Comments on: Yellow Pages Mania http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania A Daily Digest of Twin Cities News, Arts and Culture Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:22:37 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Cat http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225647 Cat Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:25:31 +0000 #comment-225647 <em>I would think it's fairly simple for businesses to determine if paying for a Yellow Book or Yellow Pages ad is working. You can ask people how they found you and keep track. You can set up a special phone number that is only listed in the Yellow Pages. You can skip advertising for a year and see what happens.<em> You would think it's pretty straight forward, but when dealing with humans, we unknowingly complicate things with our preferences and experiences so we tell companies we heard their commercial on the radio; the commercial hasn't aired for more than 2 years. Or we say we saw the newspaper ad, which we did, but when pressed for "what brought you in the store" we say that a friend told us to come in. Muddy waters. YP may not have the mass appeal it once had, but I do think it's useful for a small group of people. YP as a niche product? Interesting. Anyway, I like that there are people like Ed in the world who are passionate about waste. It's not my passion, but that's just like my opinion, man. I do, however, feel sorry for the people who have to clean up the books off the lawn as they're not the ones who are making any of the decisions. But, I guess the argument could be made that the people who received the unsolicited phone book didn't request it either. It's a vicious world out there. I would think it’s fairly simple for businesses to determine if paying for a Yellow Book or Yellow Pages ad is working. You can ask people how they found you and keep track. You can set up a special phone number that is only listed in the Yellow Pages. You can skip advertising for a year and see what happens.

You would think it’s pretty straight forward, but when dealing with humans, we unknowingly complicate things with our preferences and experiences so we tell companies we heard their commercial on the radio; the commercial hasn’t aired for more than 2 years. Or we say we saw the newspaper ad, which we did, but when pressed for “what brought you in the store” we say that a friend told us to come in. Muddy waters.

YP may not have the mass appeal it once had, but I do think it’s useful for a small group of people. YP as a niche product? Interesting.

Anyway, I like that there are people like Ed in the world who are passionate about waste. It’s not my passion, but that’s just like my opinion, man.

I do, however, feel sorry for the people who have to clean up the books off the lawn as they’re not the ones who are making any of the decisions. But, I guess the argument could be made that the people who received the unsolicited phone book didn’t request it either.

It’s a vicious world out there.

]]> By: mplsfind http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225630 mplsfind Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:10:02 +0000 #comment-225630 Yellow Pages is becoming really irrelevant these days. Heard many stories as to how desperate Yellow Pages salespeople are. They almost beg their customers to stay with them. Yellow Pages is becoming really irrelevant these days. Heard many stories as to how desperate Yellow Pages salespeople are. They almost beg their customers to stay with them.

]]> By: Ed Kohler http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225456 Ed Kohler Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:08:19 +0000 #comment-225456 Jason, yp companies generally have contracts that penalize advertiser for taking a year off. Ads are ranked based on a combination of price and seniority and taking a year off reseta seniority. The best thing the yellow pages have going for them is a long ad cycle. In TV you don't need to run ads for a year to realize you need to switch things up to make the numbers work. Companies that aren't measuring the effectiveness if their ads are leaving money on the table. I'm impressed by the amount of time people will spend writing about how I waste my time. Whatever floats yer boat. Jason, yp companies generally have contracts that penalize advertiser for taking a year off. Ads are ranked based on a combination of price and seniority and taking a year off reseta seniority. The best thing the yellow pages have going for them is a long ad cycle. In TV you don’t need to run ads for a year to realize you need to switch things up to make the numbers work.

Companies that aren’t measuring the effectiveness if their ads are leaving money on the table.

I’m impressed by the amount of time people will spend writing about how I waste my time. Whatever floats yer boat.

]]> By: Max Sparber http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225455 Max Sparber Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:08:11 +0000 #comment-225455 Ed spends way too much time thinking and writing about the Yellow Pages for this simply to be an example of attention seeking. I suspect they actually irk him quite a lot. Regardless, impugning his motives is an ad hominem discussion, and while might be pleasurable from the perspective of an armchair shrink, doesn't affect the discussion one way or the other. Maybe Paul Revere was a big old drama queen, but that didn't mean the British weren't actually coming. Ed spends way too much time thinking and writing about the Yellow Pages for this simply to be an example of attention seeking. I suspect they actually irk him quite a lot.

Regardless, impugning his motives is an ad hominem discussion, and while might be pleasurable from the perspective of an armchair shrink, doesn’t affect the discussion one way or the other. Maybe Paul Revere was a big old drama queen, but that didn’t mean the British weren’t actually coming.

]]> By: Bixby http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225453 Bixby Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:19:45 +0000 #comment-225453 If you haven't mastered blocking out people you don't have any interest in promoting themselves on the internet and being exposed to self-promotion really pisses you off that much, I strongly recommend not using the internet. And especially not reading blogs and discussion forums. It'll destroy you. If you haven’t mastered blocking out people you don’t have any interest in promoting themselves on the internet and being exposed to self-promotion really pisses you off that much, I strongly recommend not using the internet. And especially not reading blogs and discussion forums. It’ll destroy you.

]]> By: kc! http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225452 kc! Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:06:20 +0000 #comment-225452 Dude, it is a blog. He also writes about how toilet paper is folded at different hotels. Is that self-promotion too? Basically, he wants to write interesting stuff so people read his blog. That's what blogs are. That's why he posted this on his blog. Geeze. Dude, it is a blog. He also writes about how toilet paper is folded at different hotels. Is that self-promotion too? Basically, he wants to write interesting stuff so people read his blog. That’s what blogs are. That’s why he posted this on his blog. Geeze.

]]> By: Bixby http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225451 Bixby Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:30:47 +0000 #comment-225451 Well, then that's on you. Well, then that’s on you.

]]> By: Rat http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225450 Rat Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:28:22 +0000 #comment-225450 "It's pretty easy to tune anyone out if you want to." And in his case, I should have done it awhile ago. “It’s pretty easy to tune anyone out if you want to.”

And in his case, I should have done it awhile ago.

]]> By: Bixby http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225449 Bixby Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:25:32 +0000 #comment-225449 I could care less if it turned out he was promoting himself unless he's or anyone else is promoting himself on my private property or being so ubiquitus that I couldn't get away from it. And that's clearly not the case because I didn't know he was doing this until I read it here. You don't have to buy into anyone's promotion and for the most part you pretty much ignore anyone's self-promoting ways somehow. It's pretty easy to tune anyone out if you want to. I could care less if it turned out he was promoting himself unless he’s or anyone else is promoting himself on my private property or being so ubiquitus that I couldn’t get away from it. And that’s clearly not the case because I didn’t know he was doing this until I read it here.

You don’t have to buy into anyone’s promotion and for the most part you pretty much ignore anyone’s self-promoting ways somehow. It’s pretty easy to tune anyone out if you want to.

]]> By: cubbie http://www.secretsofthecity.com/mnspeak/yellow-pages-mania#comment-225448 cubbie Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:21:55 +0000 #comment-225448 i got my rounds in today rat. squeezed in a little yardwork, too. nice little thursday. i got my rounds in today rat. squeezed in a little yardwork, too. nice little thursday.

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