The Kelsey Group predicts local online video ad revenues to hit $1.5 billion by 2012. Who will benefit the most from this revenue increase? Most likely Internet Yellow Pages with thier small-medium sized advertisers that are capitalizing on user demand for local online videos.
ZipLocal, a Canadian-based IYP, will become the first and only fully integrated North American local search solution. They came to this decison keeping in mind that the US market is 20 times larger than the Canadian market. It should be interesting to see if ZipLocal can compete with the current IYPs that dominate the US marketplace and how they set out to differentiate themself.
Starting next week, both Sprint and Verizon will be rolling out plans that will offer mobile Web and mobile TV at cheaper rates. For example, Sprint will offer 3,000 voice minutes, unlimited messaging and e-mail, unlimited access to the mobile Web, 50 streaming music channels, 25-plus live TV channels, on-demand TV, and unlimited GPS navigation for $169.99 for two lines.
This offering is very exciting and very important if your company has a mobile marketing campaingn. Think about it, Sprint is offering unlimited access to the mobile Web and on-demand TV. This means that consumers who sign up for these plans will be using their cell phones tremendously more because the Internet and TV will be literally at the tip of their fingers at all times. This means that there will be more opportunities for marketers to reach mobile consumers.
Offering unlimited GPS navigation is also important since this will encourage the development of mobile applications that are tailored toward local search such as YellowPages.com’s release of their iPhone application. This will yet be another opportunity for marketers to reach targeted audiences.
The local search marketplace continues to grow rapidly. Local is growing at a faster percentage rate than general search. Additionally, changes in search patterns show that consumers are becoming better and smarter searchers, moving from simple one- and two-keyword searches to more specific four- and five-keyword searches.
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Superpages.com recently launched a Yahoo! Widget that allows users to easily search for local businesses from their desktops. Superpages made its widget easier to use, by developing one of the only local search widgets that displays search results within the widget. Once a product category is selected, potential customers are taken to Superpages.com to review different options and make a selection.
Though some hybrid IYP/rating-and-review sites, like Yelp, have been having a hard time attracting a large enough number of frequent users and reviewers, San Diego-based MojoPages has claimed that they are gaining traction. President Jon Carder says that his site now boasts 500,000 user reviews and 100,000 local advertisers across the U.S., mostly with partners like Superpages.com, Marchex, ServiceMagic, and ServiceMaster.
Yellowbook, the leading independent publisher of print and online yellow pages directories nationwide announced yesterday the launch of a new integrated marketing campaign entitled “Say Yellow to the Future.” This campaign includes a new streamlined logo, a more condensed name to one word (formerly Yellow Book), new television commercials, and newly designed print directories that present the company as forward-thinking.