Long Island Marketing Briefs: February 6, 2004

Long Island Business News, Feb 6, 2004 by Claude Solnik

Call it the battle of the big books.

Verizon Directories Corp. has filed a lawsuit charging that Uniondale-based Yellow Book USA Inc. violated federal and state laws by making false and misleading claims in advertisements stating more people choose its yellow pages than Verizon SuperPages.

Verizon made the charge in a suit filed Jan. 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The suit alleges that Yellow Book is in violation of the federal Lanham Act, which allows business competitors to sue for false advertising.

Verizon also claims commercial disparagement, unfair competition and false advertising under New York law.

Verizon is seeking unspecified compensation and a court order that would require Yellow Book to retract its advertising. Verizon also seeks a jury trial to recover damages and court costs.

Yellow Book's advertising is deceiving business owners, said Lester Chu, vice president, marketing and strategic planning for Verizon Directories. They should be able to trust directory sales claims.

Yellow Book USA claims a 71 million circulation in 41 states and the District of Columbia for its more than 500 directories, including a 550,000 circulation in Nassau County, according to its Web site.

But Verizon claims a distribution of 112 million directories, making it the biggest player.

We stand behind the advertising, said a spokesman for Yellow Book USA. He said the firm believes Verizon is assailing the ads as a public relations ploy and has chosen to devote its enormous resources to litigation, rather than to competition in the market place.

The suit could come down to dueling surveys and studies, though Yellow Book says it's only saying more people choose, but not necessarily use its books nationwide.

Thomas PR brings DotPhoto on board

Huntington Station-based Thomas Public Relations Inc. has been hired to provide public relations for DotPhoto Inc., a Trenton, N.J.- based firm that makes digital photography software.

Founded in 1999, DotPhoto provides software used to send and print digital photos through the Internet and to load photos onto cell phones.

It also offers a system through which consumers and professional photographers can add sound, text and voice to online images; organize them into their own portfolio, arrange for secure online access for friends and family; and sell downloads or prints of their images.

Karen Thomas, president of the PR firm, described DotPhoto as a company straddling two of the fastest-growing markets - digital cameras and cell phones.

We expect them to grow tremendously in the next two years as the camera/phone market explodes, she said.

DotPhoto is the latest high-tech firm to sign on with Thomas PR, which has been rapidly growing its business among digital photography companies.

The firm, which until recently handled Olympus's digital cameras, provides public relations for Concord Camera's digital camera business, Octiv's telephony and audio products and Magix Entertainment's music, audio, video and photo software.

Estelle's puts on ritz for prom

As part of an annual marketing ritual, Estelle's Dressy Dresses plans to give away hundreds of free prom gowns to seniors from high schools throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Seniors who visit the Farmingdale store can place their name in a box for the free drawing with a winner selected daily until the end of prom season.

Each year winners have come from almost every high school on Long Island and Queens.

Estelle's gave away 200 prom gowns last year and plans to give away about 310 prom gowns this time around.

Founded in 1992, Estelle's has 205 dressing rooms for its customers, which range between 8,000 and 10,000 a week, the store said.