Yellow Pages Odds n' Ends

I’ve collected a number of Yellow Pages-related items over the past week or so that are worth noting. So here it goes:

The Texas ad agency FKM has launched a new unit to focus on interactive Yellow Pages and related online advertising. It has hired Dale Granda, ex of Marquette Group and Berry, to run the operation. The new unit, called ConnectFKM, essentially adds IYP, SEM and mobile search capabilities to FKM’s existing print Yellow Pages agency operation. This reflects the general trend among CMRs to aggressively expand their capabilities beyond placing print advertising. Those CMRs that fail to master the nuances of SEM/SEO will find themselves increasingly marginalized in the coming years.

Former White Directory COO Jerry Folckemer has joined HYP Network as its new CEO. The company publishes Spanish-language directories throughout the United States and faces an increasingly competitive field, particularly now that Telmex unit Seccion Amarilla has entered the U.S. market by acquiring El Enlace from Blue Equity.

Truvo (formerly World Directories) has launched a dowloadable java search service for mobile users in the Netherlands, in partnership with the Danish firm Mobile People. Truvo has Yellow Pages operations in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania.

According to this article, Verizon is trying to sell off a number of landlines in New England, and if the sale goes through, the directory operation associated with those lines will move from Idearc Media to Fair Point Communications, the prospective buyer. The amount of revenue at stake is about US$23 million, according to the article, citing New Hampshire public utility commission filings.