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What’s Wrong With This Picture?

By Michael Stelzner

Yesterday, I emerged from my office (after hours of writing) to find the following phone book perched on desk in the entry to my suite.

Take a good look at all the sides of this phone book.

In the pursuit of eyeballs, it seems that no portion of real estate has gone unsold here.

Here’s the funny thing, they even got rid of the title “Yellow Pages” to make room for advertising.

What are your thoughts about yellow pages?  Do you use them or toss them?

How does this one come across to you?

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This entry was posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 11:09 am and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • I was wrong. Used it just yesterday :)
  • Internet killed Yellow Pages in paper form, now you can use better manual of all times - google.
  • I think they are just waste of paper and out time
  • Catherine
    The YP sales rep talked my husband into a big flashy ad when he started his business. In a year, he didn't get a single call from that ad. It was a huge waste of marketing money.
    Almost all his new clients that aren't referred by other clients came from his (free) Craigslist ads.
  • Recycled or not, they are a waste of paper. I agree with those that wish for the "opt in" system for receiving these books. Not to mention that there are at least three different publishers in town that leave these bricks at the end of my driveway.

    Personally, if a local vendor has not taken the time to make sure that they are listed through Google, Yahoo, or bigyellow.com in the least, I have to question whether or not they will be equipped to suit my business needs. If they don't have a website, that's a big minus as well.
  • Because most of the people who read this blog are Internet- and information-savvy, we probably tend to underestimate how many people still used things like the Yellow Pages.

    The 13.4 billion figure refers to a study by Knowledge Networks/SRI about how many times the Yellow Pages were referenced in a year, not how many people read the Yellow Pages.

    Like most of the readers here, I don't personally use Yellow Pages directory anymore. I use online directories and guides that tend to include references and user comments. My guess is quite a few people who continue to use the Yellow Pages for quite a while, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some steep future drops in the annual SRI studies.
  • I tend to search for local businesses online, but I still crack open old yellow. The pages certainly need no name for us to figure out what they are. When I scan the pages -- I don't let the big ads distract me from finding what I need because I know the company paid extra for the attention.

    But sometimes it's hard to find what you need because the keyword you have in mind doesn't always match what the book uses.

    <abbr>Meryl Evans's last blog post..A Real Life Internet Fable</abbr>
  • Ntarugera François
    Mike:


    I do not think that there is something wrong having a phone book in ones office. The problem is not knowing who has dropped it there. Otherwise keeping people's contact may lead you to an opportunity through which you may probably be make business.

    Some people becomes rich through other people's hand . You never know!!

    Ntarugera François
  • My boyfriend is a bankruptcy lawyer, and he says fully a third of his clients come from his phone book ads. I can't figure it out. I haven't opened one in years, and I try to find the guys who leave them at my door to give them back.

    A little known use: A friend worked at a wild animal park. She collected phone books because the lions love to shred them.

    <abbr>Beth from Avenue Z's last blog post..Do we ever really grow up?</abbr>
  • Michelle
    Honestly, the last time I used the Yellow Pages was when I didn't have Internet at my apartment.

    Now that I've got Internet again, they're back to collecting dust in the cabinets.
  • I used to be one of those who did not use the YP because I have a Google IV straight into my arm.

    However, in the last six months I have needed a ton of services for my home . . . and the only place to find these people is in the phone book. (Many service providers in my area don't have a Website.)

    I also use it to find companies that deliver pizza.

    I keep the official YP from Verizon and recycle the others.
  • Kenc;

    Let's say there are 250 million people in America (counting children).

    This would mean each person in America would need to use the yellow pages more than 40 times a year.

    Unlikely...

    Mike
  • kenc
    Micheal:

    The 13 billion references come from people like me that use the products several times over the course of the year.

    Doug:
    Craigslist? what a wonderful trust worth source for information. There's been no issues with that site has there?

    Paddu:
    only 10-20% use books?? Try 85+% at least once a year.
  • I have not used the Yellow Pages for years. I get at least 6 books in my office every year. They even leave copies in front of the vacant office suites! Probably about 10 to 20 % may be still using the YP books, especially seniors and old timers. It is difficult for them to switch to computers. Also, some of the small business people still resisting to change; they want to stick to the phone and cold calling; they are scared of emails, online marketing, etc. Hopefully everyone will change over to online media in the next couple of years.
  • Doug Eberhardt
    Darlene, ha....they also prop up my little niece on the chair when she comes over for dinner!

    I have used them in the past year for pizza delivery from a local place as I haven't put their number where I can find it.

    For the most part, I use Craigslist for services locally and Google for all else (they give a local map to find stores and such). Depends on what I'm looking for.
  • Darlene
    I hate phonebooks!!! The only thing they are good for is propping up a monitor that's too low! I use Dexonline and Google for everything.
  • John Roberts
    Direct route from driveway to recycle bin. At the minimum the marketers should find out if you want one before sending. Another industry that should just pack up and find more productive jobs, like newspapers, insurance companies and the RIAA/MPAA.
  • I didn't know they still made phonebooks. I used to only find them by pay phones, which I don't see around anymore. I wonder how effective the advertising is ... my school bus drivers used to sit on them to see.

    <abbr>J.D. Meier's last blog post..Use Stress to Be Your Best</abbr>
  • dianacacy
    If I'm home and I need something I can't find, I look at the internet first, because it's faster than reading through lines of small type and turning thin pages.

    Truthfully, I don't use them often because I either know who to ask or where to go for what I need. But there is the occasion where we're going to a larger town and I'll throw it in the car, just in case we need to find something.

    I see the need for them, and I do witness people using them. LOL Most of those people don't use the internet, so you're going to find more people saying "no" to this here. It's amazing how many people have the internet at home but know how to do little more than check emails on it.

    I guess I see the reason for using all possible real estate. It means another ad sale. Is it effective though? *shrug* Not for me. I have a tendency to ignore the cover when I get it, and during the rare occasions I use it.
  • SHobbs;

    Really . . .

    13.4 Billion US consumers?

    Is there even that many people in the world?

    Mike
  • Graham
    Yello Pages have only a single path at my house... From the doorstep to the recycle bin. Since I started using Google several years ago, I haven't opened a single copy. I have no idea how to stop them from coming as there seems to be about a dozen different Yellow Pages published by a dozen different companies. I wish you had to opt-in to receive them rather than opt-out to not recieve them.
  • Whoa, please stop with the trees, Yellow Pages are created from recycled pulp and lumber residuals, so our trees are safe. In terms of use, last year over 13.4 billion US consumers referenced the print YP and many of YP publishers have online versions and distribution deals with other search companies, so an advertiser can get their information to a wide range of shoppers. The book wouldn't be covered with ads if it didn't work. The Yellow Pages, in print and online, produces buyers, not browsers. Full disclosure, I work for the Yellow Pages Association and the facts about our industry can be found at www.ypassociation.org.
  • I've seen some of the ones up in Orange County have a shrink-wrap with an advert inserted as well. Plenty of space left on that puppy!

    Seriously, I am still lost as to why the yellow pages even exists today. For 99% of basic daily look ups, I use Google either at home or on my crackberry. For the 1% of more complex things, I ask friends.

    To Kelly's point, this is a total waste of paper. In fact, I have one on my porch that has embarrassingly been sitting there for several months.
  • Kelly
    This is a hot button for me! I think of all those trees that have given their lives for yellow pages that I haven't used. I've been throwing the ones I get (seems to be 2-3 times/year) away for about 4 years now. I search online for the local businesses I need -- either through a yellow pages-type web site or through Google.
  • kenc
    just used the book the other day to find a local vendor to replace a cracked windshield
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