Ameritech advertising services

Internet/Intranet Web Development

Carolyn Krygel Young - MIS 680 Web Development

Ameritech advertising services (Aas) publishes Ameritech's yellow pages in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Indiana.  Ameritech advertising services is one of the largest white and yellow pages directory publishers in the world, with over 445,000 advertisers. Ameritech will publish 358 directory titles in 1999. Fifty additional directory titles are produced to meet state regulatory requirements and/or fulfill specific marketplace needs.

In 1996 Ameritech advertising services created two media subsidiaries. Ameritech Interactive Media (AIM) who provides the Ameritech Internet Yellow Pages ( http://yp.ameritech.net ), an online yellow pages directory and shopping guide that provides an efficient way for buyers and sellers to connect. And Ameritech Interactive Media Services (AIMS), an Internet Service Provider (ISP) which provides online services such as  Ameritech.net ( http://www.ameritech.net/ ).  Ameritech.net offers consumers and businesses easy to use, reliable access to the Internet with premier 24 by 7 customer service.

Intranet

Corporate Ameritech's Intranet site called Vision Web.  Vision Web contains company newsletters, breaking news stories, an Active Employee Directory (which employees are permitted to update with nicknames, new phone numbers and other valid information), company history, executive biographies, SBC/Ameritech merger information, informationals on Ameritech's business units and subsidiaries, benefit information and contacts, training and management education information, virus scan updates, community outreach programs, forms, policies and procedures, a web-based paging system, employee action groups and stock watch.

Ameritech advertising pages has their own intranet site referred to as Your Link.  Your Link has links to each department within the company.  Here departments have organization charts, news, recognition and useful tools.  Your Link provides on-line forms, sales results reports, directory schedules and a hotline to the CEO. 

In the future, the Aas intranet site will host a multitude of sales tools, from account preparation to commissions and sales results.  Aas has formed a web development group for intranet development and planning.  The group is currently redesigning the Aas Intranet Your Link site.

Internet

Ameritech advertising services has a presence on the internet with its internet yellow page product http://yp.ameritech.net .   Aas currently offers a very competitive informational product.  They have a large customer advertising base with useful user guides and data accuracy.  However, the internet yellow page product does not compete outside of local information.  They are missing many of the freebies other top regional competitors offer, such as paging, free e-mail, on-line shopping, instant dialing and national web advertisers.  Please refer to Chart One below for more comparison information. 

One of the largest problems faced by Ameritech Internet Yellow Pages is product awareness.  Most consumers and customers in the Great Lakes Region are not even aware they can access Ameritech's information on-line.  One of Aas' greatest advantages in the internet market is its local sales force.  They have over 700 sales representatives which talk to local businesses in person or over the phone daily.  A new project was released earlier this year for Account Representatives to sell both the print and internet yellow page products to customers.  Through this plan Aas will ensure knowledge of the product and begin to generate advertising revenue from the on-line product.

In order for the Ameritech Internet Yellow Pages to stay competitive, they will have to focus on their main strength "local business."  Becoming the local site for companies and customers to reach each other.  Ameritech could offer, direct dial, scheduling and email services allowing customers to reach local businesses that much simpler.

 Chart One - IYP offering comparisons.

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