Over 500 industry representatives gathered this September in Reston, Virginia to hear the latest research and participate in discussions on current industry issues and trends. The DDC 2007 State of the Industry conference was opened by John Kelsey who provided a market overview of the Global Yellow Pages industry. He indicated that while the print copy has seen some decline in frequency of use (particularly in major markets) the online yellow pages has dramatically increased in use. The Yellow Pages publishers are taking on the challenge of search engines and stepping up to the plate by adapting and embracing the new delivery technologies to bring buyers and sellers together. Bringing buyers and sellers together has been their expertise for over a hundred years. The directory industry in the US is very competitive with 4 or 5 directories per market. The print yellow pages still represents 90% of the revenue while globally print represents 88%. Usage of the hard copy is still greater than the Internet Yellow Pages and Local Search combined.

Charles McLaughlin from the Kelsey Group provided his vision of the directory industry in 2020. He suggested that we will live in an online world where media surrounds us. It will be a specialized vertical media marketplace with less hard copy directories and where pricing is largely multi-channel, value-based, and supported by call measurement.

Sometime was spent sharing the latest April 2007 Global usage research. France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK all participated in the study and the data was averaged for presentation. Basically the research indicated that while there appears to be some shift in usage between the print, online and search engines the hard copy is still the number #1 referenced vehicle with no tipping point yet in sight.

Scott Pomeroy of Local Insight Media focused his key note address on the consumer of today. They have the world at their fingertips. They are driven, empowered and in control. UTube sees some 65,000 uploaded videos a day and a quarter of the websites online incorporate opinions, feedback and reviews. This new consumer is using text messaging because they want instant communication as email is too slow. They are not passive, but highly mobile and need targeted and customized messages.

Warren Kay, Managing Director, Strategic Alliances, Yahoo! Search Marketing was the other key note address at the conference. He shared some interesting facts pertaining to market shifts. Online ad spending in 2011 will be 7.8 billion up from 2.1 billion in 2006. Internet usage is interesting though because of the 89% of people who regularly or occasionally research online only 7% buy online. Purchase behavior used to be influenced by newspaper, TV reminder, phonebook, and friend and now it’s the internet for awareness, price comparison, product reviews, and recommendations. People still purchase offline.

There were numerous breakout sessions on topics including; the feasibility of the pay-per-call in Yellow Pages, Winning Back City Users, Selling Search, SEO and Performance-Based Advertising, Video and Voice integration, and discussions on tomorrows sales channels. We will cover some of these areas later in this Blog.

My overall take home from this conference is that while the Yellow Pages Industry is at a cross-road and feeling some competition for the first time, the slight decline in hard copy usage is not a market trend but rather an indicator to the Yellow Pages publishers that the brand needs to be energized and made relevant to the new consumer. I found it very interesting that even the internet search gurus in the midst agreed that there are a higher level of leads delivered to an advertiser through the Yellow Pages and Internet Yellow Pages than through local search.

Though it won’t be a mainstream feature until 2011, the developments surrounding IPTV and the Yellow Pages are exciting. During the Drilling Down on Local conference last March, attendees were already given a sneak peek into Yellowpages.com’s IPTV Internet Yellow Pages channel

IPTV (or Internet Protocol Television) is a system wherein a digital television service is delivered by using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. Instead of using traditional broadcast and cable formats, television content is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.

IPTV and the Yellow Pages make sense since they are both measurable media.

For the consumer, it’s all about added convenience. Imagine ordering a pizza from the comfort of your living room right on the screen of your TV while watching a ball game? For the advertiser, it’s all about lead generation and sales. The marriage of IPTV with the Yellow Pages database provides an excellent ROI model for advertisers.

The ball has already began rolling. Last Sept. 22, RefreshClassifieds.com reported that White Directory Publishers has partnered with BIAP to become the exclusive sales force for Yellowpages TV listings. (BIAP is one of the leading technology companies in the the new interactive TV listings marketing and has created the Yellowpages TV listing services for TV set-top boxes.)

The new partnership will allow BIAP access to advertisers from White Directory Publishers, Talking Directory product, the third largest directory publisher in the US. The partnership covers 28 key markets across the United States.

The Yellowpages TV technology leverages the Interactive TV capabilities available in many set-top boxes available across the US that have been relatively unused, the RefreshClassifieds.com article stated.

The Interactive TV capability allows consumers the ability to search web sites, or in this case business listings, with just their TV remote control.  It’s not clear how easy this functionality will be use to but it does create an interesting partnership in the business directory market.

Leadership and managing energy in a way are joined at the hip. Without one the other doesn’t exist. For me managing my energy is key to feeling balanced and to handling the day to day myriad of difficult issues surrounding the management of an exploding business. I have found that exercise is the means to manage my energy. Three days a week I venture on a cross country 10k run. This puts me in a framework, both body and spirit, that provides me with the clarity to see solutions and new visions.

Not long ago on one of my treks I had an unusual experience. I had been thinking about how interesting it is to be in the yellow pages industry at a time of unprecedented change. I wondered about the staying power of the physical hard copy yellow pages. Technology as we all know has taken us by a storm. It has changed the way we communicate and our buying habits. What we are seeing today we never would have imagined 20 years ago. Should we believe a millionaire that the hard copy is dead? Or, should I seek a new career? These were my circling thoughts when suddenly

I saw the hard copy yellow pages of the future.

It was a strange experience. I was being given a tour. But what I saw was so simple. I suppose Opra Winfrey would call it an Aha moment. As I was running on the spot at a major intersection hoping the vision wouldn’t leave before I posed my questions some jerk rolled down the window of his car to make a comment on the length of my shorts. Didn’t he know something very serious was going on? Well I suppose in all fairness to him I must have appeared as odd and over anxious about crossing the street. How do you explain to someone that you are in the midst of a mind blowing vision and that you had to keep running?

The whole point of this entry is to say that to those of you who think Bill Gates knows it all and that the yellow pages hard copy is dead well all I can say is this. relax. It is true that there is a temporary lack of creativity in the yellow pages industry but the hard copy is far from being a relic. The old Telco mindset is moving on (though there will be a little fighting) and new players are emerging with models and products that meet the needs of the new feisty consumer. We are in the midst of a shake down which is redefining value. True value is measured not just by the head but by the heart.

For almost a century the walking fingers have had great strength and resilience. They have provided hope and filled dreams for billions of people.

At a recent industry conference I had the opportunity to wear a flowing floor length yellow satin dress trimmed in the walking fingers. The smiles and conversations with strangers were all part of the remarkable experience of being inside the brand. One lady on the elevator told me with tears in her eyes how the yellow pages had changed her life. The yellow pages I learned are truly about trust, reliability, comfort and fun. But most of all the experience they deliver is very personal.

I suppose you could tell Opra Winfrey when you next run into her that I had two Aha moments this year. In the meantime, stay tuned for the walking fingers dancing in Paris  (that is if I can find a dancing partner!)

Back in the day, when static, two-dimensional banner ads were the most effective online advertising medium, little did people know that multi-sensory video ads would soon be the commonplace on the internet.

Video is a very compelling medium,  said Pat Marshall, chief new media officer of Yellow Book USA, a leading national yellow pages and online local search company. An ad with sight, sound, and motion is the next level in Internet local advertiser content. Consumers are remarkably drawn to it.

A few weeks ago, Yellow Book announced that it has launched a live advertiser video trial on yellowbook.com, the company’s Internet yellow pages (IYP) site. The trial is a test of selected Yellow Book advertisers from across the country. These advertisers represent a cross-spectrum of small and medium-sized businesses that advertise on yellowbook.com.

The video ads are professionally produced, high-quality spots that provide advertisers the opportunity to promote their business in their own words and with strong visuals.

The video shoots took place at the advertisers place of business and required little disruption to their business and time, Yellow Book stated in a press release. After professional editing, the finished videos were added to yellowbook.com to accompany the advertisers Internet display ads.

According to eMarketer, Video’s high engagement factor, combined with the Internet’s tracking and targeting capabilities, potentially offers (advertisers) a highly accountable method to sway the hearts and minds of their target audience.

Marshall also added that these video ads will no doubt strengthen our advertisers online campaigns by capturing the attention of users with an addictive medium.

Despite many false alarms in previous years, mobile advertising is finally taking off this year thanks to a confluence of factors, says the Kelsey Group.

In a recent article on ClickZ, Matt Booth (VP and program director of The Kelsey Group’s Interactive Local Media practice) said, In almost every mobile forecast, it’s always been next year will be big. This time, there are several factors coming together that should drive mobile ad adoption, and start pushing the market.

The Kelsey Group’s U.S. Mobile Advertising Forecast claims that the U.S. mobile ad market will grow from $33.2 million in 2007 to $1.4 billion in 2012, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 112 percent.

Other analysts have predicted the mobile ad market will grow to anywhere from $1.5 billion to $2.9 billion in 2011. The end result of course depends on the definitions and assumptions being used, but overall, every forecast calls for huge growth in the mobile ad space.

One of the biggest drivers of the mobile market will be Google, which needs to find another outlet for its text ads. With the rapid growth of search slowing due to the sheer size of the market, Google will need to look elsewhere to keep investors happy. Mobile ads could be a natural extension of that, since the existing text ad format would also work for mobile, Booth added.

Microsoft is also expected to make a big push into mobile advertising, in an attempt to beat Google to the punch. Microsoft has been investing heavily in mobile, including the acquisition of TellMe in March, and hopes to extend its adCenter platform to mobile ads as well

Yahoo has likewise made some investments in mobile, and has a very popular product with its OneSearch application, as well as a strong subscriber base to market that product toward, but their mobile efforts lack focus, according to Booth.