TKG Data and Analysis: A Weekly Recap
Here is a sampling of coverage from this week, in case you missed any posts. Click below to read each post in full.
ShopLocal Gets Personal
ShopLocal announced today that it will integrate social tools that allow users to establish an identity and share info and commentary on products. This is an interesting step for ShopLocal, which has already been known for some clever marketing tactics, particularly with viral video. (read more…)IPTV Milestone for AT&T (get out your acronym decoder)
The most recent news from the IPTV world is that AT&T’s U-verse package has reached 100,000 subscribers. This is a drop in the bucket compared with competitive offerings from cable television incumbents. But is a good start for AT&T’s foray into the living room, which also beats Wall Street expectations, according to GigaOm. (read more…)RIP Business 2.0
Business 2.0, one of the last survivors of the original bubble-era “new economy” magazines, announced today it will close its doors. Its final issue will hit newsstands later this month. Rumors and speculation of this day have swirled throughout the blogosphere over the past couple months, enough to start a Facebook group — an Internet era petition of sorts — that swelled with users showing support. (read more…)R.H. Donnnelley Joins Free DA Space
R.H. Donnelly announced today that it will launch a new free directory assistance product, powered by Call Genie, in four markets (Denver, Spokane, Phoenix and Tucson). 1-800-CallDex will include free local category search and provide addresses, phone numbers, business descriptions, hours of operation and payment methods. It will also allow callers to use landmarks, neighborhoods and intersections as search terms, and the system learns over time how to improve itself based on how callers use these terms. (read more…)AgendiZe Deal Gives Yellow Book (up to) 66 Platforms
Yellow Book today joined Canada’s YPG in launching AgendiZe, the service that captures Yellow Pages and classifieds info and puts it on up to 66 media platforms for recall. On deck for implementation is Belo’s Dallas Morning News. The implementation is no great surprise. Chief Internet Officer Pat Marshall has been an AgendiZe board member (although the deal had been in the works well before Marshall joined Yellow Book this summer). (read more…)Mobile Ad Forecast: A New TKG Advisory
For subscribers of TKG’s Interactive Local Media program, a new forecast is available which analyzes mobile advertising. This includes an analysis of structural changes and consumer usage patterns in the United States and Europe; and benchmark ad performance in other markets to derive market estimates through 2012. (read more…)Yellow Book Latest to Offer Video
Yellow Book announced today that it has launched an online video advertising trial. It is the latest directory publisher to see the growing importance of online video advertising. Others to announce recent online video products include Idearc Media and White Directory Publishers. This is also the first announced initiative since Pat Marshall joined Yellow Book as its chief new media officer. (read more…)Market Hardware Targeting SMEs via Vertical Focus
Market Hardware has 1,600 active small-business accounts, with an average spend of $1,400 — $1,100 for the Web site and $300 for management-type services (including a new listing generator that sends information to more than 20 listing sources). All in all, the company says it is grossing $2 million a year, its margins keep getting better, and it is close to break even. By the end of next year, it projects to have 5,000 businesses under contract. (read more…)Restaurant.com Drives New Eat-In Diners
Using the Web to drive customers to restaurants via online ads, 2-for-1 coupons, certificates, menus and/or reservations is a big idea that hasn’t totally arrived but is getting closer. There has definitely been some progress in the space. For instance, OpenTable, the high-end reservations manager, appears to have finally secured its niche. Restaurant.com hopes it has similarly broken through for mid-level eat-in dining establishments with tables to fill. (read more…)
