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Telephone books come free to the masses. Still, the stakes are high in this billion-dollar industry.
Federal deregulation has allowed the entrance of new players into the field, and the competition is fierce. The prize is advertising dollars and the opponents are the yellow pages.
Directories are found in most homes and offices, and lately it seems that desks and side tables have become littered with them. Northern Colorado is home to at least three rival telephone directories: Dex, Names and Numbers and Yellow Book.
Recently, the competition for advertising dollars between Dex and Yellow Book resulted in what can only be described as a negative ad campaign.
Dex ads claim to be "official" while describing Yellow Book as "superficial." Yellow Book's slogan is "not the other book." Yellow Book ran an ad claiming that Dex's circulation numbers were inflated.
Steve Topping, Rocky Mountain/Northwest regional vice president for Yellow Book, said that Yellow Book is not involved in any negative ad campaigning.
"We've tried to set the record straight," he said.
Dex is the 800-pound gorilla in the Northern Colorado market.
The company, the descendant of the Qwest-US West-Mountain Bell legacy, is the most recognized directory in the region. Due to the recent initial public offering, Dex Media officials declined to comment for this story, citing a...