I’m sitting here, quietly working, and WHAM! I’m startled. I glance out my office window to see a rather unkempt man walking down the street with a handful of yellow bags containing phonebooks. “They still print those things!” was my first thought.
I’m sure printed telephone directories have their place, but what place is that? I pick up the book to have a closer look. The front cover says “Eco-friendly size.” I wonder if the book is just smaller to reduce costs. My curiosity turns to the ads in the yellow pages.
Who is advertising in here these days? My accountant has a nice little ad, an HVAC ad catches my eye, assisted living facilities. Perhaps, the older generation still uses the phonebook. I guess if that was your demographic- sure, advertise in a phone directory. Law firms. Of course, and full color ads. I bet those are costly. I wonder what their ROI (return on investment) is.
Golf courses, a few nice ads. I can see that. Similar to restaurants – tourists in hotel rooms might use the phonebook to find places to see, things to do, and restaurants to try.
I see one of my favorite clients does NOT have an ad. My brother has a small one, very nice. Wow some of the churches have BIG ads. I wonder who’s paying for those.
Here is a good ad. A builder’s ad that doesn’t prominently feature a house. Bear’s Builders of Waupaca has an ad with a bear. A big bear with a tiny little house in its open mouth. I like it; this ad caught my attention, unlike the rest of the ads with pictures of houses. Sometimes it is good to be different!
Okay, I’m only in the C’s… Dentistry ads. There is one with a picture of the office’s exterior. How is that suppose to attract patients? The ads of people showing off their great smiles are only a slight improvement. The only insurance ad that garnered my attention has a picture of Alex Trebek. Ok, celebrities work, even on me.
This book would be a lot smaller if it didn’t contain so many ads for itself. I have to admit some of the self-promoting cartoons catch my eye- which is impressive, they aren’t even color cartoons. Pizza ads. Those should be big and eye-catching. My favorite place doesn’t even have an ad! They better have ads in hotel rooms. Plumber ads. Why in the world is your company name the biggest thing in the ad? Think like your audience, people!
Here is a simple ad that caught my eye. A refrigeration company, the ad is simple, but the outline is a van, not a box. There is a salon with a bikini-clad woman in the tanning bed. She caught my attention. As did the smiling, half-naked men in the travel agency ad (yes, there were bikini-clad women, too).
Restaurants. I still have some faith in the yellow pages! Appealing ads with maps and phone numbers and pictures! Even menus! Great job Brick Oven. You even highlighted some of the dishes on the menu with a red box, have an obvious unique selling position, and prominently declare “We Deliver.”
Yes, phone directories are still in print. There are few cases where I can recommend ads beyond a basic listing. If your target demographic, your best customers, use a book to find your phone number, place an ad. But please be different, simple, yet unique. If your ad looks like the ones around it, no one will ever even give it a second glance.
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