Longtime Dayton-area Berry Co. changes name

Name change announced internally Wednesday

Longtime Dayton-area Berry Co. is changing its company name to Vivial.

The Kettering company long-known for producing the Yellow Pages and various online directories announced the change internally to employees Wednesday.

“It is 100 percent our corporate identity,” said Laura Cole, company spokeswoman.

The small business marketing company has about 300 employees in the Dayton area and more than 1,000 employees nationwide.

Derived from the adjective “convivial,” the new name embodies technology, engagement and “as a company who we are,” Cole said.

The new identity does not involve any related immediate expansion or acquisition announcements, but the company is hiring, she said.

“It’s new day for the company,” she said.

In 2014, the company then known as Berry moved its headquarters to 3100 Research Blvd. in Kettering in a 52,000-square-foot facility, after more than 50 years in Moraine. The former Berry Co. serves about 130,000 advertising clients in all 50 states.

The company has enjoyed growth in recent years. Also in 2014, the company acquired the rights to publish print and online directories for the Alaska, Cincinnati and Hawaii markets. Previously, the then-Berry Co. had served these markets on an agency basis on behalf of a seller, Local Insight Media Finance LLC.

With the addition of these markets, the company grew its owned customer base by 53 percent, executives said.

“It is a big investment in our company and a big investment in our future,” Cole told the Dayton Daily News at the time.

The former Berry Co. also acquired LocalVox Media Inc., a New York City-based marketing technology company, in September 2014.

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