Employees Purchase DirectoryM and Launch One of the Fastest Growing Local Online Advertising Platforms to Monetize Traffic and Content
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(Business Wire)--Having purchased the company back from its previous investors, the
employees of DirectoryM today re-launched the company and its flagship
local advertising network. With a new executive team in place, the
employee-owned company offers publishers the first online advertising
solution to unite and monetize their two key assets--traffic and
content--while enabling local advertisers to optimize ad spend by
delivering industry leading conversion rates on more than 1.5 million
unique visitors per month.
The World Wide Web is Going Local
As people continue to transition away from traditional media, such
as newspapers, television and even their local phone books, to the
Web, the need for local content has exploded. As such, the global
online local search market is set to grow to nearly $13 billion by
2010, according to the Kelsey Group. Similarly, the market for local
online ads will reach $8.5 billion this year, according to Borrell
Research.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to regain control of the company
I helped to create and work with our talented team to take DirectoryM
to the next level," said Panos Bethanis, CEO. "The DirectoryM network
is a rare 'win-win-win' for publishers, content providers and
advertisers. There is no other network that enables publishers to
monetize both their traffic and their content. DirectoryM's technology
combines private label local directories (fully loaded with paying
advertisers) with helpful guides (fueled by publisher content) and
distributes them across the Network.
The DirectoryM network serves three key audiences:
-- Online publishers of all sizes, including national outlets
such as the New York Times, regional titles of American City
Business Journals, and local television affiliates and radio
stations; Granite Broadcasting and CBS Radio
-- Major content providers, such as PC World and Autobytel, that
offer more than 2.5 million contextually-relevant articles;
and
-- Thousands of hyper-local advertisers representing some 1,300
regions and 300 categories.
"DirectoryM's content and traffic solutions deliver the highest
quality we've seen in the industry and we've made the strategic
decision to move up-to 1/4 of our clients Search Marketing spend to
its programs," said Abel Alvarado, President, Leverage Marketing, LLC.
"Compared to other alternatives including business.com, we find that
the majority of our clients attain a higher ROI on the DirectoryM
platform."
Hyper-Local Poised for Hyper-Growth in 2008
The DirectoryM network is distributed by more than 180 national
and local publishers and now reaches more than 1.5 million unique
visitors each month. With the new ownership in place, the company is
ramping sales and business development efforts in order to add an
additional 500 partners in the first quarter of 2008.
DirectoryM provides its publishers with a fully-integrated,
hyper-local advertising directory that maintains the look-and-feel of
their property--a highly-valuable offering for their readers looking
to buy products and services in more than 300 categories. Local
advertisements are coupled with contextually relevant, unbiased
articles--such as buyer's guides and product reviews--from
DirectoryM's content providers.
Additionally, content providers can reach new audiences and extend
the lifecycle of their articles by serving them up on the DirectoryM
network. Older articles that would otherwise be archived on a
publisher's Web site are given new life by serving them to new readers
who are in search of relevant, unbiased sources of information.
For example, a reader searching a local radio station's directory
for "digital cameras" will be taken to a DirectoryM-powered page with
links to local advertisers, such as camera shops, as well as recent
product reviews from PC World. Similarly, a reader looking to buy a
new car that searches a local business journal's directory for
information on local car dealers will also find helpful reviews of
specific models from Autobytel's MyRide.com.
"PC World is known for our unbiased content and reviews of the
latest technology. DirectoryM provides us with a clean and easy way to
deliver this content to end users who are generating local searches
with local advertising revenue," said Brian Buizer, Director of
Business Development at PC World.
Company Leadership
DirectoryM's new leadership team features two of the company's
original co-founders, Chief Executive Officer Panos Bethanis and Chief
Technology Officer Jim Woodroffe. Chief Architect Imad Qawi and Chief
Operating Officer Jean-Eric Penicaud round out the team.
About DirectoryM
Based in Cambridge, Mass., DirectoryM provides one of the
fastest-growing local advertising platforms on the Web. The DirectoryM
network is the first technology solution for online publishers to
monetize their traffic and their content. Publishers on the DirectoryM
network provide their readers with a highly-integrated directory that
marries hyper-local advertisements with unbiased content from trusted
sources such as PC World and NHIOndemand (Natural Health Information).
Founded in 2002, the company was purchased by its employees and
relaunched in January, 2008. More information can be found at
www.DirectoryM.com.
fama PR
Keith Watson, 617-758-4142
directorym@famapr.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
