Flycast, R.H.Donnelley Team to Target Small Businesses

Flycast Communications, the ad network owned by CMGI that’s being folded into sister company Engage Technologies, on Thursday inked a deal to provide ad services to R.H. Donnelley, the largest marketer of yellow pages advertising in the US.

The deal calls for R.H. Donnelley to sell advertising on Flycast’s network as part of a package, as it reaches out to small businesses. The yellow pages marketer has also struck deals with IBM, netpropulsion.com and EarthLink as part of this effort to sell small businesses on Internet services. Donnelley is calling the package “get digital smart.”

For Flycast, and the other partners, this opens up new sales channels, and gives them the opportunity to reach the small businesses with which Donnelley has relationships.

“Understanding the needs of small businesses and developing strategies to meet those needs is Donnelley’s core strength,” says Frank Noonan, chairman and chief executive officer of R.H.Donnelley.

“The agreements we have with leading Internet companies will enable us to help small businesses complement their traditional marketing activities and extend their reach by capitalizing on the power of the Web.”

The initiative, which will be supported by a local ad campaign, is beginning in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area, and will be expanded to other regions.