TKG Data and Analysis: Weekly Recap

In case you missed any posts this week, here are a few highlights. Click below to read each post in full.

How to Kill the Competition
It’s tough to be in sales when the industry you are in is struggling, and print business and financial publications fall under that category. Since advertising sales are down at most Time business magazines, the executive in charge got the ax. He was replaced by the individual in charge of CNNMoney.com, who now has a virtually impossible job. Was it the consolidation of the sales force that caused the drop in advertising sales (and the fact that there were fewer feet on the street), or was it the drop in overall business-to-business technology advertising? (read more…)

Google Expands Newspaper Pilot Program
As expected, Google has expanded its newspaper ad pilot program and has made it easier and more visible to AdWords advertisers. The program has shown success, as we noted back in December, and represents one of the many flanks in Google’s march toward covering all media and all formats. The latter charge was emboldened by its DoubleClick acquisition (still facing congressional antitrust scrutiny), and various media continue to be brought into the fold through partnerships such as ClearChannel (radio). The newspaper effort specifically launched to resell print ads across 50 U.S. papers and has now been extended to 250. We expect more to follow. (read more…)

Local.com Buys PremierGuide, Adds 350 Sites
Local.com will get wide distribution among small newspapers via its $2 million acquisition of PremierGuide, which provides local search services to 350 sites, including the twin powers of CNHI and Gatehouse. It also gets into Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive – although I am not sure which properties – and a bunch of geodomain sites, TV stations and radio stations. The sites will be added to Local.com’s existing network of 50 sites. (read more…)

YPC Unveils New Look
Earlier this week Yellowpages.com officially launched a new and improved site (which had been in beta for some time), expanding further on a look launched late last year. The new version aims to enhance the overall visual appeal and, more important, improve the user experience. You can take a look at the new site and judge for yourself. You can also read the announcement for a litany of the site’s new features. (read more…)

Valley YP Joins the Digital Age
A day many thought would never arrive has come. Valley Yellow Pages, led by noted online skeptic Sieg Fischer, has launched an online Yellow Pages directory, dubbed myyp.com. The company used technology vendor Information Pages to build the online directory, which went live in June. Valley went with a look and feel solution, which is a common entry-level approach for an independent publisher. (read more…)

The iPhone: Will It Blend?
What happens when you put a $600 mobile device in a blender? Blender videos have taken on their own life form at willitblend.com, where the latest episode puts the iPhone to the test. I cringed as I watched the beautiful device put in the blender (upcoming spoiler alert) and then reduced to smoking black dust. It’s an entertaining clip in case you wondered what the new device is made of. (read more…)

A Conversation With Specific Media
Ad network Specific Media focuses on premium inventory across major Web sites for national brand advertising. But it also has some interesting methods for tracking the influence of branding on search behavior and some interesting implications for local advertising. This will gain relevance and effectiveness with the acutely targeted IP-based advertising that upcoming IPTV packages and triple-play systems will bring to both national and local advertising, and it will tie them together more effectively. (read more…)

Pegasus News Gets Acquired: A Conversation With Mike Orren
Pegasus News announced today that the company will be acquired by Fisher Communications. The deal will bring Pegasus’ online local and hyper-local content capabilities to Fisher’s communities and existing properties – consisting of 19 television and radio stations throughout the Pacific Northwest. The cities where Fisher hangs its hat are well suited to the local content aggregation and flavor that Pegasus has developed and proved valuable in its home turf of Dallas, Texas. (read more…)

Idearc Gets in Free 411 Game
Yesterday, Idearc Media and Jingle Networks announced a partnership that counters AT&T’s foray into the free DA business with its 1-800-YellowPages product. According to yesterday’s announcement, Idearc’s performance-based advertisers will receive additional exposure to buyers via Jingle’s 1-800-FREE411 service. It is a logical move for both parties, since the emergence of AT&T in the free DA space was a direct challenge to Jingle. (read more…)

Potts Does a ‘Final Word’ on Backfence
Backfence cofounder Mark Potts has done a “final word” on Backfence. The post is a good catch-all, but contains no revelations. Don’t look for much second-guessing of the company’s strategy, either – although he clearly wishes he could have ridden the social networking boom that emerged after Backfence’s launch two years ago. He also thinks that local media companies have gained real appreciation about the opportunities in hyper-local and would now be helpful partners. (read more…)