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The Kelsey Group DDC Conference: How do you want your directory listings?

By Ryan Fritzky | September 18, 2007

Thoughts from Libby Waldo live at the Kelsey Directory Driven Commerce conference in Reston, VA:

Are you a part of ‘Generation Y’, where even email is too slow, that you have to communicate over SMS or YouTube? Or are you a Baby-Boomer who is online, but might still be inclined to pick up a traditional phonebook? So how are directory companies leveraging their massive bases of local advertisers to take advantage of these different consumer segments?

In a keynote address, Scott Pomeroy of Local Insight Media stated that Yellow Pages publishers, going forward, need to think of themselves as lead generators in addition to directory publishers. Being a lead generator opens them up to the possibility of connecting their large advertiser bases with a plethora of different off and-online advertising products, which attract different consumer segments.

Pomeroy stressed that Yellow Pages publishers should rely on partners whose core competency is the ’service’ or advertising vehicle that their advertisers are looking for. And if Yellow Pages publishers can combine this with setting their ‘sales reps’ up as ‘marketing consultants,’ he maintains they will create tremendous value for local advertisers, regardless of what the ‘marketing product’ (albeit call tracking, print, search marketing, IYP) is. The main takeaway is the more dynamic a Yellow Pages publisher can be across channels and advertising vehicles the more they will profit from growing online consumer usage, no matter the generation.

Topics: Yellow Pages |

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