Verizon Information Services, which is part of Verizon Communications Inc., has awarded its $30 million-plus account for the SuperPages directory and SuperPages.com to Deutsch Inc., New York, after a three-month search.
Deutsch defeated Temerlin McClain, Irving, TX; Tierney & Partners, Philadelphia; and The Richards Group, Dallas for the account. Deutsch is slated to launch the first SuperPages campaign in early spring.
The award is the first major marketing push for Verizon Information Services after phone giants Bell Atlantic and GTE merged into a new entity, Verizon Communications. The print SuperPages directory was created after the merger, combining the respective Yellow Pages of the parent companies.
Tierney & Partners, Philadelphia, handled Bell Atlantic and its BigYellow.com offspring. Ogilvy & Mather, Dallas, which did not participate in the review, handled GTE's Yellow Pages and SuperPages.com.
Deutsch will handle general advertising as well as direct and Internet marketing, while ethnic advertising will be handled by Irvine, CA-based Casanova Pendrill Publicidad, which specializes in Hispanic marketing. Both agencies are part of Interpublic Group of Companies Inc., New York.
Combustion Inc., New York, managed the agency review.
Deutsch, with $1.5 billion in billings, has clients that include Domino's Pizza, Revlon, Tommy Hilfiger, DirecTV, California Milk Advisory Board, Pfizer, Mitsubishi Motors of America and Snapple. In addition to the New York headquarters, it has outposts in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Casanova Pendrill Publicidad clients include DirecTV, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Coors Brewing Co., General Mills and The Home Depot.
Launched in 1996, www.superpages.com is positioned as a directory and shopping resource. Verizon claims it receives an average of 3.4 million unique visitors each month. As an online marketplace for buyers and sellers, SuperPages.com is a resource for entrepreneurs with tight budgets for Internet marketing.
“Most of our customers are very small businesses, and through our Yellow Pages sales force, we're able to create Web sites for small businesses and advertisers,” said Heidi Jaquish, manager of external communications for SuperPages at Verizon
