Yell UK Yellow Pages and 'VisitBritain' Welcome visitors

New Yellow Pages directory features great days out click here for the full story
In order to drive usage, Yell UK has brought in many great ideas, the latest is partnering with the Tourism Authorities in the UK to let the Yellow Pages directory become a platform for guide news to tourists (inter and intra). This is refreshing and also a potential revenue driver too.

Once it is done on print, this is also easily replicable on the Internet.

This story is carried on the local newspaper and was picked up by my faithfully google sniffer for such stories from the Yellow Pages.

"Warrington area residents looking for something different to do in their free time need look no further than their new Yellow Pages directory. Thanks to a partnership with national tourism agency VisitBritain, the new Yellow Pages currently being delivered features six pages of brand new editorial showcasing ‘Great Days Out’ within a two-hour drive."

It added, It is "Packed with stunning images, the information aims to inspire people to explore some of the region’s fantastic attractions. From visits to grand stately homes and eye-opening garden attractions, to castles, mountain railways and great open spaces, the new Yellow Pages features them all."

What are some of the popular things they cover the papers reported "Popular attractions such as Chester Zoo, Gullivers World Theme Park and Tour and Blackpool Pleasure beach also feature. Each listing provides information about the attraction as well as opening hours, contact details and web address."

Clodagh Ward, said that the introduction of new editorial content in Yellow Pages directories is part of publisher Yell’s continuous programme of enhancements to its products. This also includes a fresh new look to Yellow Pages directories rolling out throughout 2008 to make finding things easier.

He added, “Thousands of people turn to Yellow Pages for trusted local information every week. So, if you’re seeking activities to keep the kids amused or something to do at the weekend, the new Yellow Pages directory could provide the solution. It’s the start of an exciting partnership for us with VisitBritain.”

This is a great idea to provide rich content to otherwise a stale yearly yellow pages. With books in the hotel rooms, it will be a boost for the local economy esp those who are mums and pops stores.

I have personally seen this development over the past 5 years and I think it does add a new dimension esp. so when they are also appearing on the internet and mobile.

As the adage goes "Content is King" - truly all else is similar, content drives usage and eyeballs.

What do you think? Should Yellow Pages around the world have this feature?

Drop me a line. Thanks.

Singapore Yellow Pages Q3 Profit falls by 70% to S$1.5million

Singapore Yellow Pages' Q3 profit falls 70% to S$1.5m

Since my report of the fall of profits of US publishers Donnelly (US 3rd largest) and also Yell.com (UK yellow pages) difficulty in meeting with their targets, it seemed that the US housing market is beginning to bite at every corner of the globe with devastating effect.

SINGAPORE: Mr Loh Kim Chin of CNA reported that Yellow Pages has announced a 70 percent fall in third-quarter profit to S$1.5 million which attributed to a S$3.4 million forex loss. Besides this, it is due to 30 percent drop in revenue to about S$12 million. It is also down by 24% YOY performance to S$13 million

Further it announced they will move to other vertical products to shore up its revenue such as a new Yellow Pages directory (hotel edition) to tap the rising tourism markets fuelled by the

integrated resort and F1 formula race that is fast transforming Singapore city. Other products are also planned such as heart land books, specialist guides over the next two years.

Poser: what do you think? Can Singapore Yellow Pages see a rise in the revenue. What are the other solutions?

Donnelly (YellowPages Publish) value falls by half; industry ailing

Donnelley value falls by half; industry ailing Email to a Friend

It has been a hard road for the Yellow Pages industry. Ever since its hay days when the investment banks bought it because it showed steady profit stream, it has now failed to deliver the profit numbers... this change in advertising trends is happening US as David Ranii StaffWriterShares reports.

R.H. Donnelley have lost half their value since December as investors react to concerns about the yellow pages industry's health and the company's disappointing projections.

The latest blow came Thursday when rival yellow pages publisher Idearc reported that its ad sales fell nearly 5 percent in the fourth quarter. That sent Donnelley's already depressed stock tumbling 38 percent for the week with 12-month price target to $25 from $65. The all-time high was $83.90. The drop since then has wiped out more than $4 billion in shareholder value.

Attributing to this fall stems from the deteriorating housing market. Then shares tumbled 9 percent Dec. 5 after Donnelley issued disappointing projections for 2008.

Donnelley is the nation's third-largest yellow pages publisher, with directories in 28 states. As advertising migrates online, Donnelley has been pumping up its Internet business, but it still generates the bulk of its revenue from selling ads in paper directories.

Although Donnelley diversify onto online with $345 million acquisition of Business.com, which companies use to search for services, vendors and potential customers; the $4.2 billion acquisition in early 2006 of Dex Media, a yellow pages publisher that also was a leader in online local searches; and consolidating its online yellow pages at a single site, DexKnows.com.

Ken Clark, publisher of YP Talk, (http://www.yptalk.com/ - the voice of the Yellow Pages industry) an online industry newsletter sees the stock's recent swoon as "totally overblown."
"These companies aren't going to go away tomorrow," said Clark, who is a Donnelley shareholder.

Donnelley spokes-man Tyler Gronbach said the company remains convinced that it has a winning hand with what it calls its "triple play" initiative -- selling ads in print and online, plus helping companies enhance their visibility on the Internet by boosting their rankings on Web searches.

"We believe our competitive advantage is we have feet on the street ... [a 2,000-person sales force] that works with advertisers every day." Donnelley demonstrated its confidence in December by announcing plans to buy back as much as $100 million of its stock. To read more....click here.

What do you think of the current Yellow Pages in your city? Are you still using it? Do you think its a good investment?

Two different tales of platform

Singapore seemed to be buckling the trend that print is on the decline. Singapore Press Holding has seen some good results as the report suggests. I guess Singapore is a small country with only 4 million people and therefore Reach of these traditional media is not a question. People still read it... esp. there has been constant revamp and introduction of new tabloid news paper for the young bi-lingual market. Instead of a print decline, there is an increase! Even magazines are on the increase.

In summary, I think the entire market has grown and people have acquired diverse taste too. Read on and post your comments on what you have in your mind.

Newspapers still among top media platforms - Feb 12, 2008
DESPITE the buzz and hype surrounding advertising on social networking and other Internet sites, newspapers still trounced other media as the most effective marketing platform last year. This is because newspapers and other traditional forms of media still have a far wider reach, said the Fournaise Marketing Group in a recent survey
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Well, its a different story in the US where the users have more or less migrated onto the Internet....and helped online newspapers

Newspaper websites draw record viewers - Jan 25, 2008
NEW YORK - A RECORD number of readers visited United States online newspaper sites last year, according to figures, confirming the Web as one of the few bright spots for the struggling newspaper industry. The Newspaper Association of America reported on Thursday the number of unique visitors to newspaper websites last year rose more than 6 per cent to a monthly average of 60 million

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