The Kelsey Group just released some data around future directory assistance advertising revenues.

“Annual U.S. revenues for advertiser-sponsored directory assistance, also referred to as free DA, will grow from $14 million in 2007 to $462 million in 2012, according to The Kelsey Group. (…) “We anticipate ad-sponsored directory assistance will morph into an audio ad business and a wireless play,” said Matt Booth, senior vice president and program director, Interactive Local Media, The Kelsey Group. “The combination of audio ads and wireless pay-per-call and text ads will drive superior per-call economics over time.”

What it means: Directory assistance (DA) has always been part of the directional media landscape but for the longest time, you could only do “known-name” searches. The introduction of enhanced content (including categories) within DA creates yet another media channel for consumers to find business information. For local media players who have embraced content digitization and/or pay-per-call, DA becomes a great distribution channel to promote their advertisers. For others, it might feel like more fragmentation is happening in the directional marketplace. I highly recommend embracing this channel as a way to reach more users on the move.