Buggy Whips

A true anachronism landed on my doorstep yesterday - a big, thick edition of the Yellowbook "Yellow Pages."  There was a time many years ago when this type of publication was indispensable.  When I was director of marketing for Hawaii Pizza Hut, a significant part of our advertising budget went to the Yellow Pages ... and it would be unthinkable not to buy a large display ad.

How things have changed.  The internet has transformed (and enriched) the way we find information about businesses like pizza places.  Do a search for pizza in any geographic area and you'll find all the relevant telephone numbers and addresses.  What's more, you'll find maps and directions.  Click on their websites and you'll find menus.  Go to Yelp and you'll find customer reviews.

So why does anyone buy an ad in Yellowbook?  I don't really know.  I checked the pizza section and Pizza Hut was smart enough to confine its presence to free listings.  Papa John's bought a fairly large display ad.  I wonder if Papa John's will try to estimate a return on that investment.

Companies in categories like phonee directories that are experiencing radical transformation don't have to die, but they do have to figure out how to live in a new environment.  Remember Darwin?  It's all about adaptive evolution.

There are some examples of successful adaptation.  The railroads have basically gotten out of the passenger business (handing that over to a gullible federal agency) and now profitably concentrate on bulk commodities like coal along with innovative modular transportation container products.  Travel agencies have gotten out of the business of booking tickets.  Admittedly, the travel agency business has contracted significantly in the past twenty years, but the ones that survive have re-figured their business model.  They've become travel experts in specific market niches, selling their expertise on a fee-for-service basis.

I don't know how Yellowbook can transform its business.  For now, it is a two pound anachronism, contributing a lot of volume to our landfills, but not much value to its customers.  The company probably doesn't have long to figure out how to evolve ... or go the way of the dodo bird.