A client of mine was recently approached by their local gradually-becoming-less-enthusiastic Sensis rep, offering them a NEW advertising medium from Yellow Pages…. Yellow in the Car, an exciting and new form of the Yellow Pages which fits into a glove box…. Not a cupholder or console, apparently; just the glove box.
They were very excited about the prospect of upselling YP (and God knows, they need to), by offering this new directory listing for a very reasonable rate of 10% of the client’s Yellow Pages spend.
Well, my client spends around $200,000 per annum on YP throughout Australia, so the thought of forking out $20,000 for a listing In The Car was probably not overly appealing.
But it does invite the question; Why would someone use Yellow Pages In The Car over something that is considerably less cumbersome and more dynamic, like, for instance, Sat Nav? Most Sat Navs have business listings, with contact details and addresses and with one push of a button, you can be directed to the business without having to look down at a book and plan the trip.
After a long, somewhat evasive discussion with a Sensis ‘product specialist’, we discovered the following key points:
It is only offered as a supplementary product to existing Yellow Pages suckers…. Er… valuable customers (note the use of ‘valuable’ as opposed to ‘valued’ is quite deliberate on my part). The listings are the same ad that appears in Yellow Pages, scaled down to fit in a 16cm x 20cm book.
The ads do contain map references, and there are maps at the back of the book. What the ad do not do, however, is guide you to the place you need to be, a la Sat Nav.
So, let’s look at a scenario…. You are driving home and your car starts running out of fuel. You need a service station, fast.
Option One – Use Yellow Pages In The Car
You pull over to the side of the road, rummage through your glove box, find the In The Car book, flick through to the index, find the Service Stations page, flick to that page, look up the listings until you find one nearby (if you know the area, then you could determine the closest by their address, but if you don’t know the area, then I guess you need to look up their map references)… you then need to either call them to find out how to get there, or flick to the back of the book and find them on the map, then plan your journey to them, discounting traffic conditions or changed routes since the book was published. Then you sit the book down beside you to refer to as you are driving, glancing down to the passenger seat every time you make a turn, hoping that you can remember exactly where on the map they are. Finally you arrive at your destination (perhaps) and put the book away (unless you then need to find your way back to where you were again) and continue on with your mission. Whew!!!
Option Two – Sat Nav
You pull over to the side of the road, press a button on your SatNav to find a business near you, select the type of business, press the listing closest to you, and drive there with the guidance of the Sat Nav. Then when you depart, press the appropriate button to pick your next destination, and drive off.
Option Three – Call 1234
You use your hands-free to call 1234, give them your location and ask for the nearest Service Station. Get connected to the station and ask for directions, or ask 1234 for directions from where you are. When you arrive, ask the Service Station how to get back to where you need to be
Option Four – Internet Connected Phone
Pull over to the side of the road, connect to the internet on your phone, look up Google Maps, type in Service Stations near you, find the closest one on the map, click on the Get Directions button, follow the instructions, arrive at your destination.
Option Five – Phone a Friend
Call a friend with an internet connection and ask them for directions.
Now, seriously, what on earth was Yellow Pages thinking?? Every other option is much easier (and safer) than using an In The Car book.
I am yet to find a scenario that would REQUIRE you to use Yellow Pages In The Car over any of the options 2 through 5. Please, Sensis, if you know of one or two people who use the book for a reason other than a doorstop, road rage projectile or toilet paper, let us know. We’d love to hear from you.
