Thursday morning I was at the Hospitality Inn doing my presentation on how to create impact with your directory advertising through the Better Business Bureau.
For those of you how could not attend, here is a recap of the presentation. If you would like to discuss in more detail any of the items listed below, call me at 403 228 1800 and I would be happy to discuss the details.
Who’s who in the directory business
Consumption of the directory business
Making an impact with your print display ad
Tracking and measuring results
Who’s Who in the Directory Business
There are 4 major players in the directory business in Canada. They are, 1) Yellow Pages Group, 2) Super Pages Group, 3) Phone Directories Company and 4) Google Local Canada.
We discussed the ownership structures of these companies and how Telus and Bell have nothing to do with directory advertising in Canada anymore, other than acting as billing agents. The primary purpose for reviewing the ownership side is that the only loyalty that should exist in the directory business is the loyalty to yourself in making money.
Consumption of the Directory Business
It used to be that print directory advertising had 100% market coverage. It does not. Question: If print directory advertising was the future, then why are 2 top publishers, Yellow Pages and Super Pages, investing so heavily in their online presence.
Why would 4.170 million Canadians using YellowPages.ca in December 2004 and 2.4 million Canadians use SuperPages.ca?
For any business that still believes that print advertising is the only way to reach their target markets, is missing a huge potential.
This section of the presentation discussed all the numbers as it relates to Calgarians, what they are using, which properties and how to generate 100% coverage for your business.
Impacting Your Print Display Ads
The staple of the directory business, print display ad. 3 locations in Calgary where you display ad can be found, SuperPages Print, Phone Directories Print and YellowPages.ca.
Some tips and ideas for print display ads, 1) include your URL, 2) ask questions of yourself, 3) be specific, 4) ask leading questions for headlines, and 5) use images (not clipart, real images).
Tracking and Measuring Results
We presented 3-sure fire ways to track results, taken directly from our corporate web site, so click here to review those results.
Over the coming weeks, I will review a lot of the summary information above in more detail. However, if you want to discuss specifics on increasing your current directory advertising campaign, please feel free to contact me at 403 22 1800.
Download this BBB Presentation in .pdf format. (Note: 56 pages and under 1MB in size)