1-800-FREE-411
Encyclopedia
1-800-FREE-411 is an American
service offering advertising supported directory assistance
operated by Marchex.
to use the toll-free service. Sponsors cover part of the service cost by playing advertising messages during the call. Callers always hear an ad at the beginning of the call, and then another after they have made their request. Callers then identify the city and state for the desired information, and can then search either by name or by business type. Free directory assistance is also available from an application for the iPhone
and Android mobile phones, and from their website.
of $400,000. By the spring of 2008 it had, according to TechCrunch
, "captured a six percent market share of directory assistance calls." At that time, Jingle Networks received 20 million calls per month. Since that peak, the company has reported fewer calls, around 15 Million calls per month as consumers shift to smart-phones to get directory information.
On October 23, 2006, Jingle Networks announced that it raised $30 million in fourth round financing from Goldman Sachs
and Hearst Corporation
. This came after a $26 million round in April 2006, and a $5 million round in December 2005. Also on that date, Jingle Network's CEO volunteered on TechCrunch
that his company was losing on average 5 cents for every call they processed. On June 25, 2008, TechCrunch
repeated Jingle's press releases that they had reached per-call profitability.
Jingle Networks aims at attracting customers away from an existing fee-based market. The Wall Street Journal described it as "inspired by the business model of Google
".
From 2005 through the early 2010, Jingle Networks guessed they saved consumers $1 billion based on an inflated rate of $2 a call for directory assistance.
In April 2011, Marchex bought Jingle Networks for $62.5M in combination of cash and stock. Marchex says Jingle Networks will generate more than $26 million in 2011 revenue, up more than 40 percent over 2010. Marchex said it expects call-driven revenue to make up 75 percent of the company’s 2011 revenue.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
service offering advertising supported directory assistance
Directory assistance
In telecommunications, directory assistance or directory enquiries is a phone service used to find out a specific telephone number and/or address of a residence, business, or government entity.-Technology:...
operated by Marchex.
Service
Callers dial 1-800/888/866-FREE411 from any phone in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to use the toll-free service. Sponsors cover part of the service cost by playing advertising messages during the call. Callers always hear an ad at the beginning of the call, and then another after they have made their request. Callers then identify the city and state for the desired information, and can then search either by name or by business type. Free directory assistance is also available from an application for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and Android mobile phones, and from their website.
Corporate overview
The original parent corporation, Jingle Networks, was formed in 2005, and received its initial funding from First Round CapitalFirst Round Capital
First Round Capital is a venture capital firm that specializes in providing seed-stage funding to technology companies. Managed by Josh Kopelman, Chris Fralic, Rob Hayes and Howard L. Morgan, the Philadelphia-based company typically provides seed-stage investment that ranges from $250,000 to $500,000...
of $400,000. By the spring of 2008 it had, according to TechCrunch
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
, "captured a six percent market share of directory assistance calls." At that time, Jingle Networks received 20 million calls per month. Since that peak, the company has reported fewer calls, around 15 Million calls per month as consumers shift to smart-phones to get directory information.
On October 23, 2006, Jingle Networks announced that it raised $30 million in fourth round financing from Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
and Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
. This came after a $26 million round in April 2006, and a $5 million round in December 2005. Also on that date, Jingle Network's CEO volunteered on TechCrunch
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
that his company was losing on average 5 cents for every call they processed. On June 25, 2008, TechCrunch
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
repeated Jingle's press releases that they had reached per-call profitability.
Jingle Networks aims at attracting customers away from an existing fee-based market. The Wall Street Journal described it as "inspired by the business model of Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
".
From 2005 through the early 2010, Jingle Networks guessed they saved consumers $1 billion based on an inflated rate of $2 a call for directory assistance.
In April 2011, Marchex bought Jingle Networks for $62.5M in combination of cash and stock. Marchex says Jingle Networks will generate more than $26 million in 2011 revenue, up more than 40 percent over 2010. Marchex said it expects call-driven revenue to make up 75 percent of the company’s 2011 revenue.
See also
- 4-1-14-1-14-1-1 is the telephone number for local directory assistance in the United States and Canada. One exception is the Pacific Northwest, which used 1-1-3 until the mid-1980s. Until the early 1980s, 4-1-1 calls were free in most states....
- 800-The-Info800-The-Info800-The-Info was a toll-free directory assistance and information service provided in the United States by Verizon. 800-The-Info was subsidized by businesses that purchase advertising space on the service. Callers did not pay for the service, but had to listen to ads...
- Bing Mobile
- GOOG-411GOOG-411GOOG-411 was a telephone service launched by Google in 2007, that provided a speech-recognition-based business directory search, and placed a call to the resulting number in the United States or Canada. The service was accessible via a toll-free telephone number...
- List of speech recognition software
- Speech recognitionSpeech recognitionSpeech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
- Tellme NetworksTellme NetworksTellme. Networks, Inc. is a company founded in 1999 by Mike McCue and Angus Davis, based out of Mountain View, California, in the United States, that specializes in telephone-based applications....
Further reading
- "Free 411" at Snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages.
- Rebecca Buckman, "Your Listing, and a Word From Our Sponsor" at Wall Street Journal, 20 Apr 2006.
- Paul Davidson, "Free 411 service goes after rivals for license fees" at USA Today," 14 June 2007.
- Michael Arrington, "Jingle Networks has now raised over $60 million" at TechCrunch.com, 23 October 2007.