshine Pages, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eatel, has acquired The Bayou Pages, a local yellow pages directory which serves the greater Lafayette area.
The deal is believed to be an opportunity for the Sunshine Pages' footprint west along I-10 into Acadiana. The acquisition prices was not disclosed.
- 07/08/2009 - R.H. Donnelley and Innovectra Partner
R.H. Donnelley (OTC: RHDC), one of the nation's leading consumer and business-to-business local search companies, today announced that it has partnered with Innovectra, a local online advertising technology company, to introduce Dex® Pages (http://www.dexpages.com) to consumers throughout the 28 states where R.H. Donnelley publishes Yellow Pages directories. Dex Pages features digital, interactive replicas of the company's local telephone directories and complements DexKnows.com® (http://www.dexknows.com), R.H. Donnelley's popular online local search site, by providing consumers with yet another online tool to help them find local information easily.
- 06/15/2009 - Fry Offers FryCATS Mobile Phone Directory App
Fry Communications (www.frycomm.com) has expanded its services to telephone directory publishers with the development of a FryCATS mobile phone application that allows BlackBerry® and iPhone users to search the publisher’s online directory data and view the results immediately on their phone. This app puts an advertiser’s essential information in the consumers’ hands at the “mobile decision-making moment,” thus extending the reach of their advertisement beyond print.
- 06/15/2009 - Quebecor rejects R.R. Donnelley's takeover bid
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. announced that its $1.8 billion bid to acquire Quebecor World (which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings) has been rejected.
"We believe that our proposal was undoubtedly in the best interests of creditors based on a comparison of the distributions under our proposal with the distributions under the proposed stand-alone plan of reorganization," Thomas J. Quinlan III, R.R. Donnelley's president-CEO, said in a statement.
R.R. Donnelley is believed to have increased its initial bid of $1.35 billion, made May 12, to $1.8 billion.