Last July 25, Yellow Book USA, one of the leading independent publisher of print and online yellow pages, announced that they have partnered with cable operator Charter Communications in a distribution and marketing deal.

Charter and Yellow Book will co-market products and services through a variety of sales and marketing channels, including each company’s advertising products and sales forces. The agreement also provides for the creation and distribution of co-branded Yellow Book directories in Charter’s markets.

With Yellow Book as its partner, Charter can increase the awareness and visibility of their commercial and residential telephone service. Yellow Book’s sales representatives serve as a powerful channel to the small and medium-sized businesses they’re targeting with Charter Telephone. The alliance will enable them to accelerate their recent entry into the commercial telephone business. At the same time, Charter is filling a demand for local directory information for residential customers.

The bottom line is that Yellow Book and Charter have a lot in common, wrote John Kelsey a The Kelsey Group blog. They share many common markets, and hence a common competitor in AT&T. There is an easy logic to the notion that Yellow Book exposes charter to more potential voice customers and Charter gives Yellow Book entre to potential new advertisers.

Where these deals succeed or fail, of course, is in the execution, he added. Will the two sides promote one another’s services with enough vigor to make a difference? Time will tell, but it is clear the two have interests that are well aligned.