The Kelsey Report® Advisory

The Multiple Layers of the European Directories-Skype Partnership
Charles Laughlin , 11/12/2009

Summary: In October European Directories SA, a London-based directory holding company, unveiled a “business funded click to call” partnership with Skype that covers all EDSA’s properties. Essentially the deal allows merchants to offer consumers a free Skype call to reach them by funding those calls themselves. Otherwise, callers can still use Skype but will pay normal charges. Skype reports having 480 million registered users worldwide, with perhaps 40 million customers overlaying the EDSA markets (Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden). Meanwhile, EDSA works with more than 700,000 businesses across Europe. The deal has a number of interesting layers that make it worth closer examination. Converting the Skype links into free calls eliminates any cost barriers for Skype users without the “SkypeOut” feature (which enables calls to non-Skype users) to contact local businesses. EDSA believes this will have a direct impact on consumer behavior and drive more calls to local businesses in its operating markets. And because the blue “free call” buttons travel with the business listings wherever they go, the deal has the potential to influence consumer selection in search environments, like the Google “7 Pack.” The EDSA-Skype partnership will be the focus of a session at BIA/Kelsey’s upcoming Interactive Local Media 2009 conference in Los Angeles.

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