Verizon Adds Video to SuperPages
The online yellow pages publisher is banking that streaming video will prove a lucrative value-add to its listings.
Verizon’s SuperPages.com unit is looking to add another extra for advertisers, by introducing streaming video ads to its online yellow pages.
The addition comes through a partnership with Anaheim, Calif.-based WebcastingTV, which specializes in multi-platform Web streaming, accessible to users of RealNetworks’ RealPlayer, Microsoft
Windows Media Player, or Apple
QuickTime. The technology also configures the stream to match users’ bandwidth requirements.
Naturally, the idea is that advertisers on Dallas-based SuperPages.com can use streaming video to stand out and better communicate to consumers searching the site. Clips will be accessible by way of a “View Video” link in advertisers’ SuperPages.com listing.
Verizon said it anticipates advertisers using the service to illustrate the products and services they offer. Currently, the company said clients have signed up to stream more than 1,000 different video clips on SuperPages.
Pricing was not disclosed.
“With streaming video technology, advertisers can reach customers on a new level,” said Patrick Marshall, group vice president of marketing for Verizon Information Services, which oversees SuperPages.com. “Businesses that combine streaming video with their more traditional online advertising tools can communicate more information and make more personal connections with their customers.”
“This is particularly important for businesses that rely on value-added services as their competitive advantage,” said Marshall.
The effort is the latest move by Verizon to beef up the services it offers to advertisers via SuperPages — which also allows it to milk extra fees from clients. In May, the company introduced a B2B service center, designed to help its advertisers better reach prospective buyers. The service center included tools for automated advertising buys across SuperPages.com, setting up e-commerce storefronts, and for handling online Requests for Proposals.
Last year, the company focused on expanding its reach, rolling out a Spanish-language version of its site and a syndication deal with Web search engine AltaVista, which augmented its partnerships with portals like Lycos and MSN.
