Setting the record straight
It can be frustrating for those that work in the industry to see posts like this recent one: Get 100000 Canadians to opt out of the Yellow Pages – George Dearing…
Not because this one person doesn’t want a book. That’s not a problem. If someone is among the less than 5% of people who have issues with a print book, fine, publishers all have opt-out programs now so they won’t send you one in the future. But more so because of the ongoing perception that there is a direct correlation between a printed phone book and the loss of a tree somewhere on the planet. The fact is that isn’t true, and I’ve written about it many times – here, here, and here are just a few examples.
But I don’t blame the public for their lack of understanding, I blame the industry. How would someone know about how recycled white material, wood chips, and even some good old fashion trash are the sources of the content/fiber that makes up the pages of the a phone book – we’ve never bothered to tell anyone about it which is really perplexing at a time every industry is shouting about its environmental efforts.
I’m not sure why the yellow pages industry has been so shy about promoting where the source of its paper comes from, the recycling programs they coordinate, and even the local economic value they bring to the communities they publish in. Perhaps it is an old hangover from the original one telephone company/old AT&T days. The directory operations were always this strange non-telco unit that most of the senior managers in the telecom based company never really understood, but which generated a lot of revenue for them. It was always one of the biggest, successful brand images in their local market. So if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?
When I see these type of posts and can provide information, most reasonable people like George will acknowledge they were unaware of the process, are surprised, even reassured to see what really happens. The few obtuse paper jihadists, whose comments you will see sprinkled all through this and other blogs, well, no matter what factual content you provide them with it’s never enough for them — the industry has rigged the numbers — we are still delivering to vacant houses — no one wants the books — or any of a dozen other rambling rants. And then should another new book arrive at their door, my God, it becomes a major affront on their space and civil liberties.
But once again, I’m not sure we can totally blame them for their responses. In a way we have conditioned them that no matter what they say or do, no matter how incorrect their commentary, the industry seems to sit back and ask for more. It then usually comes down to having to meet with a local legislator who has a small handful of people complaining to their office on a regular basis to set the record straight.
I thought we were an advertising media. Why aren’t we telling our story more frequently, more forcefully, more accurately so the greater public get to hear it??
Kudo’s to Berry Company for another successful recycling effort
The annual Think Yellow, Go Green Recycling Program coordinated by The Berry Company, the publisher of the Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages (HTYP), was another great success resulting in some 36,606 outdated directories this year being collected for recycling.
From the company’s press release:
“Altogether, Hawaii’s Neighbor Island schools quadrupled last year’s contest total, from 16 to 64 tons, which local recyclers convert into products that are used on the islands,” said Scott Szczekocki, regional director of client services for Berry Hawaii. “We applaud our schools for these outstanding results. Our students are already aware of the importance of local sustainability initiatives and keeping our islands green.”
Schools on Kauai, Hawaii, and Maui were rewarded for the most directories per student collected with cash prizes. The first place winners included King Kaumuali’I Elementary on Kauai, Waimea Country School on the Big Island, Kamali’i Elementary on Maui and Maunaloa School on Molokai.
The books collected were sent to participating island recyclers such as Garden Isle Disposal on Kauai, Orchid Island Rubbish & Recycle on the Big Island, Maui Disposal, Makoa Trucking on Molokai and Lanai Trucking, and then shipped to Island Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii for processing into oil-absorbent materials, home insulation, and mulch.
The effort shows that while Berry is a key information source for local commerce, the company is also committed to bringing environmental, social and economic benefits to the places where people live and work.
Kudo’s to the Berry Company
Leading Independent Publishers Release New IYP Apps
Two of the leading independent publishers – Names & Numbers and Valley Yellow Pages have recently announced the launching of new Android apps joining previously released Iphone apps, to further enable people to finding local businesses on the go in each of their mobile/IYP products.
These products offer a further extension of their successful print Yellow Page products using a complimentary media for both advertisers and users alike.
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Names & Numbers is a leading independent publisher of telephone directories in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and Southern United States, announced the release of the free app to provide real-time directory information on Android-based smartphones for today’s user-on-the-go.
“We continue to bring local businesses and consumers together using every technology possible,” said Todd McKnight, Chief Operating Officer of Names and Numbers. “Following the release of our iPhone app in March, our latest app gives Android users the same ability to quickly locate, and immediately connect to, businesses that affect their lives on a daily basis.”
The Names and Numbers Android application offers local business search on a national level with content available throughout the entire U.S. The app, which offers advanced voice search capabilities via Android’s integration of Google Voice, allows users to locate business addresses, phone numbers, web sites, emails, advertisements, and other enhanced features. Zoom-and-scroll maps combine with GPS functionality to allow users to get driving directions to any business located on the map.
Using the menu button on all Android phones, listings may be sorted by relevance to locate premium advertisers, or by distance to find the closest businesses to the user via GPS. A toggle function, also located in the menu and on the app interface, allows results to be easily displayed in either a List or Map View version. Blackberry apps will be available later this summer.
According to McKnight, the introduction of these new applications brings the availability of directory information full circle. “This latest app is about providing our information in every type of medium possible for the age we live in. If you are in your kitchen, our print phone book is there. If you are on your computer, our online version is at your fingertips. Now, if you are out and about, your mobile device can deliver the same information with the touch of a button. All of these products compliment one another and give our users access to information no matter where they are in their day.”
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Separately Valley Yellow Pages has also launched a free MyYP app which contains all of the information in print and online directories, plus features like click-to-call, driving directions and speech recognition capabilities. You can also browse businesses’ websites and detailed profile pages, email them, and view their ads. Valley directories are published annually and delivered to households and businesses in 46 different markets in Northern and Central California, reaching more than 14.8 million people. Valley Yellow Pages is the largest independent directory publisher in Northern and Central California and the third largest independent publisher in the nation.
“We want to ensure that as many Smartphone users as possible have access to the great local resources that MyYP apps provide,” said Sieg Fischer, president and CEO of Valley Yellow Pages. “People really like how interactive the MyYP mobile apps are and find them to be incredibly easy to use everyday search tools.”
With the MyYP app, results are sorted by distance and users have the option of viewing search results by list or map view. The interactive map navigation features zoom and scroll capabilities along with listings that automatically change based on the area of the map you’re focusing on. Searches can also be made by voice using the app’s advanced speech recognition feature.
CA Legislation Is Unnecessary
It’s a law makers superficial solution to everything — pass another bill that sounds good when you look at the title. But when you dig into it, that’s when you see that if makes no sense at all.
Sen. Yee a California state legislator who represents a heavily urban part of San Francisco which of course has a supposed hip digitally-savvy population has been trying to score political points with the handful of people who believe the print Yellow Pages are no longer needed. Yee’s bill, Senate Bill 920, was introduced in February and after the second reading and some amendments, has made it to an Appropriations Committee.
But don’t assume that his efforts represent the majority of his district’s true feelings. As noted in a recent Daily Democrat article:
“Don’t they have something better to do?” asked Betty Rushton, who has lived in Vacaville for 20 years. “We’re going to hell in a handbasket, and they’re worried about this?”
Rushton and her pals agreed that the thick tomes are integral to their lives.
“I still use my phone book all the time,” said Kate Winkle, also a 20-year resident. “I don’t have the Internet.”
Despite the potential to impact jobs and further loss of tax revenues, YPA said it best in a recent blog when they noted a strong list of reasons why they think the bill is bad for Californians:
- We already offer opt-out programs in California. Anyone who would like to reduce or stop directory delivery can visit www.yellowpagesoptout.com to start that process. The state’s government does not need to spend its very limited resources on creating new programs when they already exist.
- Regulation puts our industry – and our advertisers – at a disadvantage. We are part of the larger advertising industry that caters to small businesses, which includes radio, newspapers, and the Internet. It is anticompetitive and unfair to legislate one form of advertising but not others.
- The proposed legislation includes very specific language that regulates how information is displayed on our very own products. Directory publishers have made phenomenal progress over the last year in making opt-out information more prominent and easily accessible in the directory and on covers. But the directory cover remains a coveted place for advertisers and community groups, and the state government should not diminish the opportunities for them to secure space there.
- Once someone opts out, how long should that address be on our do-not-deliver lists? This bill says forever, and we disagree with that. Given the turnover in real estate, we think it’s appropriate for a publisher to have an opportunity to re-deliver to an address after a certain number of years. The opportunity for new residents to opt-out will always be available.
- Yellow Pages publishers employ thousands of Californians and contribute significant taxes to the state budget. Any legislation that puts that in jeopardy through unnecessary and anticompetitive regulation is bad for California.
Yee and other local legislators won’t admit (or may not even know) that research continues to show that the books are still heavily used. Even in a highly fragmented media market with many options, the usage of print directories across many demographics is still high, especially in the rural and suburban markets, with older consumers (note to businesses — these are the people with the higher disposable income), for use in those ongoing life events, and in many emergency situations.
I want to assume that Mr. Yee’s intentions are good and aren’t just a ply to win more political points. And who doesn’t want to look for ways to help consumers and protect the environment. But the industry has already taken steps FOR SOME TIME NOW to be more eco-oriented. This is another unneeded bill with real impacts that will cost the state, kill jobs, and impact many small businesses, at a time when none of those groups can afford it.
Kill this bill!!!
UK Recylcing Efforts Reach 10 Year Mark
While those that are opposed to any print Yellow Pages will insist the industry has been a later comer to eco-oriented business practices, an announcement today from the UK is just another illustration of why the exact opposite is true.
Paper and cardboard reprocessor Smurfit Kappa Recycling is proudly celebrating 10 years of recycling Yellow Pages directories into new packaging materials. The company was one of the first UK companies to accept the telephone directories for recycling, a practice which had been going on even earlier in the US) and it is now reprocessing more than ever.
Environment manager Adam Billiald of the UK Yellow Pages publisher Yell (parent of the US based Yellow Book) noted in the press release that:
“…As a business committed to sustainability, it is important that residents can recycle their old Yellow Pages directories easily. For many years, the directories have been recycled into new products such as insulation materials, animal bedding, cardboard packaging and newsprint, proving that the Yellow Pages directory really is green….”
Congrats to Smurfit Kappa and Yell for achieving this milestone.
YPA Releases Sustanability Report
The Yellow Pages Association (YPA) has released the industry’s first Sustainability Report to focus on environmental commitments, impacts and goals of major US industry players.
The report provides an overview of the industry’s sustainability efforts and outlines the organization’s goals for 2010 and beyond.
Of particular note in the report is a graph of what products do make up the waste stream headed to local landfills/incinerators:
The key message is that according to the EPA, when compared with other types of durable goods, telephone directories represent a very small percentage of the municipal waste stream. Simply put, we’re not the problem that local governments need to be directing their attention to if they are truly looking to reduce their waste expense.
Other successes noted in the report include:
- Launch of industry consumer choice programs (www.yellowpagesoptout.com) to give consumers a single place to go to reduce or stop directory delivery;
- Use by some companies of directory paper that contains recycled content and fiber derived from “residual chips,” (by-product after logs are converted to lumber) making it unnecessary to use new trees to produce Yellow Pages;
- A 29% reduction in the use of directory paper since 2006, as a result of programs to reduce the size of directories, use of more efficient pagination systems and expansion to digital and mobile search products like Internet Yellow Pages sites and apps;
- Implementation by some most publishers to soy-based inks and non-toxic dyes that pose little threat to soil or groundwater supplies and adhesives in the binding process that are eco-friendly and non-toxic; and
- Support of recycling and up-cycling programs that ensure directories have a life after use, either as new paper or for other materials like coffee cup trays, egg cartons, cellulose insulation and cereal boxes.
Neg Norton, the President of YPA commented that “We’ve made so much quiet progress since we set environmental guidelines for the industry in 2007 in the areas of resource reduction, manufacturing, and recycling. There’s no better time than now to report to communities and consumers about the actionable steps we’ve taken and to outline where our industry needs to go.”
This report is a much welcomed first step for the industry to demonstrate it is in becoming more transparent and committed to product stewardship and sustainable business practices despite what the naysayers want to believe.
Valley Yellow Pages Continues Tree Planting Program
Next Tuesday, Valley Yellow Pages will be planting 50 new, much needed shade trees at a Templeton elementary school, with hundreds of students participating in the event.
This is a continuing effort by Valley to demonstrate first hand that they are an environmentally conscious company. Templeton has been selected as one of several communities around California where Valley Yellow Pages is planting trees.
Of note in the company press release was”
Virgin timber is virtually never used to make directory paper. The books are typically comprised of recycled materials with the remainder of the needed fiber provided by the residue of making squared boards out of round trees in the lumber-making process. 100% of the fiber is certified to come from sustainably managed forests. Directories are also produced with nontoxic glue and printed with inks containing soy and/or vegetable oils.
Kudos to Valley for this effort
Vermont Agrees To Combe Directories Again
In a ruling which may show improvement in the classical disconnect between publishers wanting to update their print products and the local telephone regulatory bodies, the Vermont Public Service Board has reversed its ruling from 2005 that required SuperMedia (the local telco affiliated Yellow Page publisher) to separate the FairPoint Yellow Pages and the FairPoint White Pages directories in Vermont. The directories will be now combined into a single telephone directory beginning with distribution of new books in May.
As Todd Sanislow, regional vice president at SuperMedia noted in its press release (link):
“Consumers have been asking us to switch back for years. It has long been our position that requiring us to publish separate White Pages and Yellow Pages directories was not the best solution, as it is less environmentally friendly and also put us at an unfair disadvantage with our competition. We are pleased to provide the convenience of having both Yellow Pages and White Pages listings in the same directory once again…..”
Local regulatory groups has traditional fought the elimination of residential white pages believing that if will increase the costs for local subscribers that need to access directory assistance/411 services to get listings information.
Critics of the industry claim that publishers are not being eco-oriented, yet they fail to understand that many of the publishers are required by law to publish the white page books.
We welcome the decision by the Vermont regulators and the efforts by SuperMedia to encourage residents to recycle outdated directories in curbside recycling containers. Those that don’t have curbside recycling, can click here to find a recycling center near them. Those recycled directories can be used to make new paper or many products such as environmentally friendly cellulose insulation, packing material, animal bedding, compost, tissue-grade products, wallboard, envelopes, hydro-mulch and roll cores.
Colorado lawmakers kill phone book bill
That’s the exact title from the Aurora Sentinel on March 3rd. As the article reported:
Colorado lawmakers have killed a bill that would have allowed people to stop getting telephone books delivered for five years.
A House committee rejected the proposal Tuesday after directory publishers argued they’re already stopping delivery for up to three years to people who request it online. While they said they had no incentive to send books to people who don’t want them, unionized publisher employees feared the bill could cost jobs.
Kudos to Valley Yellow Pages on Haitian Relief Efforts
Kudos to Valley Yellow Pages which raised $21,000 to help those in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that struck Haiti earlier this year. The company has also been encouraging other local companies to donate as well.
The Fresno-based company matched dollar for dollar the contributions made by 79 employees who donated through payroll deductions and vacation time pay.
Sieg Fischer, president and CEO of Valley Yellow Pages noted in the company’s press release that:
“This is an easy way that we can help those in desperate need and we challenge other local businesses to do the same. With other events displacing the Haiti earthquake in the news, it’s important to realize that donations are still greatly needed, and whatever employees are able to give quickly adds up.”
The company indicated that all of the funds were sent directly to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, specifically marked for Haiti relief efforts.
