Print Yellow Pages Losing General Services Vertical to Direct Mail

Print Yellow Pages was (just barely) on top in the General Services advertising category in 2012, generating almost $3.8 billion from this vertical. General Services is comprised of 12 different categories, including legal, accounting, janitorial, landscaping and various professional, scientific and technical services. General Services’ $3.8 billion in advertising represents nearly 70% of Print Yellow Pages total advertising revenue in 2012. This $3.8 billion represents almost one-fourth of total advertising for the General Services vertical, according to BIA/Kelsey’s Media Ad View Plus. Health is the next biggest vertical at a distant 17%. An additional $1.0 billion was spent by this category on Internet Yellow Pages in 2012.

2012 General Services Ad Spending by Media

But 2012 is the last year that Print Yellow Pages is expected to be on top in the General Services vertical. BIA/Kelsey expects Direct Mail to surpass Print Yellow Pages in this vertical in 2013. By 2017, Print Yellow Pages’ share of the General Services advertising pie is expected to fall to 11%, with Internet Yellow Pages’ share growing to 12%. BIA/Kelsey projects General Services’ advertising revenue on Internet Yellow Pages to surpass their Print Yellow Pages counterpart by 2017. Direct Mail will continue to be the dominant medium in the General Services vertical, with nearly 26% of the advertising revenue.

Health is the next biggest vertical for Print Yellow Pages advertising with 17% share. As advertising revenues for Print Yellow Pages decline, general services and health will remain the top two verticals for the medium.
By 2017, total Print Yellow Pages advertising revenue will have declined from nearly $5.5 billion in 2012 to $2.2 billion, a five year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of negative 16.5%. All of Print Yellow Pages’ verticals are expected to have double digit declines between 2012 and 2017, with the biggest dollar loss coming from General Services.

Internet Yellow Pages, on the other hand, is expected to increase from less than $2.2 billion in 2012 to $3.3 billion in 2017, a five year CAGR of 9.0%, making Internet Yellow Pages the third fastest growing medium out of twelve, according to BIA/Kelsey’s Media Ad View Plus.

More information on Media Ad View Plus is available here.