infoGROUP , formerly InfoUSA, is a provider of both business and consumer information and marketing solutions, which consists of data processing, database management and email marketing. InfoGroup is a publicly traded company since 1992 on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol IUSA. infoGROUP has over 4 million customers worldwide and revenues in 2006 were over $700 million.
Overview
InfoGROUP was founded in 1972 by Vinod Gupta, Chairman and CEO. The headquarters are located in Omaha, NE, USA. The company employs over 5,000 people in 88 offices worldwide.
InfoGROUP has 12 databases that have contact and credit information covering approximately 15 million businesses in the United States and Canada. The company licenses its data to third parties such as Yahoo!, AOL, Google, MSN, Ask, and Citysearch.
InfoGROUP’s Papillion, Nebraska, facility employs over 600 people who compile and update their consumer and business database. The Consumer database is updated from sources that include yellow pages, white pages, newspapers, incorporation records, real estate deed transfers and various other public sources. The business database is updated by, 24 million phone calls made every year to verify the name of the owner or key executive, their address, number of employees, number of PC’s, fax numbers, e-mail addresses and other information.
Divisions
National Accounts Division (formerly Donnelley Marketing), Salesgenie, InfoUSA City Directories (formerly Hill-Donnelly), Polk City Directories, ReferenceUSA, Government, Resellers, InfoUSA Direct, American Church Lists, American Medical Information, InfoCANADA, Credit.net, InfoUSA Stores, DirectoriesUSA.com, ZIPMailUSA.com, Salesgenie.com, MarketZone, OneSource, Walter Karl, Edith Roman, Catalog Vision, Yesmail, Triplex, TRIPLEX interactive, Millard-Mokrynski Group (formerly Millard Group and Mokryskidirect), Rubin Response Services, Inc., expresscopy.com, Opinion Research, Macro International, Guideline, Inc. and NWC Research.
Controversies
Super Bowl advertisements
Salesgenie.com ran an advertisement entitled "Jealous" during Super Bowl XLI which was derided for being the "worst" of all during the game, a claim CEO Vinod Gupta accepted with pride. Gupta claims to have written this and all other Salesgenie.com ads himself. Encouraged by the negative publicity, Salesgenie.com scheduled three animated spots for Super Bowl XLII, one of which ran during the pregame show and two of which ran during the game itself. Gupta wrote the scripts for all three ads himself.
One Super Bowl XLII ad depicted an Indian salesman with seven kids being pressed by his sales manager for not closing more sales, a problem (predictably) resolved by his using Salesgenie. Another depicted two pandas with Chinese accents discussing sales leads among themselves. Reaction to the Super Bowl XLII ads was immediately negative. Andrew Leonard of Salon.com described the "Panda" ad as having "the kind of stereotypical Chinese accents that date back to Charlie Chan movies" while the Wall Street Journal called both ads "the biggest fumble of the night." Gupta placed these ads, along with others he has written, on his YouTube channel.
Gupta responds to the critics: "I know who the customers are and what resonates with them," says Salesgenie.com founder Vin Gupta, who wrote his company's commercials. "These are not great ads, but they are good enough. Someone who watches the ad(s) will know the service we are promoting."
Relationship with the Clintons
After Bill Clinton left the White House in January 2001, Gupta hired him as a consultant, a relationship that has continued. Clinton has been paid $3.3 million through 2007, in addition to receiving options on 100,000 shares of stock. A shareholder lawsuit against Gupta has been filed, saying that such payments benefited primarily Gupta, not his corporation, and that the corporation has improperly paid for homes, cars, and a yacht for Gupta.
In June 2007, Gupta praised Clinton's work for the company. "He helps us meet some of the right people," he told the Omaha World-Herald. "In many speeches, he has mentioned InfoUSA by name." Gupta said that his payments to Clinton weren't wasted. "We get back many times over what is spent on Bill. I would say over the last seven years, easily over $40 million."
Competition
InfoGROUP's competitors are sites such as D&B, InsideView, Jigsaw, Kompass, Hoovers, LexisNexis Corporate Afilliations and Zoominfo.
References
- ^ Salesgenie Returns to Super Bowl
- ^ When the advertiser's goal is to be 'the worst'
- ^ Salesgenie's Super Bowl success
- ^ Coke, Clydesdales Score With Super Bowl Viewers
- ^ USAToday Ad Track, Super Bowl Edition
- ^ Peter Overby, "Clintons' InfoUSA Ties Scrutinized", National Public Radio , February 13, 2008
- ^ Business Ties Face Scrutiny
External links
- Official website
- infoUSA, Inc. Company Profile
- Business Waste Reduction:
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