Dublin-based directory inquiry firm 11890 is initiating its own summer of love with a free landline service for all inquiries from 1 June to 31 August 2008 for Eircom landline customers.
This limited service is expected to boost the number of calls taken by 11890 on a weekly basis to between 180,000 and 200,000, and is the result of a €1m investment which will be backed up by another €1m through radio and television advertising throughout the summer.
While 11890 is only two years old, it already has an estimated 8-10pc of the directory inquiries marketplace. With its selling point as the most cost-effective service on the market, the company says it is between 27pc and 42pc cheaper than competing services from 11811 and 11850.
Nicola Byrne, managing director of Call 11890 Ltd, said: “When we launched, our aim was to provide the Irish public with a real choice in the directory enquiries market.
“Two years on we have done that. Now we are focusing on providing customers with real value and you can’t get much better value than a free service.”
It is estimated that the Irish directory inquiries market will be worth a staggering €70m by the end of this year. As part of this market, 11890’s core audience is non-business but this is also backed up by its business-to-business services, which includes many Irish, blue-chip corporates including Axa and New Wave.
By Marie Boran
