The Praized Blog

It looks like the US version of 118.com is now available in soft launch. You can search for both business and residential data in the New York area and see web site thumbnails. The about us section says the site will offer ratings and reviews but I haven’t seen any yet. 118.com is owned by InfoNXX, a directory assistance supplier in various countries including The Number 118-118 in the UK, Le Numero (France), Il Numero (Italy), Die Nummer (Switzerland), and Conduit (Ireland).

What it means: the web site is not really differentiated from other US local search site and the brand is not very well known in North America (118 is the equivalent of 411 in the UK and France). Is it the first volley before the introduction of a US-based free 411 service from InfoNXX?

The Kelsey Group just released some data around future directory assistance advertising revenues.

“Annual U.S. revenues for advertiser-sponsored directory assistance, also referred to as free DA, will grow from $14 million in 2007 to $462 million in 2012, according to The Kelsey Group. (…) “We anticipate ad-sponsored directory assistance will morph into an audio ad business and a wireless play,” said Matt Booth, senior vice president and program director, Interactive Local Media, The Kelsey Group. “The combination of audio ads and wireless pay-per-call and text ads will drive superior per-call economics over time.”

What it means: Directory assistance (DA) has always been part of the directional media landscape but for the longest time, you could only do “known-name” searches. The introduction of enhanced content (including categories) within DA creates yet another media channel for consumers to find business information. For local media players who have embraced content digitization and/or pay-per-call, DA becomes a great distribution channel to promote their advertisers. For others, it might feel like more fragmentation is happening in the directional marketplace. I highly recommend embracing this channel as a way to reach more users on the move.