kgb Gears Up to Answer the Next Billion Questions with Launch of a Suite of New Services for Text, Mobile, and the Web
New York - January 14, 2009 - kgb, (www.kgb.com) the world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services, today formally launched a suite of services designed to deliver consumers in North America whatever answers they need on a 24/7 basis via text, mobile and web.
Leading the way in the new kgb suite is its premium mobile text answer service, kgbkgb/542542. (www.kgbkgb.com) This launch follows the success of kgb’s similar “Ask Us Anything” premium text answer service in the United Kingdom which demonstrates that consumers have a growing need for an always-available mobile service that helps them find accurate and timely answers and relevant information while on their mobile phone. kgb is also launching mobile web applications for Smart phones and the iPhone, a WAP site, plus an Alpha kgb web service this year to further expand the suite of information services it will offer in North America.
Who played shortstop for the Yankees in 1956? What was America’s most disastrous forest fire? How tall is Carlos Ochoa? How many calories are in a Big Mac? What radio station in Seattle will air the playoffs? Does my girlfriend love me? What all these questions, ranging from trivia, to the practical, to the philosophical have in common is that they can be sent via text message to kgbkgb (542542), the number for the new kgb text service, where a specially recruited and trained kgb Special Agent is waiting to provide a quick, accurate answer.
“We answered a billion questions and served millions of consumers globally last year because our information services continue to evolve right along with the rapidly changing needs of our customers. We can help consumers find answers and information however they want to ask for it - voice, text, mobile or web,” said Bruce Stewart, CEO, kgb Digital and Mobile. “Every phone can be a smart phone now because anyone with a mobile phone can use our kgbkgb (542542) text service to find a quick, accurate answer. Our experience has been that when customers are using their mobile phones, they value a convenient, easy to use service that helps them find the exact answer they need in minutes, rather than searching and only getting close to the answer – because close is often not good enough. We look forward to getting started on our next billion answers.”
The kgb text service harnesses the unique combination of technology, kgb’s extensive knowledge and information database, with a specially recruited and trained community of human agents—kgb Special Agents—to answer questions. The kgbkgb service is available twenty-four hours a day, so users receive real-time responses to their questions any time, day or night, from any cell phone. The service costs fifty cents through most providers.
To support the launch of the kgb brand and the new suite of information services, kgb is also launching a multi-platform advertising and marketing strategy that will include an advertising campaign with network and cable television, mobile, and online elements, combined with experiential marketing and strategic partnerships. The television ads, which debuted on January 5, were created by The Brooklyn Brothers and were shot in serial fashion. New episodes will be debuting every few weeks. The first two spots can be viewed on the Website at www.kgbkgb.com.
About kgb
kgb (www.kgb.com), is a privately held, New York-based company and the world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services. Founded in 1992, with the name INFONXX, the company changed its name to kgb in 2008. During its fifteen year history, kgb has built some of the most successful and recognizable retail brands in the telecommunications and enhanced information services sector in Europe, including The Number 118 118 in the United Kingdom and Le Numero 118 218 in France, both of which have the largest market share in their respective markets. kgb is also the largest and fastest-growing independent wholesale directory assistance service provider in the U.S.
kgb has pioneered the provision of a broad range of wholesale and retail information services beyond traditional directory assistance services, including call completion, movie listings, train schedules, price comparisons and “Ask Us Anything” service across multiple platforms, including mobile and landline phones, SMS and the Internet. In 2008, kgb won the Pelorus Award for the Best Text Directory Information Service in the United States.
In 2007, kgb launched an innovative suite of advertising solutions through 118//Media in the U.K., which offers advertisers the combined power of enhanced voice, text, and online services. As an ad solution, text messaging provides advertisers with a degree of precision audience targeting never before available and 5,000 advertisers have signed up for the program. In 2007, kgb served more than a hundred million consumers globally and answered over a billion questions.
Contact: Amy Wolfcale
amywolfcale@kgb.com
212-909-8289
917-280-5913