Verizon Information Services Awards SuperPages Advertising Business to the kirshenbaum bond creative network

NEW YORK and DALLAS -- Verizon Information Services (VIS) has announced that kirshenbaum bond & partners (kbp) will handle the integrated SuperPages assignment. The account includes the SuperPages brand yellow pages and the company's online directory resource, SuperPages.com.

VIS awarded the business to kb creative network after a two-month strategic and creative evaluation involving several major advertising agencies. Bromley Communications, based in San Antonio, Texas, will collaborate with the kbp creative network on ethnic advertising. Mary Maroun of Combustion, Inc. in New York managed the review.

Account duties include advertising, media planning and interactive and multi-cultural marketing. kb creative network participant agencies include Dotglu, LIME, The Media Kitchen and kirshenbaum bond & partners New York.

"The kirshenbaum bond creative network demonstrated a high level of creativity in their work and in their strategic approach to growing our core business," said Pat Marshall, VIS vice president -- marketing.

"We are ready to start work with a partner who will help VIS continue to propel our print, online and on-the-go SuperPages and SuperPages.com brand forward," said Marilyn Burrows, VIS executive director -- marketing communications.

"There is a great synergy of culture, personality and vision, and we are looking forward to working closely together to forge a solid alliance," said Rosemarie Ryan, president of kirshenbaum bond & partners New York. "We are just as excited about working with the people at Verizon as we are about working on their brand."

"It is not every day that two separate agencies integrate to offer one fluid brand solution," said Ernesto W. Bromley, chairman, CEO of Bromley Communications. "We look forward to capitalizing on this alliance to create groundbreaking work for Verizon SuperPages and SuperPages.com."

About Verizon Information Services and SuperPages.com

Verizon Information Services is the world's leading print and online directory publisher, a content provider for communications products and services, and the largest publisher of Hispanic directories in the U.S. With operations in 16 countries and annual revenues of more than $4.3 billion, Verizon Information Services publishes nearly 1,200 U.S. Verizon SuperPages directories and 400 international directories with a total circulation of approximately 150 million copies worldwide.

Based in the Dallas area, Verizon Information Services produces and markets SuperPages.com, the Internet's #1 online directory and shopping resource. SuperPages.com receives as many as 12 million visits and 9 million unique visitors a month and powers directory services on MSN, InfoSpace, AltaVista, Excite, Lycos, Ask Jeeves, HotBot, BigFoot, Tripod and Angelfire as well as more than 2,500 affiliate Web sites.

The company supports computer literacy with philanthropic programs and through the Enlighten Me and Internet Learning Tutor sites on SuperPages.com. Enlighten Me is a fun site where children and their caregivers go to read, learn and explore. The Internet Learning Tutor is specifically designed for adults who are just learning their way around the Internet.

Verizon Information Services is a unit of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Through its signature Verizon Reads program and the Verizon Literacy Network, Verizon is leading the fight to increase U.S. literacy levels by creating community and corporate awareness, raising funds, encouraging collaboration among literacy providers and engaging employees in supporting literacy programs.

About the kbp creative network

The kb creative network is a privately held independent network of marketing communications specialty companies founded by Richard Kirshenbaum and Jon Bond, including kirshenbaum bond & partners, kbp west Dotglu, LIME and The Media Kitchen. Founded in 1987, the kb creative network has since grown to include more than 200 employees, offices in New York and San Francisco, and combined billings of more than $500 million. Current kb network clients include Target, USA Networks, Citibank AAdvantage, Citibank Debit Card, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Liberty Mutual, Revlon, PUMA, Cognac Hennessy, Unipath Diagnostics' ClearBlue Easy and ClearPlan Easy brands, Vanity Fair Intimates brands including Vanity Fair, Vassarette, Bestform and Lily of France, The Meow Mix Company, and more.

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