Global Yellow Pages News Roundup
Here are some recent items of note that we’ve come across in the Global Yellow Pages space:
BIA/Kelsey has released its Global Yellow Pages forecast, which calls for continued declines in print, offset largely by digital growth boosted by an expanding array of new products — ranging from websites to reputation management. We expect digital to account for 39 percent of revenue worldwide by 2014, but in some regions, non-traditional sources will be more than half of revenue even sooner.
The selling process is underway for Yellow Pages Group New Zealand. The company, which has a dominant competitive position in print and IYP in New Zealand, was purchased at the absolute peak of directory asset valued back in 2007, and investors have since seen more than US$1 billion in equity value disappear. Bruce Cotterill, the man brought in to shore up the business and restore value to the investors, will be aheadliner at DMS ’10, BIA/Kelsey’s upcoming event on the ongoing transformation of the directory business from traditional to multiproduct.
U.S. independent publisher Gold Pages has selected 7Mainstreet as its online Yellow Pages platform provider. Philadelphia-based 7Mainstreet has gained some traction in the independent space with its emphasis on integrating social media and e-commerce functionality into the platform.
More evidence of transformation can be found in Valley Yellow Pages‘ recent announcement that it has launched an Android app. Valley, once a business wedded more or less exclusively to print, is now focused on building products across the full spectrum of products — IYP, mobile, social and so on.
In the United Kingdom, Yell will be closing its regional sales offices and implementing an “activity-based” work model. What this means is Yell’s more than 700 traveling sales reps will not be tied to a regional office, but will work independently, and when office facilities are needed, will use an office space supplied by Regus as part of a partnership with Yell, which reports the new work model will save the company GBP 1.5 million annually.