 |
||
| Understanding Yellow Pages Monograph |
2010-2011 Yellow Pages Advertising Challenge |
Yellow Pages Advertising Challenge Winners |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Traditional Display Advertising
 |
Display ads provide advertisers with the opportunity to present advertising that is as creative and visually-appealing as that seen in other print media. (Recommendations for creating print yellow pages display advertising are presented in the next section.) Display ads allow advertisers to use four-color process, detailed photographs and unique typography to create ads that break through the clutter, improve company perceptions and motivate contact. |
The following illustrate the range of standard display advertising. (A full-size version of each ad can be opened in a new window by clicking on the ad.)
|
 |
|
 |
As you can see, display advertising comes in many different sizes, with size dictating the order in which ads appear. Within a classification, larger ads precede smaller ones. Research has shown that while display ads generally work well to attract readers' attention, larger display ads, because of their size and placement, as well as their ability to provide more information, attract more attention than do smaller display ads.
Extended Display Advertising
Print directory publishers recognize that in order to meet changing advertisers' needs, they must provide increased advertising options within each classification. That is, they would have to offer more than traditional display and in-column advertising if they were to continue to convince advertisers that advertising in the print directory has the potential to both reach and influence their customers. The following are examples of different publishers' approaches to expanded and evolved print directory options.
Leader Ads
Leader Ads are located after the heading title and, as a result, are generally the first ad in the heading classification. Leader ads, which have a standard unique border that sets them apart from listings, in-column and display ads, provide the opportunity for significant exposure at the beginning of the heading. |
Double Truck (Two Page) Ads
Double Truck ads combine two side-by-side full pages into a single ad. Double truck ads offer advertisers several advantages over a single page display ad: Priority Placement and Increased Visibility - Double Truck ads are always placed at the beginning of a heading and as a result are one of the first ads consumers see when they go to the heading. Further, Double Truck Ads receive all of the reader's attention, as there are no visible competing ads on the same page. More Room - Advertisers can provide all of the information sought by consumers and all of the details that can competitively position their business. Advertisers using this ad format are not limited to a subset of desired copy points or illustrations due to space limitations. |
Print Directories - Innovation
Beyond new opportunities for advertising within headings, print directory publishers have created new ways for advertisers to promote themselves outside of the headings. Many of these new approaches involve new directory areas for ad placement. (Note that not all options are offered by all publishers in all directories.)
Directory Covers and Spines
|
Magazines offer advertisers the option of advertising on inside and back covers. Many print directories offer advertisers the same option. Directory covers offer advertisers several important benefits including maximized exposure and placement adjacent to important consumer information. Beyond covers, many directories also allow advertising to be placed on the directory spine. |
|
Directory advertisers are not limited to standard cover and spine advertising. Supermedia, for example, offers enhanced cover advertising through the use of gatefolds: double-sided, non-perforated extensions of the front or back directory cover. |
 |
And what about an advertiser who wants the exposure provided by cover advertising but doesn't need (or can't afford) to purchase an entire cover? For these advertisers there are additional options.
 |
Snipes allow an advertiser to purchase the upper right hand corner of the directory cover. Sponsorships are a prominent but less then full page cover ad. Billboards are small, typically square ads that run along the bottom of the front cover. Tip-ons are ads that are affixed to a directory's front or back cover. Paper Tip-On ads (generally about 4" by 6") are printed on both sides and are attached to the directory with special adhesive allowing it to be easily removed. Because the tip-on is printed on both sides, the reverse side of a paper Tip-On ad can include a coupon offer, map with directions or any other pertinent information about an advertiser's business. Magnetic Tip-On ads (generally about 4" by 4" and offered only on selected directories), are affixed to the directory in a way that encourages their removal and placement on a refrigerator, file cabinet or other metal surface. |
Tabbed Pages
Many directory headings such as Attorneys and Physicians have extensive advertising. For these types of headings, advertisers have the option of placing their ad on a front-of-heading tabbed page. A tabbed page is a full size, full-color ad printed on a heavy paper stock paper that extends beyond the edge of the directory, creating a natural opening point for consumers about to search that heading. Because tabbed pages lead consumers to the heading, they give an advertiser a significant competitive advantage.
Special Sections
|
Consumers have become accustomed to having information organized and categorized. In response to this preference, directory publishers have created special sections within their directories - guides organized by topic or area of interest. One of the most popular guides is "Restaurants." While the Restaurant Guide is very useful to directory users, the guide also allows restaurants to supplement their display advertising, permitting them to reach the broadest possible number of potential customers. Other popular directory guides include: Community Pages, Physicians, Dentists, Insurance and Internet. |
Internet Listings
Many Internet businesses have the need to publicize not only their web address but also their address and telephone numbers. Second, many Internet businesses, while not wanting to publicize their address and telephone number, still have the need to reach as many people in their target audience as possible. Both of these needs can be satisfied through new options in print directory advertising which allow a business to add its URL to its print directory in-column listing.
Ride-Along Advertising
All of the prior advertiser options used the directory as the medium in which the advertising appears. Print yellow page directories can also be used as the medium that literally delivers the advertising.
|
The yellow pages ride-along program allows advertisers to package their direct mail piece, insert or product sample with the print yellow pages directory. AT&T, for example, uses a bag (see illustration) to deliver both the directory and the advertising materials. Advertisers can use two types of ride-along delivery.
|
 |
Now, think about ride-along advertising, and then ask yourself:
How do you reach people in their homes with a message "loose six pounds in two weeks by eating two bowls of Special K cereal" and actually demonstrate what six pounds feels like and demonstrate this at the time (around New Years) when people are most receptive?
The
Kellogg Company, always looking for innovative ways to deliver their message
to the public, was presented with the idea of using ride-along as an alternative
to traditional TV, newspapers and magazines during their January Special
K campaign. Kellogg has a high concentration of their media weight around
the first of the year to capitalize on the New Year's Resolution mindset.
The Special K message during this time is grounded in the Special K Challenge
-- Eat 2 bowls of Special K for 2 weeks and lose 6 pounds. SMG Directory
Marketing working with two sister agencies, Leo Burnett USA, Inc and StarCom
Media Group brainstormed and developed an idea that Kellogg loved. The
creative idea was to reference the weight of the Yellow Pages and correlate
it with the loss of that weight by taking the Challenge. The first step
was to find directories that published in January. The next challenge
was to find the right product to deliver the message. All options were
explored; tip-ons, inserts, banners, shrink wrap and delivery bags. It
was decided that the message printed on delivery bags would create the
most impact. SMG contacted all the publishers with the proposal and RH
Donnelley Publishing was quick to respond that the Las Vegas directory
which publishes in January, weighed six pounds. The result was the Kellogg's
Special K Challenge being delivered to over 600,000 households in Las
Vegas during January--the New Year's Resolution timeframe.
Internet Yellow Pages Directories
The relative youth of Internet Yellow Pages coupled with rapid advances in web-based technology has caused the evolution and innovation processes to occur nearly simultaneously for Internet Yellow Pages. These directories are constantly being evaluated to determine the effectiveness of their current advertising options and developing new approaches to advertisers' needs.
You know from your experiences with search engines that listings which appear first have more potential to be clicked-on. The same is true for Internet yellow pages. As a result, Internet Yellow Pages publishers have provided ways for businesses to improve their placement in the search results. While the names and specific techniques vary across different Internet Yellow Pages, all share the common approach of rewarding greater advertising commitment with listings higher in the search results.
Some Internet Yellow Pages directories make a direct link between an advertiser's financial commitment and ad placement.
AT&T's Yellowpages.com, for example, provides a broad range of advertiser options where placement reflects an advertiser's spending level. Each of an advertiser's options is associated with a different set of costs. Detailed information for each of these options, and its accompanying financial commitment, is explained by AT&T as follows:
A detailed dicsussion of the approaches taken by other Internet Yellow Pages companies can be found at:
Sources
All sources are noted in the text.
