U S WEST Dex, a provider of
Internet yellow pages services in a 14-state region, said it is partnering
with DoubleClick Inc. to provide greater
targeting capability for its small and medium-sized business customers.
U S WEST Dex said it has relationships with more than 500,000 advertisers. It
will be the first sales partner for the DoubleClick Local product and the
exclusive partner in U S WEST’s region. Financial arrangements were not
disclosed.
“Establishing ourselves as the first sales partner for DoubleClick Local
should communicate that we, on behalf of our customers, are dedicated to
identifying and offering the best available online advertising and marketing
tools,” said Jim Smith, U S WEST Dex president and CEO.
“DoubleClick Local maximizes business awareness and e-commerce potential for
small and mid-sized businesses that want to gain local and regional exposure
via popular national and global sites. . . ”
U S WEST Dex will be the exclusive third-party provider of DoubleClick Local
to area small and mid-sized businesses in U S WEST’s region.
DoubleClick Local, launched last month, is intended to help Internet advertisers target
prospects both geographically and categorically via placement of ads on sites
in the DoubleClick Network.
DoubleClick Local said it will continue to focus on national advertisers and
advertisers outside U S WEST Dex’s region.
The advantage to the local program is that, for example, a car dealership in
Seattle can now reach Seattle Internet users on national sites. DoubleClick
Local allows for that car dealer’s ads to appear on national sites only when a user in his area code or
zip code is searching one of DoubleClick’s Network sites for information on cars.
“U S WEST Dex, with its unmatched regional sales channel and customer
relationships, is the optimal sales partner for us,” said Kevin O’Connor,
DoubleClick’s CEO. “We see this as a tremendous
opportunity for us to bring DoubleClick Local to market quickly and
effectively.”
U S WEST Dex said it will roll out the DoubleClick Local campaign starting
in Salt Lake City in September, followed by Phoenix and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Rollout throughout the balance of the region will begin early next year.
Advertising packages will be available for three-, six- or twelve-month
durations, and sold in increments of 10,000 monthly impressions, priced
between $350 to $500 per month.
