Yellowpages launches awareness campaign

Thailand YellowPages has launched an advertising campaign to raise brand awareness in a bid to boost revenue growth of its call-centre directory and online business-directory services.

The company's business telephone directory service covers three channels: Thailand YellowPages books, Call Centre 1188, and www.yellowpages.co.th.

Danin Kitnichee, marketing and business development director of Teleinfo Media, which operates the YellowPages service, said the move reflected its greater focus on the call-centre and Web-based channels this year.

The campaign will ensure people know the company has three directory service channels, and not just the one, he said, adding that the company began to seriously focus on developing the online business-directory channel last year.

Teleinfo posted revenue of about Bt845 million last year, of which 80 per cent was from YellowPages books.

The company expects revenue from the voice-based business led by the 1188 call-centre service to grow to Bt170 million this year from about Bt150 million last year, while that of the website is expected to reach between Bt20 million and Bt25 million from just a few million baht.

The overall business-directory market is valued at Bt900 million.

Danin acknowledged that during the economic downturn, customers were being more cautious about spending on advertising their businesses in the YellowPages. However, he stressed that the company's strength rested in its synergy through the three directory channels.

He said the two in-focus channels were on a growth path in line with a change in consumer behaviour, with Thais spending much more time on personal computers.

But he added that it would take a long time in Thailand before the online business-directory channel would fully replace the book medium, as consumers with no Internet connection can always search for information from physical directories. He said the YellowPages books were still the company's core business.