Yellow Pages: Doorstops or Indispensible Resource?
I don't know about you, but the Yellow Pages have been made obsolete in my home. In fact, as soon as they arrive, we put them right in recycling. Admittedly, we're a very digital family. Still, I have to wonder what Yellow Page use looks like on a national level in our digital times.
I met with a Yellow pages ad representative recently to discuss an ad for a client of mine. She tells me that business remains really good for her. She cited some examples of ads which pulled very large numbers. They will set up unique phone numbers (at a fee) to track ad response rates, and they offer some google adwords services, too.
Still, I have to believe that the Yellow Pages are becoming dinosaurs, like the local printed newspapers.
When it comes to demographics - just ask a teenager if they've used the yellow pages lately, and you'll likely get a blank stare. I'd bet the vast majority of yellow pagers users are middle aged and older.
Even when we order a pizza, we go online for information, menus, and coupons rather than the phone book.
What do you think? Are there still segments of our population which rely on the yellow pages? What about business advertisers? Can any still thrive using Yellow Pages ads?
Posted by John Maler at 4/16/2009 6:04 PM 
Categories: Consulting,media,business strategy,advertising,print
Tags: phone books yellow pages advertising marketing
Categories: Consulting,media,business strategy,advertising,print
Tags: phone books yellow pages advertising marketing
Yes, still useful -- especially during power outtages and recessions -- and profitable -- and: there's far more to the systems that publish them than meets the eye.
The adage 'All marketing's local' is and has always been real and true when it comes to the many ways people locate what they want and buy.
There's a +/- 74% internet and broadband penetration in the US, and of those online, the densities are clustered in urban areas. While the listing business has and is quickly porting online, and younger populations use online and mobile directories almost exclusively, that still leaves 25% of the population (including the large and growing blocks of older populations) inclined or disposed to printed Yellow Pages as sources of ad and listing information.
The Yellow Page book publishers also have two incredibly valuable assets: deep, local information across the country, and a local distribution network -- the trucks that deliver the books to every household.
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Good comments, Paul. I'd be curious about the age numbers. My father, 82 yrs. young, is on his computer nearly all day long. Admittedly he's likely in the minority of PC users at his age, but still there are folks like him.
I wonder how local yellow book ad sales would correlate to local newspaper ad sales. My guess is both have been slipping in synchrony.
My biggest beef with the yellow pages is they are still very costly, despite reduced "page views" - clients are paying many thousands of dollars for placements. Are you finding good ROI on these investments?
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