It appears as though Yellowbook will be the first US YP publisher to launch efforts into the group buying market when they launch “Weforia” next month. This new endeavor will be tested in three markets: Phoenix, Boston and Ft. Myers, with expansion expected, assuming success. The daily deals will appear on their own sites, as well as in conjunction with Yellowbook.com and via Yellowbook’s mobile application. So far, sales teams have generated a lot of interest from businesses, and there does not appear to be any shortage of deals.

I think it is a good move on Yellowbook’s part to try their hand at a group buying site. Sites such as Groupon have exploded in recent months and it seems as though the sky’s the limit for these types of advertising ventures.  I know that one of the first things that I see in the morning when I wake up is the Groupon deal of the day, and it should be interesting to see if Yellowbook can match the same success that Groupon has developed. Furthermore, Yellowbook should have more capital to invest in this venture than a start-up company, which may lead to them to be able to offer a better incentive to businesses for the daily deals.  Will consumers then start to shift from other sites to Weforia?

Only time will tell if Weforia is a success or not, but it should be interesting to see if other publishers jump on the bandwagon as well.  For the time being at least, this is a great competitive advantage that Yellowbook.com will have developed over publishers like YP.com and Superpages.com. 

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