I caught up with Jeroen Coppelmans, VP Business Development for Spotzer Media Group, the Dutch-based advertising agency part owned by European Directories, here in Las Vegas to hear more about his company’s announcement today that it is launching an affordable websites creation tool for Yellow Pages advertisers.
Spotzer, which serves as a video partner for major Yellow Pages companies in 20 countries, will take its experience in video product management and apply it to the mass production of websites for local businesses. The company has partnered with Websplanet in creating a turnkey fulfillment solution for YP publishers, which includes content gathering, client support, copyrighting, photo and image provisions, as well as search-engine optimization and URL registrations and transfers features.
In a session chaired by BIA/Kelsey managing editorCharles Laughlin today at YPA 2010, a panel of CEOs sat down to discuss the state of the Yellow Pages industry and share thoughts on what changes are critical to ensure long-term success and growth.
A key to the future, said Laughlin, is acknowledging the change in the “consumer purchase funnel” – i.e. the consumer decision-making process that leads to a purchase decision. According to BIA/Kelsey data, in 2007, shoppers consulted 5.5 reference sources before buying. Today, they check 7.9 resources before making a purchase. How are Yellow Pages organizations staying relevant in this competitive environment?
Sensis CEO Bruce Akhurst thinks it all about “[finding] buyers for customers.” Answering the larger question about “what type of company are you, and where are we going?” he responded that: “Usage of our print products continues to be pretty much what it’s been for the last 5-6 years, so we’re not believers in the end of print. But at the same time, we are adding a range of products to ensure that we are providing leads to our customers – including from platforms those we don’t own. Our role is putting out our customers’ content on Google, Twitter, mobile and online to ensure that they are visible in all places where customers are going to find buyers.”
Speaking from a European perspective, Mediatel CEO KimberliLewis agreed that the core of her business is about delivering leads, but commented that Mediatel’s path to success has been about reinventing the sales model. “So we have no rate card any longer. We sell only packages. These packages provide a certain amount of leads … This is the direction we see our business going… This shift has margin implications, but we handle that by working more like the fast moving consumer goods market, prioritizing sales of high margin services, but providing product offerings to support all types of customers.”
From a systems perspective, Local Matters CEO Matt Stover commented that “the industry is up to the task, but different players in the industry… start at very different places… [One] approach is getting a better understanding of where each company is strategically, and what their priorities are… and then, what tools are needed to deliver the quality, speed, and interoperability they need to provide better service and drive down costs.” In Stover’s opinion, being built to last will depend on being more aggressive and building a sales force that understands social media and can use it to connect with their customers.
Berry CEO Scott Pomeroy suggested that it comes down to making a fundamental shift from B2C to B2B businesses. “In order to continue to provide consultancy to our customers and leverage the rich SMB relationships our industry is the historical beneficiary of, we need to acknowledge that yellow pages are no longer the sole lead generator and help local businesses crack the code on how to use those other 7.9 sources that their consumers are referencing before they buy.” But that change is not easy to realize – it takes time and a focus on training, said Pomeroy. In order to transform from product salesmen to SMB consultants, the channel needs to recognize that the goal is now to “listen more than we talk.”
On the question of increasing competition, Pomeroy added that ownership is not always best. “We can provide leads through a myriad of portals. We don’t have to own them. Honestly, I’d just as soon rather sell someone else’s platforms, because there will be some failure as things continue to evolve,” he added.
Mike Boland, led a panel discussion of high interest – Monetizing Mobile Yellow Pages – with Chung Cheong from AT&T Interactive, Sergio Alvarez from Ai Media Group, and Krishna Pillai from Convergent Mobile.
Boland opened the discussion by providing facts and themes that demonstrate the opportunity in mobile: 63 million mobile Internet users, 29% smartphone penetration, and growing usage that will match desktop internet use by 2014 according.
“The mobile access points are happening when people are away from their desktop or print book, so it’s an opportunity to reach new users or existing users at incremental touch points.” And the marriage of mobile and social is driving popularity of mobile, while augmented reality apps, voice search, and bar codes add new possibilities.
Sergio Alvarez asked the audience a philosophical question – what’s a mobile device? Is an iPad a mobile device? The device landscape is diverse and fragmented, and can generate different results for advertisers and searchers.
Krishna Pillai says it’s important to think about what your end goal is before developing new apps and products in this fragmented market. “One of the things I tell my clients is to think about what you’re developing. Look at the audience. Is it an audience that uses theses devices? If your application does not use a lot of the native features of the device, think about why you really want to go through all that headache or writing for that device.”
Chung Cheong believes that customized messaging based on targeting – such as time or day or location of the user – is an important consideration for a mobile advertising program. The difficult part of that approach is that it requires a lot of advertiser input. “Restaurants or plumbers might be good at food or fixing a sink, but not necessarily advertising.”
Because of the complexity of some of these programs, Cheong believes that for many advertisers, it makes sense for most advertisers to consider mobile another channel as part of a larger advertising bundle and to analyze closely the advertisers that needs a more in-depth approach.
Pillai agreed that customization makes mobile a very powerful channel. “Because the mobile device is such a personal device and is such a ubiquitous device, users are very welcome to receiving information on their mobile device. There is a more timely aspect to it. When a consumer is looking for information, it is for something within the next hour or next several hours.”
“It’s been an unbelievable transformation. It was a matter of absolute survival.”
Eastman Kodak Chief Marketing Officer Jeffrey Hayzlett captivated the audience in this morning’s session with a discussion of the transformation Kodak has made as the world moved away from film/print imaging to digital. He opened the session with a comical but powerful video self-assessment from Kodak CEO Antonio Perez.
Five years ago, $15 billion of Kodak’s revenues were generated from consumer film … today, it’s less than $200 million. Revenues now are generated from 13 products, which make up 80% of revenue. All are No. 1, 2, or 3 in market share and half didn’t exist at all two years ago.
For example, its online photo center Kodak Gallery today has more than 75 million members and stores over 5 billion high-res photos – more than all other sites in the world combined. It is the third largest social network site in the world and is made entirely of paid memberships.
As the company worked to transform its brand, it made an effort to maintain the attributes that make Kodak familiar to consumers. “We wanted to transfer the old things to the new things because you just don’t throw it out,” said Hayzlett.
Hayzlett says he is a big believer in print. “You’re only as close as you are to the customer. Print is one of those lasting things that really works in the mix.”
Still, Hayzlett’s marketing strategy for Kodak focuses on repositioning the company for the digital age to reflect where revenues are generated today – 70% digital and 60% B2B. He has revamped the company’s Web site to strengthen the visual identity of a brand leading in digital photography and realigned sponsorships to capture the business customer.
He also takes the use of social media seriously and prefers to think about the “return of ignoring” instead of ROI in the traditional sense. As an example, Hayzlett discussed the incremental sales increases by adding user-requested features from online communities to its product line. To that end, Kodak has gone so far as to hire a chief listening officer.
In a nod to his book “The Mirror Test,” Hayzlett closed at the session by asking the Yellow Pages audience to look in the mirror and ask if we have the kind of people and the leadership in our businesses to make transformation happen.
Awards are part of any good trade association conference, celebrating your best and brightest isn’t just fun, it’s necessary. Singling out innovative members and honoring them in front of their peers is a great way to highlight outstanding efforts in new products, services and for community outreach.
The YPA has had an award program for over 30 years, and this year’s program was transformed along with the rest of the Conference. Categories were trimmed and for the most part, only the top or Gold winners were acknowledged.
At a “red carpet” reception, winners from across the country and around the world were feted with applause and trophies.
SuperMedia took home the gold for both Marketing Innovation (SuperGuarantee) and Community Service for “Summer of Good Reads and Good Deeds”. Ketchum Directory was honored in the Advertiser Success Story category and TMP won in the Process Innovation category for a unique measurement tool.
Other companies honored include AT&T Advertising Solutions, Telmetrics and ConnectFKM. Several individuals were honored, as well, for their contributions to the Yellow Pages industry.
In his annual President’s address at the YPA 2010 conference, President Neg Norton spoke of a transformed Yellow Pages industry that has seen dramatic innovation despite recession in 2009. Highlighting the new products, services and breakthroughs that have characterized the last 12 months in local search, he gave special recognition to:
SuperMedia and Dex One’s re-emergence as stronger, revitalized companies after financial restructuring; and YPG’s new multi-platform-focused brand.
New marketing strategies like The Berry Company’s new go-to market strategy and SuperMedia’s SuperGuarantee program – which both leverage the trust consumers have in Yellow Pages.
New integrated web platforms that bring together news, local directory listings, social content, video and other interactive content all in one space like AT&T’s yp.com and Buzz.com, YPG’s Calgary.com, and LocalEdge’s launch of Skunkpost.com.
Avantar, Yellowbook and Yellow Magic’s new yellow pages application for the iPad, SuperMedia’s sp411 and Yell Group’s augmented reality iPhone App.
New strategic partnerships and vertical innovations like SuperMedia’s acquisition of EveryCarListed.com; YPG’s acquisition of RedFlagDeals.com, CanPages.com and Restaurantica.com; and DexKnows weddings.
New measures introduced to reflect the needs and environmental concerns of our consumers, including Dex One’s “Select Your Dex” program, Sensis’ carbon neutral certification and Yellowbook’s efforts to significantly minimize the size of their directories.
“These transformational steps coupled with a recovering economy can make this the best of times for our industry,” said Neg.
“We have a clear vision of what the future looks like for our business, and that is as trusted consultants to local businesses, offering smart and effective multiplatform solutions to generate sales leads wherever, whenever on whatever platform their consumers are searching. We have the resources, the knowhow, the channels, and the transformative leadership to realize that vision better than any other player in this space.”
YPA ELITE IYP®, a new proprietary industry system created with MediaTraks that allows publishers and Certified Marketing Representatives (CMRs) to facilitate national orders, graphics and artwork transmittal transactions for Internet Yellow Pages and other digital products. YPA ELITE IYP® is the Internet Yellow Pages extension of YPA ELITE®, the sole processing system for national print Yellow Pages orders, which currently executes close to 4 million transactions each year.
Share of Voice®, an interface that will enable publishers and CMRs to conduct detailed directory analyses for client and marketing purposes faster and more cost effectively. This new system will assist local and national sales channels in efficiently assessing the competitiveness of their clients and providing a high quality media planning tool to help defend and grow Yellow Pages revenue. YPA is uniquely positioned to provide this tool due to its Directories Online system, which encompasses more than 7,000 Yellow Pages directories.
As the Yellow Pages industry continues to transform, YPA is doing its part to help facilitate continued growth by creating new, innovative systems that will deliver quality advertising opportunities and results for our national clients. We believe publishers and CMRs across the country will benefit from using these best-in-class services.
Chris Cummings, chairman of the YPA board, helped open the first morning of session with a familiar theme – transformation. Cummings sees transformation on a number of levels, from changes in the association to transformation of the industry players.
Cummings emphasized that despite a fast pace of change amid a difficult economic environment, print and Internet Yellow Pages products are performing well, citing level year-over-year usage stability and even quarterly usage increases in 2009.
Still Cummings believes that the industry doesn’t get the credit it’s due, partly because of how it positions its products. “Because we sell price, not value,” is one concern Cummings expressed in his keynote presentation. “Add to this the complexities of continuously fragmented media options, and is it any wonder that advertisers large and small are confused?”
Cummings called on the industry to work together to promote the facts about Yellow Pages and take share from other media that aren’t performing as well as Yellow Pages products do.
“The advertisers sitting around us will tell you, we’re not the only game in town anymore. And we can no longer act like it. No more assuming advertisers understand how well our products work when we aren’t doing a good enough job demonstrating the performance data.”
YPA President Neg Norton kicks off the General Session by playing a video entitled “Dispel the Myths,” which highlights misconceptions about our industry and provides context for why will continue to be the best choice for local business advertising moving forward.
Good morning from Las Vegas! As we get ready to kick off our general session, I want to ask our participants sharing thoughts via Twitter to include the following hashtag in their tweets: #YPA10. This way, we can all observe and participate in the real-time online discussion taking place at our conference.
And stay tuned to InsideYP for live coverage from “Transformers!”
Spotzer, which serves as a video partner for major Yellow Pages companies in 20 countries, will take its experience in video product management and apply it to the mass production of websites for local businesses. The company has partnered with Websplanet in creating a turnkey fulfillment solution for YP publishers, which includes content gathering, client support, copyrighting, photo and image provisions, as well as search-engine optimization and URL registrations and transfers features.
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