Thomson to take on price comparison website kings

Thomson Directories is gearing up to take on the likes of Moneysupermarket.com and Confused.com with the launch of a specialist financial price comparison site.

The site is being launched this week under the Thomson Local brand to help consumers find the best deals on a wide range of financial products and services from insurance and credit cards to pensions and personal investment.

Thomson Local commercial director Adam Beamish says: “For over 25 years Thomson Local has provided users with details of the businesses that are relevant to them. We are now also able to provide them with the most competitive quotes, tailored to their individual needs.”

Users of the revamped ThomsonLocal.com website searching for businesses such as mortgage advisers will be able to click through to ThomsonLocalMoney.com to compare rates.

Price comparison sites have been in the headlines recently after Direct Line slammed them as “middlemen” in a recent advertising campaign. Confused.com hit back, branding the insurer “desperate” and “increasingly uncompetitive”.

The launch follows a series of changes to the company’s marketing team in recent months.

Gary Brown was appointed product and marketing director for the group at the start of the year (MW February 1). He joined from rival Yell, where he was head of product and customer marketing.

In April, Thomson promoted usage marketing manager Jill Pringle to the new role of head of marketing. Pringle, who reports to Brown, has been tasked with developing the brand and integrating the communications strategy at Thomson.