EADP: Mobile Makes Directories ‘Sexy’

The EADP conference in Mallorca was treated to the insights and good humor of Yellow Pages Group Canada’s Matthieu Houle and the company’s very funny ad campaign.

Mobile, Houle said, gives directories the appeal local advertisers are looking for. His opening slides revealed that “30 percent of YPG Canada’s searches come from mobile handsets which indicates the time is right to monetize this traffic.”

The reason for YPG’s enthusiasm, Houle said, is that “mobile fits into a directory’s established DNA because the content is local, it provides reach for an advertiser’s message, it is geo-specific, and it is searchable.”

While many complain that mobile is still too complex for local advertisers, Houle said this complexity actually creates opportunity for directory companies. “The complexity issue means that local advertisers need more of our attention to help them take advantage of mobile marketing. By helping them review campaign stats, make sense of how to improve a campaign, handle shorter campaign cycles and help them update content, we create closer relationships.”

The directory segment is uniquely positioned to provide deep local content closest to the actual sale in the form of maps, video, pictures, reviews and click to call. “With only 60 percent of advertisers having a website, the number decreases dramatically when we consider how many of those are optimized for the mobile Web. This means we have the opportunity to work with a huge number of advertisers we already serve,” Houle pointed out. The reality is, local advertisers need an easy-to-use destination to send their customers and prospect to whether a person is using a PC or a mobile smartphone.

When asked about the potential for mobile, Houle pointed to the growing number of mobile searches, saying that “intuitively these feel like new users; ones that may have not considered using the print book or the Internet Yellow Pages, but feel the mobile application best serves their needs. When we look at the demographics and the types of searches conducted, we certainly see a different kind of user.”