As the verticalization of search spreads into explicitly local categories, new opportunities arise for publishers to partner with innovative labels that provide creative solutions targeted to specific SMB networks and niches. Jad Dunning (CEO, DriverSide) and Jim Delli Santi (CEO, LikeList) presented two such products in distinct verticals — automotive maintenance and home service — at DMS ’10.

Dunning’s DriverSide is effectively an all-purpose set of content and tools to aid the car owner in saving money and doing proper vehicle upkeep throughout every stage of the ownership cycle. The suite of services in a customer’s DriverSide “garage” includes repair, maintenance, value guides and community tools to obtain quick feedback. The platform relies on private labeling the “garage” experience for car dealers, repair shops and parts dealers to incorporate it into their Web sites. 

This relies on effective partnerships. Dunning is achieving this by linking up with quality resellers to expose the product to their constituents. DriverSide is a useful augmentation to the suite of products/services that resellers are already peddling and is a way for these partners to leverage their existing client bases. YP.com, for instance, is syndicating its auto listings to DriverSide so that these customers can be exposed to the product.

Delli Santi’s LikeList takes advantage of social connectivity and the power of personal recommendation to create an “aggregation of likes” that shares suggested businesses among friend networks. The popularity of Facebook “likes” and the more general explosion of social media as a societal connective tissue are both relatively new platform developments; the notion of trusting personal endorsements is fundamentally human. This is particularly crucial with life events such as choosing a doctor, finding a home builder or picking a lawyer.  

LikeList parlays social trust into commercial favorability by using “like aggregation” to “build the foundation of the customer relationship.” Sharing one’s business “likes” across LikeList’s network also opens an opt-in for businesses to want to contact you.

Much like Dunning, Delli Santi has partnerships top of mind to grow the network that LikeList’s endorsement graph can touch. One such idea is to deliver a widget to publishers that shows on a business’ listing all the other businesses that it endorses.

The post DMS ’10: Verticals Grow Locally, Open Up Partnership Possibilities appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Carey Bunks (group VP of mobile, European Directories), Mathias Schroeder (cofounder, Adaffix), Matt Myers (CMO, Shooger) and Ivan Braiker (CEO, Hipcricket) each offer distinct advertising products for SMBs in the mobile space. They are united, however, by a shared enthusiasm for mobile’s mushrooming growth and potential profitability … a sentiment that was evident in their panel discussion on mobile revenue opportunities at DMS ’10.

Bunks highlighted several tiered products that European Directories is implementing. Opt-out bundles are already in place, with premium product rankings in mobile search and click-to-call packages due out shortly. Product innovation is spurred on by mobile’s unrelenting growth, which Bunks predicts to be somewhere between “50 [percent] and 100 percent” of online usage by 2013. 

Schroeder specifically works with mobile calls, defining them as “intentions” that must be monetized (think Google) by getting leads on the screen of a consumer’s phone. For European-based Adaffix, that means appending “relevant” social and local content to calls. This takes a few primary forms, including adding contact information to incoming calls from unidentified numbers and providing alternate business listings if call “intentions” are unsuccessful (a busy signal when ordering a pizza or an unanswered call when scheduling an appointment).

Myers trumpeted mobile for its variety of platforms (SMS, Web, apps) and location-aware capabilities that can increase ROI for advertisers. Tied to these intrinsic benefits, he noted that the onus is on developers to create offerings that are flexible yet simple, affording greater accountability (tracking, transparency) while also being strong on service (sales training, best practices). Shooger aims to integrate all of the above through a deals hub that connects merchants to consumers across the full range of mobile platforms.

Braiker’s do-it-all Hipcricket (mobile applications, couponing, text advertising) has seen text messaging volume skyrocket and actions related to location-based ads increase. This bodes well for mobile monetization as higher CTRs and other metrics that outstrip online can serve to drive up ad rates.

As Myers said, ROI is the “normalizing factor” that will justify a greater mobile spend by advertisers.

The post Mobile YP Begins the Jump From Potential to Profitable appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Carey Bunks (group VP of mobile, European Directories), Mathias Schroeder (cofounder, Adaffix), Matt Myers (CMO, Shooger) and Ivan Braiker (CEO, Hipcricket) each offer distinct advertising products for SMBs in the mobile space. They are united, however, by a shared enthusiasm for mobile’s mushrooming growth and potential profitability … a sentiment that was evident in their panel discussion on mobile revenue opportunities at DMS ’10.

Bunks highlighted several tiered products that European Directories is implementing. Opt-out bundles are already in place, with premium product rankings in mobile search and click-to-call packages due out shortly. Product innovation is spurred on by mobile’s unrelenting growth, which Bunks predicts to be somewhere between “50 [percent] and 100 percent” of online usage by 2013. 

Schroeder specifically works with mobile calls, defining them as “intentions” that must be monetized (think Google) by getting leads on the screen of a consumer’s phone. For European-based Adaffix, that means appending “relevant” social and local content to calls. This takes a few primary forms, including adding contact information to incoming calls from unidentified numbers and providing alternate business listings if call “intentions” are unsuccessful (a busy signal when ordering a pizza or an unanswered call when scheduling an appointment).

Myers trumpeted mobile for its variety of platforms (SMS, Web, apps) and location-aware capabilities that can increase ROI for advertisers. Tied to these intrinsic benefits, he noted that the onus is on developers to create offerings that are flexible yet simple, affording greater accountability (tracking, transparency) while also being strong on service (sales training, best practices). Shooger aims to integrate all of the above through a deals hub that connects merchants to consumers across the full range of mobile platforms.

Braiker’s do-it-all Hipcricket (mobile applications, couponing, text advertising) has seen text messaging volume skyrocket and actions related to location-based ads increase. This bodes well for mobile monetization as higher CTRs and other metrics that outstrip online can serve to drive up ad rates.

The post DMS ’10: Making the Mobile YP Jump From Potential to Profitable appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

The line up of speakers for Directional Media Strategies 2010 has been shaping up nicely. We have a full slate of “headliners” who will either give full presentations or sit in the proverbial hot seat for a 20-minute interview by one of BIA/Kelsey’s analysts. Bruce Cotterill, CEO of Yellow Pages Group New Zealand, and Howard Lerman, CEO of Yext, will give solo featured presentations.

These are two very different speakers, each with a unique set of insights to offer.

Cotterill will talk about how his private equity-backed traditional directory publishing company is making the shift to a true multiproduct business. He also can relate the challenges of restoring equity value to his company in the aftermath of the global meltdown in directory valuations. Through his career, Cotterill has built a reputation as a successful turnaround specialist with a clear bottom-line focus.

Lerman, by contrast, brings the perspective of a hard-charging young entrepreneur. Yext is his fourth start-up, focusing on new ways to deliver leads to small-business advertisers. The Duke grad cofounded Yext in 2006.

The post DMS ’10 Headliners Cotterill, Lerman Offer Contrasting Perspectives appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.