Comments on: Yellow Pages Had a Worse Than Average Week

By: Ed Kohler

Ed Kohler — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:34:45 +0000

@Erika, I don’t believe I suggested anywhere that local businesses should rely solely on the web for advertising. If that’s what you read in my post, I can see why you’d be upset.

As I re-read it (It’s from 2008, so it’s been a while), I see that there was a prediction that print directory advertising would drop 39% over 4 years. This can be tracked in the financial reports of YP companies. For example, SuperMedia (formerly Idearc Media) had the following Net Advertising Sales. Keep in mind that the numbers below aren’t even pulling out print. This gives SuperMedia the benefit of including non-print revenues:

Q1 2008: $744m
Q1 2009: $626m
Q1 2010: $497m

So this particularly company has dropped 33% of Borrell’s 39% prediction in the first two of four years.

I hope you really don’t have to rely upon electrical storms to justify your product. Personally, I live in a home that occasionally loses power, but it hasn’t justified bringing any of the phone books spammed on my door into my home.

The tangible angle is also interesting. As long as there is a justifiable business model, there will be print phone books. Just like with newspapers. Have you been following what’s been happening in that industry?

By: Erika

Erika — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:47:06 +0000

This is one of the worst things I have ever read. After spending twenty years in the yellow pages industry, as a sales representative, I can assure you that business owners are indeed still advertising in the phone directories. Just try being a small fish in the internet pond. As a small business owner, how would you even begin to think of competing with the larger fish on a global scale? And how would you fund it? They can’t. But on a local, city, county, state level, yellow pages advertising still has a good ROI. And people still reach for that book. Gee. It just doesn’t ever crash! It’s always there, even during an electrical storm.

For the past twenty years people have been telling me that the yellow pages is dead. That everyone is looking things up online. Balony! It’s simply not true. People will always want to feel and touch a tangible phone book. You can’t get that online.

By: Pannos-Winzeler Marketing News » Blog Archive » ? of the Day to Tara

Pannos-Winzeler Marketing News » Blog Archive » ? of the Day to Tara — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:30:24 +0000

[...] Yellow Pages Had a Worse Than Average Week [...]

By: Michael Slawin

Michael Slawin — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:40:18 +0000

It’s disturbing to see these numbers and even more disturbing to know that there are talented people still trying to get the last dollars out of this dying medium.

I’d welcome working with current and former Yellow Pages sales people–they understand local search and the importance of proper ad text and placement.

Clients are asking for strategies and support for new media initiatives and there are not enough of us out their providing this for them. I’d think the Yellow Pages folks would be a natural fit in a new media agency such as mine.

By: Joey Who Works at Idearc

Joey Who Works at Idearc — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:29:07 +0000

I’ve worked at GTE-Verizon-idearc-Superpages for over 15 years, and now looking for work when I thought I’d be getting ready to enjoy my retirement. Industry wide, revenues and margins have been so high in the past, the current management can’t see the future…The King Has No Clothes. Idearc is selling off property, booking mid to late 2009 advertising to beef up the p&l, (can we spell Enron?) and firing everyone possible with a large base – i.e., the oldtimers. I realize some will look at this and say it’s all a gripe, and they’d be right. IT”S A GRIPE THAT IDEARC MANAGEMENT DOESN’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE STREET and keeps touting the value and strength of yellow pages. Call Counts? One in 10 sales and marketing uses, due to the overwhelming poor call counts. Take a ride with a rep someday and experience the local business owner moving money from print to Google. Although the IYP is a strong growth internet industry, it’s a million dollar industry, and not a billion dollar industry. So, I’m looking for a new ‘career’ since the golden years are indeed over. Inside the halls we all know The Emperior Has No Clothes.