Yellow Pages Publisher Acquires LocalVox
LocalVox isn’t so local anymore.
TBC Holdings, the parent company of The Berry Company, announced earlier today the purchase of NYC-based LocalVox Media. LocalVox, which provides a wide range of marketing software platforms designed specifically for local and hyperlocal marketing, sees the deal as an opportunity to become the go-to app for hyperlocal marketers from coast to coast.
“We’re going to see a significant increase in scale,” said LocalVox President Trevor Sumner. “We want to be the platform that people use to publish at events, announcements and deals across all of their different marketing platforms.”
LocalVox’s LocalCast technology helps businesses manage customer marketing and messaging to their websites, local publishers, deal sites, social media, directories, mobile and email. Sumner says he beleives that TBC Holdings’ acquisition of LocalVox shows that the power of hyperlocal marketing has earned the respect it deserves.
“I think this really signifies that that there’s a big opportunity in owned and earned media, taking a more holistic approach to marketing,” he said.
TBC Holdings was created by the Berry Company to acquire and manage marketing and technology companies. LocalVox and the Berry Company had been working together to test their partnership in key over the 18 months leading to the acquisition. Laura Cole, vice president of marketing at the Berry Co., said Monday that Berry’s customers’ response encouraged the company to acquire LocalVox.
“We’ve been trialing the product with really resounding success in our markets,” said Cole. “We have hundreds of thousands of customers in all 50 states. Our customers are primarily local and small businesses. Our customers have been responding extremely favorably.”
Cole said the company is always on the lookout for hyperlocal marketing technologies to invest in. “That’s what we’re in business to do,” she added. “We certainly expect more acquisition and investment opportunities in the future.”
LocalVox expects the acquisition to give them a leg up on other hyperlocal marketing companies. The hope is that Berry’s resources will immediately give LocalVox a leg up on the competition.
“We’re going to be able to move our solution to scale much faster than we could on our own,” Sumner said. “So from a competitive landscape perspective, I think you’re going to see LocalVox have a significant footprint both as a Berry Company and with additional partners.”
He pointed to LocalVox’s recent partnership with First Data as an example. He said LocalVox will be announcing several new partnerships in the near future, some of which could take the industry by surprise.
“I think you’re going to see some interesting partnerships from us in terms of sending in and syndicating content to local publishers and also local publishers will be able to use our tools to generate more products,” said Sumner. “There are a lot of interesting ways our solution could combine with other forms of media.”
The acquisition gives LocalVox the power of Berry’s direct sales force, which covers over 600 markets. In turn, LocalVox should be able to get its app closer and closer to the mainstream. The deal shows that major investors recognize and respect the emergence of hyperlocal marketing.
“First Data has 7,000 sales reps through its partner network looking to sell LocalVox,” said Sumner. “Then you have Berry with hundreds of thousands of clients. We have more partnerships coming. This acquisition accelerates our ability to support those partners and it makes us more viable for new partners and that our solution is really getting some traction.
Mason Lerner is a contributor to Street Fight.
