Yellow Pages are Unique. Delivering impressions when they matter the most!
People who use Yellow Pages are actively engaged in the buying process. They have already decided that it’s time to buy. They realize that they have a sudden, unexpected need and they’re in search of a solution. At this point, consumers are seeking information about what your company offers. When people turn to the Yellow Pages they intend to make a purchase. That means more powerful impressions that deliver greater ROI than other media. It’s as simple as that.
People who use Yellow Pages are actively engaged in the buying process. They have already decided that it’s time to buy. They realize that they have a sudden, unexpected need and they’re in search of a solution. At this point, consumers are seeking information about what your company offers. When people turn to the Yellow Pages they intend to make a purchase. That means more powerful impressions that deliver greater ROI than other media. It’s as simple as that.
Yellow Pages are Impactful
For the top headings, an average of 20.4% of active shoppers reported using and being influenced by either the paper or the Internet Yellow Pages. This is more than for any of the other paid advertising media.
For the top headings, an average of 20.4% of active shoppers reported using and being influenced by either the paper or the Internet Yellow Pages. This is more than for any of the other paid advertising media.
Source: TNS, 2007 Media Impact Study
Yellow Pages are Genuine permission-based marketing
In a world of TiVo®, satellite radio and spam-blockers, the Yellow Pages are the original search engine and still the most widely used. Consumers view Yellow Pages content as valuable information and not intrusive marketing, and in a typical search they are receptive to each and every ad they encounter.
In a world of TiVo®, satellite radio and spam-blockers, the Yellow Pages are the original search engine and still the most widely used. Consumers view Yellow Pages content as valuable information and not intrusive marketing, and in a typical search they are receptive to each and every ad they encounter.
With more than 5,000 ad impressions delivered daily, consumers have the ability to tune out and turn off. But Yellow Pages are invited into homes and businesses. When consumers search a Yellow Pages directory, they are there for a reason. They're in control every step of the way.
Can Yellow Pages build my brand?
Absolutely, because you can reinforce the image – of convenience, quality, reliability, even fun – that you’ve already established in other creative media. With a variety of marketing options including poly-bagging, cover tip-ons and premium positions on covers and spines, Yellow Pages can showcase your brand in some surprising places.
Absolutely, because you can reinforce the image – of convenience, quality, reliability, even fun – that you’ve already established in other creative media. With a variety of marketing options including poly-bagging, cover tip-ons and premium positions on covers and spines, Yellow Pages can showcase your brand in some surprising places.
And Yellow Pages advertising extends the reach of your advertising campaign into every home in every major market. It increases the frequency of your brand messages and does it at exactly the right time to remind consumers that you have what they’re looking for. There’s nothing hit or miss about this brand advertising - it’s there when the consumer wants it.
IT PAYS. WE’LL PROVE IT.
Advertising effectiveness relative to other media should be a critical variable when allocating media budgets. When measured on amount of money spent on a medium relative to the percentage of buyers influenced by that medium, the Yellow Pages cost less per buyer influenced than any of the other major media with the exception of the Internet. And of course, you can buy Yellow Pages advertising there, too.
Thousands of advertisers have taken advantage of ROI testing by running metered ads. The 2007 metered ad database contains studies for 2,290 local advertisers that had the same size and type of display ad in the same market and heading for two successive years between 2004 and 2006 (either 2004-2005 or 2005-2006, or both). The size of this sample and the tracking to specific advertisers provides clear and compelling evidence that Yellow Pages ads are continuing to deliver results to advertisers.
- 60% of these advertisers saw increases in call volumes in the second year, with an average increase across all advertisers of 19%.
- Of 823 advertisers who had the same size ad in 2005 and 2006, 59% received more calls in 2006 than in 2005, with an average increase of 14%.
- Of the advertisers that saw an increase in year 2, the average increase was 49% (median of 23%); of the advertisers that saw a decrease in year 2, the average decrease was 24% (median of 19%). So, not only did the majority of advertisers see increased calls in year 2, but the gainers saw a larger percentage increase in calls than the decrease in calls experienced by the losers.
Metered ads are designed to prove yellow pages' value in attracting customers. Testing answers advertiser questions such as:
- Value of larger ads
- Value of new heading(s)
- Value of advertising in a directory not previously part of the schedule
- Value of neighborhood or suburban directories
What's the bottom line?
On average, national advertisers who purchase display ads in the Yellow Pages earn more than $27 for every dollar they invest. How? By reinforcing their selling proposition at the instant the consumer is looking for the products or services they sell. From the Yellow Pages Association 2008
On average, national advertisers who purchase display ads in the Yellow Pages earn more than $27 for every dollar they invest. How? By reinforcing their selling proposition at the instant the consumer is looking for the products or services they sell. From the Yellow Pages Association 2008
WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?
Today, Americans expect to access information when they want it and where they want it – and Yellow Pages advertising delivers on every platform. In 2007 more than 60% of American homes had access to broadband Internet service. 195 million adults in the U.S. use mobile phones, including 70% of adults in the 35-49 age group. WIFI is widely available in airports, popular restaurant and hotel chains, making wireless computer connections as common as wireless phones. Yellow Pages makes that connection.
Yellow Pages advertising can be viewed on every platform, from print to CD-ROM, cell phones, PDAs and the Internet, and it's not just the printed directory version online; it's platform-specific content delivered wherever and whenever consumers need it.
Yellow Pages and Internet use are often complementary, not competitive. People who subscribe to online services consult the Yellow Pages 23% more often than non-subscribers.
Consumers turn to the Yellow Pages to find relevant, local content. They relied on the Yellow Pages over 13 billion times last year. Local Yellow Pages advertisers numbered over 3 million in 2007, with their listings spread across almost 4,000 headings. Shouldn't your business be there?
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2008
Small Business Advertising Shifting to Local Directory Portals
People are putting down the Yellow Pages. Literally. They are going online to locate the merchants and services they need. The Wall is predicting the extinction of printed business directories.
Restaurant owners Claude and Uli Melchiorri own and run a successful bistro in Hilton Head, their hometown for the last twenty years. As small business owners, their marketing is very important to their business’ growth. It’s important that their advertising be affordable and trackable. For many small businesses advertising options preferred by large businesses are often not within easy reach. The Melchiorris have found that online advertising is affordable and current. Hilton Head’s Santa Fe Café owner Marshall Sampson confirms what the Melchiorris know, “Interactive search on the internet is what our customers use to find us.” “We can reach more people and be more expressive,” says Uli.”
The backbone of small business advertising used to be print Yellow Pages and newspaper ad placements. According to a March 2008 report from Bloomberg News Service, “U.S. newspapers suffered their worst drop in print advertising sales since industry record-keeping began 57 years ago, hammered by the housing-market slump and competition from the Internet.” While newspapers’ print circulations are down, forty-one percent of all website visits in the third quarter of 2008 were to newspapers’ websites; an increase of sixteen percent over 2007; clearly demonstrating that viewers are using digital news sources on Internet. And these Internet readers want localized news. According to John Kimball, The Newspaper Association of America’s chief marketing officer, “make sure you're doing well in local news coverage.”
Some of the largest gains in ad placement spending have been in the category of online directory portals, such as the new Hilton Head located U.S. start-up YellowMarketing.com. Evidence for this move to the ‘Net is found in a recent report from The Kelsey Group which states that interactive global advertising revenues will reach $147 billion by 2012 and represent 21% of global ad spending. “It’s no surprise that the global advertising industry is experiencing a full-scale shift to mixed-media platforms, with interactive driving a significant share of overall industry growth,” said Matt Booth, senior vice president, Interactive Local Media, The Kelsey Group. During the forecast period (2007-2012), the United States will see interactive advertising revenues grow from US $22.5 billion to US $62.4 billion, 22.6 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) revenue will grow from $3.7 billion to $9.2 billion (20.1 %) (Kelsey Group).
What the Melchiorris and Sampson know first hand is confirmed by a survey of executive marketing officers. Online/mobile marketing is not only cost-effective, but instantly changeable, viral, current, and measurable (who is looking, who is forwarding, who is clicking through). Advertisers want more metrics and tracking of their ads. They also find that the lower cost of online advertising is easier to bear than the annual cost of thousands of other advertising vehicles.
Not only are traditional print Yellow Page ads expensive, they provide the customer little brand interaction. Print directory publishers have traditionally viewed their online directories as an adjunct to their publications, not as the primary vehicle. With this world view, the market is open for the development of a designed-from-the-ground-up-portal that is local; built for online, not vice versa.
YellowMarketing.com offers advertisers the opportunity to post videos about their businesses that are relevant to their potential customers. According to Michael Boland of The Kelsey Group, “That’s where the beauty of the local video comes in. Like a lot of other broad internet trends (social media, mobile search, etc.) video has made its way to local in its own little way. In other words it’s become an attractive way for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) to start advertising.” ClickZ writerAndreas Roell noted, “Advertising on dedicated, specialized sites allows advertisers to fine-tune their messaging and offer users a message that will resonate. Users who are visiting these niche online destinations are also likely to be further down your purchasing funnel, so why not fish where the fish are?” Boland makes the point, “But unlike the national video ad formats ... that require inserting ads with content, local video advertising is the content. In other words, an SMB video lives and breathes on the ... IYP listing, City guide profile, or search results. There it serves a user-centric purpose of assisting buying decisions and giving color (literally) to a listing, where a user has intent to find something locally.”
At a recent gathering of local business owners, the advantages of usingonline video advertising in a local directory portal were clear. Jack Ryan of Lowcountry Mosquito Control Systems, Inc. said “my videos on YellowMarketing allow me to explain my products and my service in a way that customers can understand” and Mike DeSimone of Elite Pools and Spas/Property Preservation Inc. offered, “videos let us show the customer what we can do for them.” Sampson observed, “You can update when you need to and not wait a year until a reprinting” and Ryan continued, “I can update at any time with new ads, videos and promotions.” Others added that their listings have maps and still photos too.
YellowMarketing.com was established in 2007. The company plans to grow nationally through other partnering arrangements with local publishers, phone companies, and radio and television stations in medium to small markets. Peter Buonaiuto, co-founder of YellowMarketing.com, knows the company’s service provides a web based, multimedia experience traditional print and internet yellow pages cannot offer. Because they’ve purchased a business listing database for their marketing area, local businesses are already listed in the directory, free of charge. Buonaiuto says, “For less than half of what businesses will pay for a print and online Yellow Page listing, they can expand their ‘profile’ to include photographs, product information, a video, a link to their website and coupons, all of which are updateable at any time.”
Dennis Geraghty, co-founder, Vice President of Operations and COO says, “Business owners with a YellowMarketing listing enjoy the added benefit of getting indexed in Google, Yahoo and other major search engines as well. These benefits offer the opportunity to drive more traffic to their businesses.” He adds, “We even have plans in the works to optimize the site for Smartphone technology, allowing searchers to navigate from their current location directly to the location they are searching.” Buonaiuto continues, “One of the most desirable features of YellowMarketing is the ability for the business owner to track activity on their profile: to see who is viewing it and what they are looking at.”
Buonaiuto and Geraghty are veterans of the telecom industry. They co-founded Send2Fax, LLC an internet fax services company in 2001. Send2Fax grew profitably to serve tens of thousands of customers around the world until 2006 when the company’s customer base and other selected assets were acquired in 2006 by the leader in Internet fax services.
Prior to the founding of Send2Fax, both had senior level executive careers directing telecom companies with revenues from $100-300 million. They both have been involved directly with a variety of technologies that we now take for granted including pre-paid long distance phone cards and fiber optic networks. In each case, their leadership helped establish these technologies as a way of life.
With their golden background and insight into the telecom business, their “voices of experience” and insight into small business marketing, it’s clear that they know where they are going with YellowMarketing.com and their advertisers agree with them.
DeSimone sums it up when he says, “YellowMarketing is very cost effective compared to most advertising I’ve tried in the past. I really feel that I am getting a great return on my investment with YellowMarketing.”
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