118 24 7 confirmed as 'œDirectory Heaven' after winning 'œBest UK Service' award for the fourth time

Wednesday, 07 October 2009 18:16

Service also wins “Best Marketing Campaign” and “Customer Service Agent of the Year” titles in major international awards

118 24 7, the UK business telephone numbers and directory enquiries service from directories business Yell, has won the title of “Best UK Service” for a fourth year at major international awards for the information services industry.

The win gives the service a 100 per cent success rate for each year the category has been run in the International Directory Assistance Awards – a significant track record and a reflection of Yell’s focus over the years in establishing a high quality service run from UK call centres.

118 24 7 also clinched awards for “Best Marketing Campaign” and “Customer Service Agent of the Year” in the 2009 awards, organised by the independent industry monitor 118tracker.com.

Its win in the “Best Marketing Campaign” follows 118 24 7’s highly successful advertising campaign earlier this year across TV, radio and online, and based on the cult internet cartoon character “Magical Trevor”.

Matthew Bottomley, director of new media product marketing for Yell in the UK, said: “When you promote a service with the tag line of ‘Directory Heaven’, it is vital that the experience lives up to the billing.

“We have continued to build on our track record for excellent service, through highly effective staff training and a determined focus on always putting our callers first. Our clutch of awards in a strongly contested international event is a huge endorsement of the quality of our service and our people.”

118 24 7, which operates from call centres in Bristol and Newport, secured the “Best UK Service” award after being judged on criteria including service quality and performance management, efficiency and innovation.

The “Customer Service Agent of the Year” title went to Bristol call centre agent Kevin Allen who has worked at 118 24 7 for three years. He was cited in the submission as setting himself apart from his peers “through hard work, a positive approach, and a constant determination to improve the service.”

118 24 7’s recent “Directory Heaven” campaign was its first stand-alone advertising drive and aimed at promoting usage and awareness through emphasising the service number in a fun, highly catchy manner.

In its first weeks it generated an uplift in calls of around 70 per cent and attracted a huge following on YouTube and internet forums.

Matthew Bottomley added: “The ‘Directory Heaven’ campaign really struck a chord with our consumers. As well as being particularly successful in driving calls, the innovative way we developed our brand created a clear identity which gained strong affinity with users.”