HOW to secure 192.com brief
Directory service 192.com is set to appoint HOW to handle its £1m advertising account as it prepares for a relaunch.
The relaunch is an attempt to lure users from its rivals, which include Yell.com, as well as directory enquiries services such as 118 118 and 118 247. HOW will handle all supporting advertising and direct marketing activity.
The site, to be unveiled in the coming weeks, will offer a free directory enquiries service, without the need to register. It will also feature a business finder and a more detailed search engine for other numbers.
192.com marketing director Jean Parodi refused to confirm the appointment and HOW would not comment, but Marketing Week understands that the agency has been appointed following a pitch against a shortlist of five agencies, later narrowed down to two.
Parodi told Marketing Week in October last year that there had been a big migration to the internet because the public was losing faith in telephone directory enquiries services. He added that the advertising activity would reiterate the message that the service was free on the internet and that 192.com would provide a one-stop shop for users.
HOW was launched last year by Ken Hoggins and Chris O’Shea, the veteran creatives formerly at Banks Hoggins O’Shea FCB (now FCB London), and Mark Wilson.
