Delivery of New Handy-Sized Yellow Pages Directories Through Letterboxes gets underway

July 6, 2010 - PRLog -- Delivery of a new look, handy-sized Yellow Pages directory that fits through letterboxes is now underway with the unveiling of the most significant revamp of the UK directory in more than forty years since they were first produced.

Households and businesses on the Isle of Wight and in central London are the first in the UK to receive the new “compact” directory which replaces the traditional A4 format.

The change in size – a reduction of five centimetres in height and four centimetres in cover width – follows research amongst Yellow Pages users suggesting that the handy-sized directory combined with other enhancements would increase usage by 12 per cent(1) compared with the A4 format.

An overwhelming number – 85 per cent(2) – said they would prefer to receive the new format directory rather than a standard A4 size. In tests, a greater proportion of compact users than A4 users agreed it was easy to read, easy to use and a manageable size(3).

Other enhancements to the directory, first introduced in the Brighton phone book in 1966, include a “local listings” feature making it easier for consumers to find a business in their desired location.

The new compact format also incorporates a font specially-selected to enhance the compact directory’s readability.

Phil Johnson, head of printed product management at Yell, which publishes Yellow Pages directories, said: “This is a hugely important development for Yellow Pages, reflecting the preferences of our consumers when searching for local businesses in their area.

“Our research shows that households and businesses find a modern compact directory a very handy format and this offers the potential for driving further usage. This ensures too that we continue to provide strong value to our advertisers by helping generate sales leads for them, in turn making a substantial contribution to local economies.”

Over its lifetime so far, the Yellow Pages directory has had a phenomenal impact in helping consumers find a business or tradesperson to suit their requirements, generating over 40 billion uses(4) and helping to generate £1.3 trillion(5) for businesses appearing in it.

Production of the compact directory further enforces Yell’s widely acknowledged track record with regard to the environment.

As a result of the development, Yell, a twice winner of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the sustainable development category, will reduce its annual paper consumption from directory production by around 5,000 tonnes. In the 2009/10 financial year consumption stood at 31,000 tonnes.

The directory’s new size and further efficiencies in the way it is packed on pallets will also reduce by more than a third the number of lorry journeys to deliver the 104 separate local directory editions during the year. There will also be a reduction in operational C02 emissions from Yell, already deemed a “low impact” company in the FTSE4Good corporate responsibility index.

Yellow Pages directories contain on average 60 per cent recycled fibre content with the virgin pulp comprising the rest of the directory sourced from sustainably managed forests. All old Yellow Pages directories are 100 per cent recyclable; in the last financial year the recycling rate for Yellow Pages directories was 76 per cent(6) , with a landfill diversion rate of 93 per cent(7) .

For further information please contact:
Yell
Jon Salmon , Yell Press Office
Tel: 0118 950 6656 or 07801 977340
jon.salmon[at]yellgroup[dot]com

Notes to editors:
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages directories are published by Yell, a leading international directories business operating in classified advertising markets in the UK, US, Spain and Latin America through printed, online and telephone-based media. Yell’s principal brands include: in the UK, Yellow Pages, Yell.com and 118 24 7; in the US, Yellow Book and Yellowbook.com; and in Spain, Paginas Amarillas and PaginasAmarillas.es. All these brands are trademarks.
www.yellgroup.com

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1. Critical Research 2009, estimated from ‘Locality Listings and Name Finder’ research amongst Yellow Pages directory users(used in the last 3 months) in the Reading area with access to the internet; and Compact launch research in Gatwick
2. Saville Rossiter-Base August 2009. Based on respondents aware that they had a compact directory and expressing an opinion.
3. Saville Rossiter-Base August 2009.
Results shown are based on past research and are no guarantee of future behaviour
4. TGI © BMRB 1974 to 1994 and Saville Rossiter-Base 1994/5 to 2009/10
5. Saville Rossiter-Base 1994/5 to 2009/10; US definition of 'trillion' used - a million million.
6. FDS 2010
7. FDS 2010
Results shown are based on past research and are no guarantee of future behaviour

Distributed on behalf of Yell by NeonDrum news distribution service (http://www.neondrum.com)