UK Local Search: Yell Ad Campaign, welovelocal

UK directory and local search provider Yell (publisher of the print yellow pages) has launched a new ad campaign across various media, touting Yell.com, the publisher’s online local search portal. The campaign also apparently involves GPS-enabled buses that adjust ad messaging according to bus location (in London). The bus stops themselves feature touch-screen displays that allow people to conduct local searches on Yell.com and show local businesses within walking distance of the stop.

Yell also has a new competitor in welovelocal.com, a recently launched UK (London) local search destination that takes its cue, partly, from U.S.-based sites that emphasize community, like Yelp. Here’s an example search result for Indian restaurants in London.

Also positioning itself as a marketing and CRM platform of sorts, welovelocal notifies business owners when reviews about their business are posted and allows them to comment on reviews. It also says that listings are optimized to appear in search results.

Postscript: I’ve been informed that the GPS buses and touch screens were used in the previous Yell campaign (still provocative) and this one will use digital advertising in the London Underground.