One of the questions consumers might have for kgb is: What does it stand for? In this case, it’s not the former Soviet intelligence agency, but the Knowledge Generation Bureau. This kgb wants to help people find answers to questions 24/7, whether it be via mobile phone, text or Web.
By releasing a suite of services designed to help people find information, the company is broadening beyond the directory assistance (DA) services for which it has been known in the United States. Formerly Infonxx, kgb bills itself as the world’s largest provider of branded DA services in Europe and largest independent provider of outsourced DA services in the United States.
Similar to some other Q&A services like ChaCha, kgb uses home-based human agents to answer questions; it also operates a knowledge database for reference when a question already has been answered at a prior time.
Kgb established a brand in Europe using the 118 118 short code and wants to do the same here with the 542 542 code, which corresponds to kgbkgb on the keypad, according to Bruce Stewart, CEO of Mobile and Digital at kgb. People want a variety of ways to ask questions and get answers, so the company is delivering its multi-pronged strategy, he said.
kgb also is launching mobile Web applications for smartphones and the iPhone, a WAP site, plus an Alpha kgb Web service this year to further expand the suite of information services it will offer in North America.
While user interfaces are improving, the reality is only a fraction of people pay for browsing on their cell phones and it’s still tough to find information on the phone, Stewart said. Kgb essentially seeks to make every phone a smartphone even if it doesn’t have a browser and data plan. “Our focus is on accuracy,” he said.
In December, privately held, New York-based kgb acquired Texperts, an SMS mobile find company based in the United Kingdom. That acquisition gave the company both technology and talent with a strong focus on the work-at-home community.
Kgb is launching TV commercials as well to get its brand out there. It’s a premium SMS service, and each question/answer costs the end-user 50 cents.