· © 2005 Dick Larkin, All Rights Reserved Page 2 of 150 Tabl eof C nts Foreword

© 2005 Dick Larkin, All Rights Reserved www.YPcommando.com

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Table of Contents

Foreword ................................................................................................................................. 3

Executive Summary................................................................................................................. 4

The Contest to Create the Best Yellow Pages Ad ................................................................. 10

Elements of Great Yellow Pages Ads.................................................................................... 11

Yellow Pages Industry Data................................................................................................... 18

The Plumbing Industry and the Yellow Pages ....................................................................... 19

Which Directory Should TV Plumbing Advertise in? .............................................................. 21

Analysis of Every Ad.............................................................................................................. 30

Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 150

Exclusive Bonus Reports Included

Bonus #1. The Ad that Research & Experience Built

Bonus #2. Ad Design Tips Based on CRM Research's Metered Ad Study

Bonus #3. Using "Free Reports" to Boost Response

Bonus #4. YP Advice from Barry Maher, Author "Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages Advertising"

Bonus #5. Roto Rooter Ads 1945 vs. 2005

Bonus #6. Small Ad that Gets BIG CALLS

Bonus #7. Glossary of Yellow Pages Terms

Bonus #8. Will Internet Replace Print Yellow Pages?

Bonus #9. RASCIL Suggestions for Plumbing Contractor Ads

Acknowledgements This report would not have been possible without the tremendous contributions of talent of the designers who submitted their work for public humiliation (err, I mean evaluation). Special thanks to the experts who provided their time and knowledge: Dennis Fromholzer, Steve Pollyea, Kathy Geiger-Schwab, Herb Gordon, Neg Norton, Nell Garrett, Kristin Alvidrez Hamlin, and Ieszic Formeller. Oh yeah, and special appreciation to my wife, who has evaluated countless Yellow Pages ads.


�� By Dick Larkin, The Yellow Pages Commando

Foreword Yellow Pages advertising is a $25 billion industry worldwide. So why is it so poorly understood by advertisers? Unlike most other media, Yellow Pages is dominated by unsophisticated local advertisers. The entire process is directed by a directory advertising salesperson who is compensated primarily for increasing the amount the advertiser spends over the previous year. The skills that make a salesperson successful by this measure are rarely accompanied by a strong understanding of and dedication to effective ad design. The goal of this report is to empower both advertisers and Account Executives to create ads that generate more calls. This report is the product of nearly a thousand contributors. Designers and copywriters showed off their incredible talents. Industry experts and luminaries shared years of experience, insights and wisdom. Voters put forth their thoughts and opinions, and they certainly have opinions! I've included nearly all of it. Edited a little for readability, but you're seeing the whole tomato. Some of the comments are particularly nasty, some totally outrageous, and others are downright blasphemous. And yet, by reading the feedback, we gain a greater insight into the buying public's mind. You hold in your hands pure gold. By following the principles that are so beautifully illustrated, you will be able to design effective Yellow Pages advertising that compels customers to call you. Enjoy,

�� About the Author Dick Larkin writes the Yellow Pages Commando News, an electronic newsletter, web site and blog covering, you guessed it, Yellow Pages. He is the Vice President of Internet at TransWestern Publishing, an independent publisher of Yellow Pages which in the process of being acquired by Yellow Book. Larkin is the former Vice President of Sales and Marketing for GTE Interactive Media which has since merged into Verizon. He was a CPA and CFP for Deloitte & Touche and earned a degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame. Larkin is the author of the forthcoming book, Redneck Riddles and Hillbilly Brain Busters Vol. 2. - Buford and Festus Bounce Back.


�� By Dick Larkin, The Yellow Pages Commando

Executive Summary This report is organized in 7 sections including the great exclusive bonus reports

1. The Contest to Create the Best Yellow Pages Ad

2. Elements of Great Yellow Pages Ads

3. Yellow Pages Industry Data

4. Plumbing Industry and the Yellow Pages

5. Analysis of Every Ad

6. Conclusion

7. Special: Bonus Reports Success is a Phone Call Away. The ability to get their phone ringing with motivated buyers is what rockets customer-driven businesses past the competition. The most effective way of capturing customers who are on the verge of buying is Yellow Pages advertising. The customer has a need, he is ready to buy, he picks up a phone book and ca-ching! One business makes the sale and the others eat dust. Business isn't fair. The best company will not get the customer's call if they don't have the best Yellow Pages ad. Sorry, that's life. In any directory, under any heading, a handful of ads will generate an unfairly large number of calls. Oh, and it's no accident which ads are the winners. There is a science and an art to creating highly successful Yellow Pages ads. There is no single, perfect Yellow Pages ad. Every customer, every company and every situation has a unique set of circumstances. No ad is perfect for every situation, but by understanding the techniques of great ad design, you can create the best ad for your business. Ultimately, a Yellow Pages directory brings together buyers and sellers. Apply the formula, and you can create the ad that attracts the customers you want and keep them from calling your competitor. Don't try to be funny. If there is one glaring lesson from this exercise, it is that humor does not make the phone ring. The consumer using the Yellow Pages is looking for a solution to a problem. In other media, humor works to distract the audience and divert attention. The Yellow Pages is a reference book similar to an encyclopedia. If the information and content of your ad would be inappropriate in the encyclopedia, it doesn't belong in the Yellow Pages. The Contest to Create the Best Yellow Pages Ad This report is the result of a four-month competition where designers from around the world competed to create the best Yellow Pages ad for TV Plumbing, a Santa Monica, California, based plumbing contractor. Thirty-eight designers submitted ads for the competition. I invited the public to vote for the ads that they would call first, second and third. I also asked for comments on what attracted or repelled voters from the ads. Nearly every voter commented. I evaluated the ads using extensive industry research to see if the ads had the elements that are likely to be successful in the real world. In several cases, ads that performed well in the contest are unlikely to generate


high call volume when published in the directory. Other ads that got creamed in the contest did contain the elements that would probably trigger high call volume. A focus group (or contest) does not exactly mirror the real world. I should point out that only 1 person out of 711 voters selected all three ads in the winning order, and only 7 others selected all three winning ads in any order. That just goes to show you that we can look at trends, but individuals differ on what they find appealing. Every ad received some votes (even if it was just the designer and his mother). To weigh the votes, 1st place votes counted for 3 points, 2nd place votes received 2 points, and 3rd place votes received 1 point. Many voters included honorable mention selections, but these were not considered in the vote totals. Top 3 performing ads

Ad #020 Ad # 030 Ad #001

��449 Points

10.3% of Female Votes

12.4% of Male Votes

��443 Points

9.8% of Female Votes 12.5% of Male Votes

��364 Points

8.2% of Female Votes 10.0% of Male Votes

Comment Summaries Ad #020 - 1st Place • The baby caught people's eyes and made them

read further • Owner's photo and comment a strong positive • Large BBB logo had a strong impact • Includes several consumer benefits

• Communicates trust, competence and professionalism

• Easy to read with lots of white space • Performed better among males than females

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ad #030 - 2nd Place • Entire ad solves customer's need for fast

service • Large, powerful graphic

• Large phone number, credit cards and hours of service

• Top choice of male voters-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ad #001 - 3rd Place • Very content rich but still readable • "You know the price before we start" was the

most often cited reason for voting for this ad • Humorous graphic caught people's attention • Performed better among males than females

• List of the cities being served which is critically important when advertising in a directory covering a large geography

Bottom 3 performing ads

Ad #024 Ad # 038 Ad #021

36th Place 16 Points

37th Place 15 Points

38th Place 8 Points

Ad #024 - 36th Place This ad had many customer benefits, but the cluttered layout made it too hard for most people to follow. The cartoon graphic of the plumber is the first item that most people would look at, yet it is located in the lower right portion. Successful ads need to lead the eye through the ad. The jumbled layout and lack of white space made the ad particularly hard to read. Ad #38 - 37th Place I received dozens of negative comments about the screaming woman. Ads that perform well are those that solve a customer's problems, and this ad simply reminded the customer that he had a problem and it was about to get worse. This ad actually has some very redeeming qualities that I'll cover in the details section, but the screaming woman seemed to turn everyone off. This ad was created by a specialist in direct mail where capturing attention is achieved differently than in Yellow Pages. Ad #021 - 38th Place This ad simply faded into the background, receiving neither positive nor negative comments. The headline, copy, muted colors and graphics were so nondescript that the ad was skipped. In the contest, this ad was directly behind the winning ad, so unlucky positioning probably contributed. Ironically, the industry research indicates that this ad has enough successful elements that it would be likely to generate significant call volume. A few changes in the layout and graphic would make this ad much more successful.


Elements for Great Yellow Pages Ads This entire report on great Yellow Pages ad design can be condensed into a singe statement. I call this the Golden Rule of Yellow Pages advertising. The Golden Rule of Yellow Pages Advertising:

Successful ads make a customer feel:

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Conversely, less successful ads focus on the advertiser, not on the customer. It seems simple, but look through any directory, and you will find thousands of ads that violate the golden rule.

Advice from the experts and industry research: • Every element in a successful ad should solve the customer's problem.

• Ads that would do well in other media typically will not do well in the Yellow Pages because the work that other media needs to do in capturing attention and creating interest has already been done in the Yellow Pages.

• Ad size, content, and composition are far more important to success than positioning within the heading.

• Color ads generate more calls, but usually not enough to justify a substantially higher price. Use the money to place additional black and yellow ads under secondary headings or in alternative directories before investing in color.

• Advertisers should advertise in every directory that demonstrates strong usage regardless of publisher.

• Track every ad with a metered telephone number to measure how well it is performing.

• Customers want to do business with local companies. Multiple local numbers and cities in an ad will increase the overall call count.

• Publishing only an 800 (national toll free) number without including a local number is the kiss of death.

• Hard to read = few calls.

• Good photos & illustrations = lots more calls.

• Bullet points are better than paragraphs.

• Avoid humor. It is unnecessary and likely to backfire.


Yellow Pages Industry Data Yellow Pages advertising is a MUST BUY for plumbers. According to the Yellow Pages Association:

• 45 percent of people actively looking for a plumber go to the Yellow Pages.

• 91 percent of people looking at the "Plumbing Contractors" heading intend to make a purchase or have already done so.

• Local display advertisers in the "Plumbing Contractors" heading receive $10 in revenue for every $1 spent on YP advertising.

• "Plumbing Contractors" is the 9th most referenced heading with over 265 million references annually. Plumbing Industry Information Plumbing is Highly Competitive - Counting the free listings for plumbing contractors is a quick way to size the market. In the three primary directories covering the areas where TV Plumbing operates, there is no shortage of plumbing contractors. Yellow Book's West Los Angeles directory lists 416 plumbing contractors. Verizon's Santa Monica directory lists 215 plumbing contractors. United's Santa Monica community directory lists 169 plumbing contractors. The difference in counts is due to each directory covering a different geography. The point is that the consumer is faced with overwhelming choices.

Verizon Santa Monica

Yellow Book Los Angeles

Westside

United Yellow Pages Santa Monica

Copies (estimated) 233,624 380,142 114,900

Annual Price for a Full-Page Ad $29,232 $18,264 $10,224

Annual Number of customers TV Plumbing needs in order to cover

cost of advertisement if each customer generates $120 in profit

(cost / $120)

244 152 85

Breakdown: Monthly 20 13 7

Customers per Week Needed to Break Even 4.7 2.9 1.6

High likelihood of success using strong YP ad design? YES YES YES

So which directory should TV Plumbing advertise in? TV Plumbing should ONLY advertise in the directories where it's profitable to attract customers. All three directories have served the market for decades. They all provide value to the consumers and the advertisers. Based on this information, all three directories are likely to be successful for TV Plumbing. If I had to rank them, I would select the Yellow Book as my top choice because of its broad distribution and lower cost of customer acquisition. However, it would be unwise not to be represented in Verizon's directory.


[Full disclosure: TransWestern Publishing, my employer, has agreed to be acquired by Yellow Book. I am not a Yellow Book employee as of this writing. I am also a Verizon shareholder and was formerly a Vice President of GTE, which merged into Verizon. I have attempted to be as unbiased as possible in this report. The numbers speak for themselves.] If TV Plumbing is likely to get at least 4.7 customers per week from Verizon, he should buy the ad. The same goes for ads in Yellow Book and United. I believe that TV Plumbing is highly likely to generate at least that much business, and probably much more. Putting all of his advertising dollars into one directory is ignoring the customers who choose to use the other directories. It is not the best way to grow his business. Conclusion Yellow Pages advertising is a critically important source of customers to plumbing contractors. Combining the elements of successful ads and professional graphic design is the best way of achieving success in the directory. Every Yellow Pages publisher offers free ad design as part of the advertising in the directory. It is unwise to use the free design service if the quality of the finished ad is not as good as the top 10 performing ads in this contest. Do not hesitate to hire a professional designer if you are not satisfied with the ad you have received from the Yellow Pages publisher. A full-page ad created by a professional Yellow Pages design firm will usually cost between $1,000 and $3,000. This is a small price to pay for the substantial increase in response that the ad is likely to generate. Success in the Yellow Pages requires putting the customer's needs first. Designing a highly effective ad using proven techniques is likely to generate substantial numbers of customers.


The Contest to Create the Best Yellow Pages Ad It all started when Paul Venya, a four-truck plumbing contractor in Santa Monica, California called me. I'm Dick Larkin, the Yellow Pages Commando. Paul reads my newsletter, The Yellow Pages Commando News (http://ypcommando.com), and he wanted my advice before committing to a large ad in Verizon's Santa Monica Yellow Pages directory.

I was happy to give guidance, but I wanted to explore creative ad design and solicit feedback from my subscribers' wealth of knowledge. I thought that maybe a contest asking subscribers to create sample ads for TV Plumbing would get a few people to respond. Man, did I strike a nerve. I was deluged with 38 ad submissions. I then showed the submissions to the public for feedback, and 711 people voted for their three favorite ads, and most of these included detailed comments regarding their selections. The gender of the voters was almost evenly split with only 18 more females than males voting (352 females, 334 males, and 25 voters of indeterminable gender). I've included all of the ads with most of the comments.

Vague Instructions to Designers and Voters I intentionally made the instructions vague, because I wanted to see what kind of creativity the ad designers would use. In practice, a successful business emphasizes their uniqueness. Some plumbers are fast, some specialize in remodeling, some are re-piping specialists, while others have well-known franchise names. Every plumber is unique. I received the following message from a designer whose frustrations were shared by many in the contest.

I feel very strongly like we are working with both hands tied behind our backs. I understand that every entrant is going to be working with the same available materials, but it’s simply not how we work. We would never design an ad without intensively interviewing the client. Nor would we design an ad without a comprehensive review of the actual book it is going to appear in. We are working out of context. If we can’t see the book, how do you expect us to do an ad that will result in the highest ROI for the client? We must compete within the actual book that the ad appears in. We must know what the competition is doing. Any design company that creates work without looking at the competition is doing a huge disservice to the client – it’s a recipe for disaster. Nor do we know what position the ad is in. This seriously changes the strategy that we must follow. It’s a whole different game on page 10 than on page 2. How would we recommend a strategy without knowing position? And if we can’t talk with the client, how can we be expected to understand their specific business, market, clients, or what they are selling? [What they want to sell the most of to maximize profitability]. If we assume that all plumbers are the same, then we have failed before starting. How do we know how strong their phone skills are, or how to help position their company to the maximum advantage? As you may be able to tell, we take our work very seriously. Many of our clients depend solely on their yellow page advertising for the life of their business. How many poor designs by the yellow

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pages and by less than qualified design companies have bankrupted the firms they are supposed to be helping? Our job is response. That means a comprehensive strategy that matches their business, their capabilities, their prospective clients, their competitive advantages [or the weaknesses of their competition] and their book. I’m afraid that your contest doesn’t allow for these factors. This means that we cannot give you appropriate work, much less our best work. So, the best we can do is split the difference with you. We will include content that would be appropriate on a draft ad before revisions. Everything may not be correct. Sometimes this is the only way to get an unresponsive client to think about what can and should go into an ad.

Some designers used much more latitude in their design than others. In reality, most of them would work closely with the client to design an ad that is tailored to his specific goals.

Elements of Great Yellow Pages Ads This entire report on great Yellow Pages ad design can be condensed into a singe statement. I call this the Golden Rule of Yellow Pages advertising. The Golden Rule of Yellow Pages Advertising:


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Conversely, less successful ads focus on the advertiser, not on the customer. It seems simple, but look through any directory, and you will find thousands of ads that violate the golden rule. Metered Ad Study Research So what really makes the phone ring? When it comes to deep research in the Yellow Pages industry, one man stands miles ahead of the others. Dennis Fromholzer, President of CRM Associates (http://crmassoc.com), is without peer as the most respected researcher in Yellow Pages marketing. His company's research can predict the number of calls an ad is likely to generate because they have been tracking 76,000 Yellow Pages ads using metered telephone lines. CRM dissects every element of each ad and can correlate it with call counts. For example, CRM has found that a photo of a smiling business owner in an ad will generate more calls than a photo of a solemn-faced business owner. This research is produced in cooperation with the Yellow Pages Association's member companies.


In this report, we'll look at not just how many votes each ad received, but also compare each ad to the research and the expert opinions to provide an indication to how each ad would perform in the real world. Here's what Dennis Fromholzer says:

"The key question is not which ad I or others in the industry would pick, but which ad design will draw the most calls. I've given my content quiz (24 pairs of ads where one ad of each pair draws between 2 and 10 times more calls than the other) to almost a thousand people in the Yellow Pages industry so far. The average score in the industry is to correctly identify 58 percent - not very good if ad design is supposed to be a core competency of the industry. (Users - who don't work for the industry - almost universally score better than those that work for the industry.) It's not my or others' opinions that matter, it is the key characteristics of ads that consumers respond to. That data speaks for itself - whether we in the industry agree or not." About 1/3 of the ads in the contest contained enough elements (headline, call to action, good layout, photograph, etc.) that they would be consistent with ads that generate

substantial call volume. Another third broke so many rules that they would probably fail to generate high call counts, and another third fell in the middle by being neither strong nor weak. To make it easy for the reader, each ad will be designated as follows:

�� Contains Multiple Elements of Successful Ads

�� Neutral - Neither Strong nor Weak

�� Breaks too Many Rules of Successful Ads

This will give an indication of how well the ad would perform actually generating calls based upon the research. Non-Advertising Advertising When determining what elements of the ads will generate the highest call volume, it's important to remember one critical fact:

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The difference is the audience. Mass media advertising must interrupt, capture attention or otherwise divert the activity of the person who is watching TV, listening to the radio, reading a magazine or newspaper or going through his mail. On the other hand, someone seeing Yellow Pages advertising has actively sought the information to help make a buying decision. As CRM's Dennis Fromholzer puts it, "Yellow Pages ads are similar to the salesperson in a retail store. The shopper has come in looking to buy, and the salesperson's job is to provide information, answer questions and assist the buyer."

Yellow Pages Tip:

Displaying 4 or 5 credit card logos will generate more calls

than simply stating "All Major Credit Cards Accepted."

Agency Input National companies such as Roto Rooter, U-Haul and Hertz use specialized advertising agencies to manage their Yellow Pages advertising. These agencies are called Certified Marketing Representatives (CMRs) and they bring invaluable expertise. To get an agency's perspective, I contacted Kathy Geiger-Schwab. Kathy is the Executive Vice President of The Berry Company and President of Berry Network, Inc. (http://lmberry.com), the CMR handling the Roto Rooter account. If there is such a thing as Yellow Pages Royalty, Kathy would be the Queen. As one of the oldest and most prestigious Yellow Pages advertising companies, The Berry Network invests heavily in research to better guide their clients. Kathy shared her approach to evaluating the ads in the contest. She said . . .

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As an added bonus, Kathy had one of The Berry Company's talented designers create an ad using the results of the research including the elements that have been proven to generate high call volume. This outstanding ad is included as Exclusive Bonus #1 at the end of this report.

Advice from the experts and industry research: • Every element in a successful ad should solve the customer's problem.

• Ads that would do well in other media typically will not do well in the Yellow Pages because the work that other media needs to do in capturing attention and creating interest has already been done in the Yellow Pages.

• Ad size, content, and composition are far more important to success than positioning within the heading.

• Color ads generate more calls, but usually not enough to justify a substantially higher price. Use the money to place additional black and yellow ads under secondary headings or in alternative directories before investing in color.

• Advertisers should advertise in every directory that demonstrates strong usage regardless of publisher.

• Track every ad with a metered telephone number to measure how well it is performing.

• Customers want to do business with local companies. Multiple local numbers and cities in an ad will increase the overall call count.

• Publishing only an 800 (national toll free) number without including a local number is the kiss of death.

• Hard to read = few calls.

• Good photos & illustrations = lots more calls.

• Bullet points are better than paragraphs.

• Avoid humor. It is unnecessary and likely to backfire.


Color matters more online than in the printed directory In this contest, the color ads had a clear advantage. The Internet is in color, so that's what the voters expected. In practice, the additional cost for adding color might be better spent by placing smaller black and white ads in multiple directories and in multiple headings. In TV Plumbing's primary utility directory (Verizon's Santa Monica, California Directory) a full-page ad that is black ink on yellow paper has an annual rate of $29,232. Adding process color (full color over white background) raises the rate to $51,156. That's an increase of $22,000 to add color. If TV Plumbing nets an average $200 profit from each service call, they would need to generate an additional 110 service calls just to cover the cost of color. That's two extra service calls every week for a year just to pay for color in the ad. These rates come directly from Verizon's published rate sheet, and it's possible that they might be discounted during negotiations. Roto Rooter's Steve Pollyea doesn't put a huge premium on color or white knock outs. "Of course they make for better looking ads, but I place a heck of a lot more value on placement and what's in the ad." Steve believes that some directory publishers have priced color much higher than the cost of providing it as a means to boost the profitability of a directory. He is seeing downward pressure on the price premium that has been charged for color in the past. Dennis Fromholzer's research indicates that ad size and content are vastly more important than color, but that it varies from heading to heading. Color will probably improve results, but it is important to focus first on the ad content and composition. Sometimes, if you're further back in a heading than you'd prefer to be, color can be a way to draw attention to your ad. But focus on making a great ad before worrying about color.

Yellow Pages Tip:

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A research study found that the person in a company who is most likely to use the Yellow Pages in his personal life is the Chairman of the Board, followed by the President and Vice Presidents. Construct your ad to appeal to the Chairman: focused, concise, to the point, and with minimal verbiage.

Verizon charges $22,000 extra to print a full-page ad

in full-color.

That's ALMOST DOUBLE the cost of the

same ad in black on yellow.

That money could buy a full-page ad with white

knock out in Yellow Book and generate more calls.��


Positioning in the Directory What I didn't tell voters or designers was that if TV Plumbing purchased a full-page ad in the Verizon directory, he would be the 23rd full-page plumber ad. TV Plumbing did not have an ad in the prior edition of this directory. As such, he would be placed behind the renewing advertisers with full-page ads. Size and Seniority Verizon, like most directory publishers, organizes their directory using a system called "size and seniority." Simply put, that means that largest ads come first in the heading, and among ads of the same size, the advertiser who has purchased that size ad the longest comes before new comers. Ad Size Matters You can't always control the first position. When I asked Steve Pollyea about Roto Rooter's approach to size and positioning, he said, "Many, not nearly all of our ads are the largest possible. While generally we want to be toward the front of the Plumber-Contractor heading, the decision is based upon demographic match of the coverage areas to our Roto Rooter target, major competitor activity and size of the heading." No Discounts for Positioning There are no discounts for placement so far back in the heading. So it's critical for TV Plumbing to focus on content and composition that will solve the customer's problem. Content is More Important than Positioning CRM's Dennis Fromholzer's research proves that content is far more important than positioning. In his ad study, he can cite dozens of examples where ads falling farther back in the heading outperform earlier ads. He noted one example where an ad in the 40th position was generating over 200 calls per month. The Verizon Santa Monica directory has 5 columns of listings in the Yellow Pages. An ad that spans 3 columns and is half of the page tall (THC - Triple Half Column) would cost $9,223. It's much less space than the full-page, but a well designed, highly targeted ad would probably generate a greater Return on Investment for TV Plumbing.

Low Cost vs. Fixed Cost It's interesting to note that none of the ad submissions were designed around being the lowest cost plumber. Looking through several telephone directories, I invariably find a few plumber ads that focus on being the low cost provider. Others quote "price per job, not per hour." Steve Pollyea said that every job is different, so it's difficult to quote a price until the plumber has done an on-site inspection and can provide a written estimate. While the low cost ads may generate significant call volume, Dennis Fromholzer warns that the advertiser will get what they ask for. By touting low price, a plumber is attracting the customers that are likely to be difficult because they are focused on price alone. Respondents to the contest cited Ad #001's bold sub headline "You know the price before we start" as highly desirable.

Local, Local, Local "All politics is local" is a quote commonly attributed to Tip O'Neill, former Speaker of the House. By its very nature, plumbing is perhaps the most local business of all. The work is performed at the customer's location. You hardly ever take your pipes into the shop for repair.

Ad #001


Everything else being equal, the consumer wants someone who does not have to travel a great distance to get to her house. Even if there is no charge for it, travel time comes with a cost of inconvenience, delays, and perceived higher labor rates. In a widely distributed directory such as the Santa Monica (West LA) directory that TV Plumbing is considering, it's especially important to clearly identify your service area. Methods of Identifying Your Service Area: 1. "Serving all of West Los Angeles" - at the very least will broadly address the service area. The only problem is that often people within the service area (for example, people living in Santa Monica) may not consider themselves to be in "West LA." This makes it imperative to use the words that connect with the customer. 2. Listing the major communities served including the copy "and surrounding areas." At least this way, the consumer will see that the plumber serves the area. However, it does not address the consumer's concern that the plumber might be driving clear across the service area. Although this indicates local service, it is less effective than option #3. 3. Listing separate telephone numbers for major communities. These numbers almost always ring into a central dispatch, but they allow the consumer to make a free, local call (in the United States, calls within a certain distance from your phone are free). It also sometimes makes the consumer believe that there are local offices in their community. The experts and the research concluded that the more local numbers featured in an ad, the more calls that ad will generate. This is also a very low cost method for improving return on investment, because a forwarded local number typically costs under $25 per month, and pays for itself with the first sale. 4. Including a toll free number with local numbers will indicate that the business is local, but it will also satisfy the penny pinching consumer's desire to ensure that he is making a free call. Steve Pollyea said that including a toll free number is simply good customer service, and increases call volume. Warning: only displaying a toll free number in an ad is the kiss of death.

Consumers are leery of ads that only feature toll free numbers and suspect that the call is not being answered by a local service provider. Ad #027 is a powerful ad, and received many favorable comments. However, if it were run with only the toll free number, it would be highly unlikely to generate high call volume. Respondents liked that the headline and phone number were prevalent in the ad. Remember that a large portion of the client base will be older people in older homes. The huge telephone number will make it easy for this demographic to be able to see and call the plumber. Reducing the size of the company logo and including local numbers would dramatically increase the call volume.

Call to Action A Yellow Pages ad cannot close a sale. That's the business's job. The ad can catch the shopper's eye, answer loads of her questions, and show why this company is the right choice. The ad should have one clear goal - Get The Customer to Call Now.

Ad #027


One way to boost your call count is to call your customer to action. A successful call to action does three things: it tells the customer what to do, why to do it, and when to do it. For example: • Call Now for Fast Service • Call for FREE quote NOW • Call Now for your FREE REPORT "10 Simple Steps to Fix Your Own Plumbing."

Yellow Pages Industry Data Perhaps we should take a few minutes and question just how important it is for plumbers to advertise in the Yellow Pages. Might their dollars be better spent elsewhere? Cable TV perhaps? Direct mail? Keyword buys on Google and Yahoo!? Neg Norton, the dynamic President of the Yellow Pages Association, provided me with some statistics . . .

• 45 percent of the active market for people looking for a plumber go to the Yellow Pages.

• 91 percent of people looking at the "Plumbing Contractors" heading plan to make or have recently made a purchase. [This is perhaps the most important fact to understand when designing an ad. The person seeing the ad is going to buy from someone. Your ad should simply give the customer enough reasons to buy from you.]

• Local display advertisers at the "Plumbing Contractors" heading receive $10 in revenue for every $1 spent on YP advertising. [A return of 25 to 1 is possible if the ad is done properly.]

• "Plumbing Contractors" is the 9th most referenced heading with over 265 million references annually. [You might love Google and Yahoo, but consumers overwhelmingly open the book when buying plumbing services.]

• 18 percent of Plumbing Contractor references are for bath repair and installation (ads that focus entirely on clogged drains miss out on nearly 1/5th of the lookups).

• 49 percent of people going to the heading have no name in mind. [Their toilet is erupting, who has time to think?]

• The demographic profile of persons most often referencing the "Plumbing Contractors" heading is male, 50+ in age, college grad, $60K+ household income who has resided at his current residence 10+ years. [Roto Rooter finds that the customer base is much broader across all demographics, but owning an older home is a strong indicator.]

Impressive, but no business should rely on any one medium to solicit all of their customers. It is good business to advertise where the motivated customers are looking. One example is the Yellow Pages.

Do young people use the printed Yellow Pages? If you ask a group of 24-year-olds if they use the Yellow Pages, most will tell you that they rely on the Internet to find local information. The research, however, tells us that their actions are different from what they report. Two of the top five fastest-growing headings in terms of references are "Tattoo Parlors" and "Nail Salons." While tattoos are not solely the domain of the under-30 crowd, the substantial rise in call volume indicates that young people do use the printed telephone directory to make purchase decisions.

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In the past 5 years, references in the printed Yellow Pages to Tattoo Parlors has risen 135 percent. A big business for the next 50 years will probably be "Tattoo Removal."

The Plumbing Industry and the Yellow Pages Voters weren't actually calling plumbers Voting in a contest is one thing, but actually calling a plumber is another. I wondered if the selection of the voters would be consistent with the results experienced by actual plumbing contractor advertisers. To find the answer, I went to the biggest advertiser in the plumbing business. Lessons from Roto Rooter Steve Pollyea is Vice President of Marketing for Roto Rooter Services Corporation, the world's largest advertiser of plumbing services in the Yellow Pages. Steve graciously agreed to discuss his approach, what works, and what he avoids. When you add up the company-owned and the franchise operations, the Roto Rooter family spends upwards of $30 million per year in Yellow Pages advertising. Tracking every number The Roto Rooter company-owned call centers track the response from every published telephone number. They know precisely how many leads each number generates and which ads include that number. That allows them to calculate an accurate return on investment. Roto Rooter continually tests variations of ads and has developed a sophisticated system for maximizing their Yellow Pages advertising effectiveness. Where should plumbers advertise? Herb Gordon, President & CEO of the Association of Directory Marketing (ADM) also shared his insights. The

ADM is the organization representing all of the national advertising agencies and national Yellow Pages advertisers. "Many advertisers think traditional media build awareness of company names and that Yellow Pages is only referred to as a source of phone numbers and addresses. The fact is Yellow Pages is the first place many people go when there is an emergency or an urgent need. Certainly, this is the case with plumbing emergencies. In fact, according to the 2004 Media Impact Study, 45 percent of individuals seeking plumbing services refer to the Yellow Pages, compared to 9 percent for newspapers and 7 percent for direct mail. Yellow Pages is a must buy for plumbers."

Overview of the residential plumbing industry Residential plumbing services fall into three broad categories: - Emergency repair - Non-emergency repair - Remodel / construction As I examine the ads in dozens of Yellow Pages directories around the country, it's clear that the vast majority of ads in the "Plumbing Contractors" heading focus on emergency and non-emergency repair. Ads focusing on remodeling and construction plumbing services are quite rare and, in many directories, are non-existent.

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Interestingly, one of the top performing ads (Ad #014) was targeted toward remodel / construction. Hundreds of voters commented that they were drawn to this ad, but were more likely to call this plumber for a remodel project rather than to clear a clogged drain. They also noted that they would expect to pay a premium price for this plumber more so than the others. To me, this spells opportunity for a plumber who wants to develop some high value remodeling business. You get what you ask for, and most plumbers are not asking to do high-end remodeling work. Plumbing is Highly Competitive - Counting the free listings for plumbing contractors is a quick way to size the market. In the three primary directories covering the areas where TV Plumbing operates, we see that this is a hugely competitive category. Yellow Book's West Los Angeles directory lists 416 plumbing contractors. Verizon's Santa Monica directory lists 215 plumbing contractors. United's Santa

Monica community directory lists 169 plumbing contractors. The difference in counts is because each directory covers a different geography. The point is that the consumer is faced with overwhelming choices. Customer Profile for Residential Plumbing Roto Rooter's Steve Pollyea explained that their customer base broadly spans all demographic and socioeconomic categories. He defines his target audience as "time-starved home owners who could do many of their own plumbing repairs, but prefer to leave it to the pros." Nearly all customers of plumbing services are home owners. Renters will refer plumbing problems to the landlord. As you would imagine, owners of older homes are significantly more likely to need a plumber than owners of newer homes. Personal referrals Because of the urgency and infrequency involved, "Emergency Plumbers" are much less likely to generate leads from personal referrals than "Remodel / Construction Plumbers." In general, as lead times and investments increase, so will the reliance on personal referrals. Plumbing isn't something that you necessarily bring up in polite conversation. It's one thing to brag about the wine steward at Spago. However, you are probably much less likely to pass on the name of a plumber that was able to stop a cascading wall of brown muck that was running down your stairs and flooding your kitchen. Infrequent, yet urgent Plumbing isn't a service you purchase everyday. You may go years, decades even, without calling a plumber. Plumbing is something you probably don't even think of unless it isn't working properly. When that happens, you need it fixed immediately. "Plumbing Contractors" is one of the most highly competitive headings in any Yellow Pages directory simply because it is where many people look to make a decision on which plumbing contractor to hire.

Referral Totem Pole Which businesses receive more

referrals than others?


Invisible product Unlike the finished product of other tradesmen such as painters, cabinet makers, landscapers, and roofers, the product of a plumber is invisible. You probably wouldn't call your friend and say, "Hey Joe, come over to my house and check out this sweet copper plumbing work I had installed." Because of the finished product's invisibility, it's difficult to examine the quality of the job performed. Instead, the important criteria in evaluating a plumber tend to be:

• Minimal problems afterward (there shouldn't be any call backs)

• Inconvenience in waiting for a plumber to arrive (time was a major factor cited by voters)

• Cleanliness during and after the project (only known after the job has begun)

• Fair Price - expectation vs. reality ("Up Front Pricing" was a benefit frequently mentioned as a reason for selecting a particular ad)

Hardly any voters questioned whether the plumber in the ad had the technical skills necessary to do the job. The decision factors were based around convenience, trust and reliability.

Which Directory Should TV Plumbing Advertise in? The Yellow Pages question I am asked most often by business people is "Which directory should I advertise in?" A business person should place ads in Yellow Pages directories the way the chairman of Texaco places oil wells. The Chairman doesn't start the year deciding where he'll drill his one and only oil well. That would be a quick road to bankruptcy. Texaco's Chairman drills wells every place that is likely to produce a profit. Similarly, a business should advertise in every Yellow Pages directory that is likely to generate significantly more profits than the ads cost. Comparing directories Buying Yellow Pages advertising is more confusing than it needs to be. Directory deadlines always seem to be looming, and this forces a quick decision. Pricing is complicated, and the number of bundled packages and vague discounts are enough to drive a person mad. The following analysis of the directories in TV Plumbing's market is a bit high level. I have the published rate sheets, and copies of the directories, but there would undoubtedly be a "special package" offered during the meeting with the advertising representative. To do an actual comparison, TV Plumbing should solicit proposals from each publisher. Every directory has strengths and weaknesses. By understanding them, you'll be in a better position to decide which is best for you.


Content drives usage When analyzing a directory, Content is King.

Yellow Pages are similar to VOGUE Magazine because the advertisements are the main attraction. Nearly every other media is diminished by too much advertising. Yellow Pages, unlike most other media, actually gain value with each additional ad because those ads provide consumers with valuable information when shopping for products and services. In general, the more information-rich ads a directory has, the more useful a consumer will find it. A directory lacking information will not be used by consumers.

Utility vs. Independent Directories In the United States, the term "Yellow Pages" and the familiar "Walking Fingers" logo may be freely used by anyone. The trademarks were not properly protected and have fallen into the public domain. This means there is no "official Yellow Pages publisher," there are only utility publishers (controlled by the phone company) and independent publishers (not controlled by the phone company). This is not usually the case outside of the US where the trademarks have been properly protected and use is restricted to the trademark owner. Nearly every market in the US is served by at least two, and often many more, directories. Directory publishing can be highly profitable and competition between publishers is fierce. Determining where to advertise can be a confusing chore. As more directories enter the market, usage changes. Independent (non-telephone company) publishers have existed nearly as long as telephone service itself. Yellow Book, the largest independent in the US, was established in 1930. In the US, the difference in rates between utility directories and independent directories is greater than anywhere else in the world. If price were the sole deciding factor, the independent directories would rule. As you might suspect, price is NOT the sole deciding factor. So how can an advertiser determine how much usage any particular directory receives? Not easily. There is no national rating service for Yellow Pages directories the way Nielsen rates television and radio. However, comparing competing directories side-by-side offers valuable clues. Consumers use directories that are: Complete - Containing the listings of every business in the market. Some directories only list the companies that pay to be listed. If a consumer is frustrated looking for a phone number two or three times, he'll assume the directory is no good and throw it out. Well Developed - Containing a large number of high-quality, content-rich ads. If you see page after page of listings without any ads, the directory is probably not used heavily.


Rich with Good Community Information - Consumers use the Yellow Pages for much more than selecting plumbers. They expect comprehensive information on their community including governmental offices, points of interest, maps, stadium seating, and so on. Well Designed - Consumers expect their directory to be easy to use with logical, well organized sections. Intelligent Coverage - The directory should cover a geographic area that is consistent with the customer's shopping pattern. Consumers will travel great distances for skilled specialists but will barely budge for pizza. Directory coverage area (also called scoping) Directory coverage areas will rarely perfectly match your business's service area. You'll need to decide how much of the coverage is relevant when making your decision. For outside service companies that travel to the customer's location, it's important to look at directories that are adjacent to your primary directories to see if you could generate enough profitable business to justify investing in advertising in them. If a directory covers an area that you cannot service, try to make arrangements with a friendly competitor that does service that area. Refer clients to your friend, and everyone wins. Companies that serve a much smaller area, such as a local pizza shop, must carefully compare the directory scope to their area of influence. TV Plumbing asked me to focus on two primary directories. I believe that they should consider a directory published by United Yellow Pages as well. In this case, Verizon's Santa Monica directory is the utility company directory. It is probably the strongest, but the Yellow Book and United directories are also impressive. There are undoubtedly fringe or niche directories (BBB Yellow Pages, Gay Pages, Spanish Yellow Pages, and so on), but I'm going to focus on the three core directories. All three directories contain plenty of quality ads for plumbers. Verizon has the most, but Yellow Book and United both contain outstanding content.

As far as I can tell, the Verizon directory has served the area the longest and contains the most ads. As it is the original directory published by the telephone company, it is considered the incumbent. However, this does not necessarily translate into higher response for any particular ad. That can best be determined using a metered telephone line. Advertising in Verizon comes at a pretty steep price in both dollars and competition. The rate differential between the Verizon directory and Yellow Book is enormous. As for competition, a full-page ad under "Plumbing Contractors" in Verizon will be competing with 23 other full-page ads. A full-page ad in Yellow Book will be competing with 13 other full-page ads. In United's community directory, there are 11 full-page ads under "Plumbing Contractors."

Several plumbers indicated to me that the average service call is going to cost the homeowner around $300. [I must have "sucker" tattooed on my forehead, because I've never paid less than $1,000 after a plumber has been to my house.] TV Plumbing told me to estimate that they clear about 40 percent, or $120, on the average service call. He also said that about half of the telephone calls coming in result in a sale.

Verizon's Santa Monica Directory


Breakeven Calculation

Verizon Santa Monica


Westside


Average Service Call for TV Plumbing $300 $300 $300

Gross Profit Per Sale $120 $120 $120 Price for a Full Page Ad $29,232 $18,264 $10,224

Annual Number of Sales Needed to Cover Cost of

Advertisement (cost / $120)

244 152 85

Breakdown: Monthly 20 13 7 Weekly 4.7 2.9 1.6

How well used must the directories be to cover the cost

of the ad? (circulation / annual sales)

Higher is better

1 sale per year from every 957 directories

1 sale per year from every 2,500 directories

1 sale per year from every 1,352 directories


Published Rates Verizon

Santa Monica


Westside


Copies (estimated) 233,624 380,142 114,900

Directory Size Height - Width - Thickness

10.5" H x 8.5" W 2.5" Spine

10.5" H x 8.5" W 2" Spine

10" H x 8" W 1" Spine

Weight 5.05 lbs. 4.60 lbs. 1.70 lbs.

Columns in Yellow Pages 5 4 4 Number of Plumbing Ads

Full-Page 23 13 11 Half-Page 13 23 10 Quarter-Page or Smaller 32 23 11 In-Column 18 4 18

Total 86 63 50 Number of Plumbers Listed

(advertisers and non-advertisers) 215 416 169

Community Bel Air Estates x Beverly Hills x Brentwood x Century City x Culver City x x x Los Angeles x Malibu x Mar Vista x x Marina Del Rey x x x Pacific Palisades x x x Playa Del Rey x x x Santa Monica x x x Topanga x Venice x x x Westchester x Westwood x Selected Annual Rates (for comparison only - actual negotiated or promotional rates may differ)

Full-Page Black on Yellow $29,232 $18,264 $10,224

Full-Page White Knock Out $46,771 $19,293 $10,224

Full-Page Full Process Color $51,156 Process Color

Not Offered $12,264

Half-Page Black on Yellow $14,968 $9,156 $5,112

(includes WKO) 4HS

2 inch space listing $1,550 $1,200 $660


Verizon Santa Monica Directory Analysis Since TV Plumbing would be buying the 24th full-page ad in this directory, I recommend against buying that size and instead would direct him to purchase an ad size that falls between the full-page ads and the half-page ads. The Yellow Pages section of this directory has five columns of listings on each page. I'd like to see TV Plumbing have an ad on a page that contains some listings. It would be slightly less

expensive than a full-page ad, but the real benefit is that it would be a break for the consumer after flipping through 23 pages without listings to finally have some business names and numbers on the page. As you can see from the chart, this is a well developed directory. An average ad simply won't cut the mustard with all the surrounding competition. TV Plumbing needs the best ad they can possibly get.

Given the high incremental cost for color in this directory, it's no surprise that so few advertisers purchase it. TV Plumbing should consider placing ads in the directories published by Yellow Book and United before spending $22,000 to add color to his Verizon ad. To cover the cost of running the basic full-page ad, TV Plumbing would need to generate an extra 4.9

sales per week. That's about 1 service call per day, every weekday, all year. I'm not in a position to say whether or not that is likely to occur. Tracking the response of the ad is the only way to tell for sure. Consider the statistics from the Yellow Pages Association estimating that TV Plumbing will receive $10 in revenue from every $1 spent in the Yellow Pages. If that were the case with a full-page ad in this directory, TV Plumbing would generate $292,320 in revenue from this ad. Assuming that his average service call remains constant at $300, he would make 974 additional service calls throughout the year. Breaking it down, that's 81 additional calls per month, 19 additional calls per week and 2.7 additional calls every day of the year including weekends and holidays.

Verizon Yellow Pages Plumbing Ads

Black & White

76% (66 ads)

Color24% (20 ads)

Verizon Yellow Pages Plumbing Ads

In Column21% (18 ads)

1/4 Page or smaller

37% (32 ads)

1/2 Page15% (13 ads)

Full Page27% (23 ads)


Yellow Book West Los Angeles Directory Analysis The primary independent directory in TV Plumbing's service area is Yellow Book's West Los Angeles directory. Like Verizon and United, this directory is very well developed. Because of the high number of half-page ads compared to full-page ads, I would recommend that TV Plumbing place a full-page ad, or at least larger than a half-page ad, to achieve the best placement possible. Yellow Book distributes over a much broader geography than Verizon. At

380,000 circulation, Yellow Book distributes 146,000 more directories than the Verizon directory's 234,000. However, simply distributing more copies does not automatically mean that a directory enjoys greater usage. It simply means they distribute more copies providing the opportunity for greater usage. There are many factors affecting directory usage such as accuracy, completeness, content, and organization. Verizon contains the most advertising content. In the plumbing heading, Verizon contains 86 ads and Yellow Book has 63. I would imagine that the typical consumer has more than enough choices in these directories, so content really isn't a big deal under this heading. The flip side is that the ad in Yellow Book would face slightly less competition. Although Yellow Book distributes 63 percent more directories, the cost for a full-page ad is $11,000 less than Verizon. Should TV Plumbing dump Verizon and only advertise in Yellow Book? No. Doing so would eliminate TV Plumbing's chance of doing business with everyone using the Verizon directory. Every directory must be evaluated on its likelihood of delivering more profits than the cost of running the ad. The Yellow Book directory would need to generate 2.9 additional sales per week for TV Plumbing to recover its

investment. Out of every 2,500 directories distributed, Yellow Book would need to deliver 1 sale per year to TV Plumbing. Unlike Verizon and United, Yellow Book does not offer 4-color process ads, but offers white knockout and bright yellow highlights as a way to distinguish ads. It is quite effective as an attention grabber. Compared to Verizon's charge for white knock outs and color, Yellow Book charges a relatively small premium for white knock out. The full-page ad in black and yellow lists

for $18,264 and the white knock out adds only $1,029 increasing the cost to $19,293. For the added impact, the white knock out is a good value.

Yellow Book Plumbing Ads

In Column5% (4 ads)

1/4 Page or smaller

37% (23 ads)

1/2 Page37% (23 ads)


Yellow Book Plumbing Ads

Yellow Highlight/

White Knockout

46% (29 ads)Black & White

54% (34 ads)


United Yellow Pages

I recommended TV Plumbing also consider advertising in United Yellow Pages' Santa Monica directory. Paul Veyna, owner of TV Plumbing, mentioned that his ideal customer is a middle aged or older woman who has lived in her house for 20 years. There are a few things that I like about the United Yellow Pages. It's a community scoped directory which makes it more tightly focused than either the Verizon or Yellow Book. It is smaller and easier to handle than the Verizon and Yellow Book directories.

The Verizon directory weighs more than 5 pounds and is 2 1/2" thick. In contrast, United's directory is only 1" thick and weighs 1.7 pounds. Some people in TV Plumbing's target market might find a smaller directory easier to pick up and use. United has a well developed plumbing section with a quantity of ads of all sizes.

The print quality, size of listings and bright color in the United directory are impressive. I suspect that the directory is printed using a heat set which quickly dries the ink making the colors pop. Adding full color to the ad increases its cost by about 20 percent. So why does Verizon charge a 75 percent premium to add color when United charges 20 percent? It makes a body wonder. United covers the smallest geography of the three directories. That's the concept behind community focused directories.

Again, the best way to judge the effectiveness is to meter the phone numbers in an ad in the directory. TV Plumbing should advertise in United ONLY after it has properly represented itself in both Verizon and Yellow Book. Those directories will enjoy much higher usage over the community directory. If TV Plumbing does advertise in United, I'd recommend a full-page or an ad larger than half-page. That way, TV Plumbing has space to sell its story. The full-page ad would need to generate 1.3 sales per week to pay for itself. A number of community directories could be used to test various ad designs. The best performing ads could be used in the Verizon and Yellow Book directories with better chances of success.

United Yellow Pages Plumbing Ads

In Column 36% (18 ads)

1/4 Page or smaller

22% (11 ads)

1/2 Page20% (10 ads)


United Yellow Pages Plumbing Ads

Color 60% (30 ads)

Yellow Highlight/

White Knockout

40% (20 ads)


Too much Business to Handle Sometimes, a business owner will be reluctant to place ads because he is not sure he can handle the additional business. Let's imagine the Chairman of Texaco being told by his field engineer that the oil wells are producing more oil than the refinery can handle. The Chairman has three options: 1. He can shut down the wells and let the excess oil spill onto the ground. That's like the businessman who

doesn't answer the phone or return customer calls. He hopes that when he gets through this crunch that he can capture the lost business.

2. The Texaco Chairman can expand the capacity in his own refineries by adding another shift, buying more efficient equipment or building on. That's like the businessman who pays overtime, hires a few extra employees, or buys more efficient equipment to increase his output. The new business is profitable enough to sustain expansion.

3. The Texaco Chairman can sell the excess oil on the spot market to other refineries who have capacity. This is like the businessman who refers the less desirable customers to other companies. Often these arrangements include referral fees. The businessman focuses on the choicest customers and jobs, and he still manages to profit from the incoming business.


Analysis of Every Ad We get a peek into the minds of the voters by seeing which ads they selected and by reading their comments. Only one voter out of 711 selected the top three ads in the winning combination. Further, only seven other voters selected the top three ads in any order. We may study trends, but individuals differ on which ads they would call.


"Free" vs. Professional Ad Design Every Yellow Pages publisher includes "free" ad design as part of the advertising in the directory. Many of the ads submitted in this contest were created by designers whose work is given to the advertiser. Several of the designers submitted under their freelance company names rather than the publishing company's name. The quality of ads that publishers produce varies wildly. To increase your chances of receiving a highly effective ad, give very specific direction, including all of the content that you want in your ad, to the designer. Give the publisher's design department a crack at designing your ad. Some of the best ads in this contest were created by publisher's internal designers. When you receive a proof of the free ad, compare it to the top ten performing ads in this contest. If your free ad is not as good as the top contenders, hire a professional. It's worth the money. When hiring a professional to design your ad, stick to firms that focus on Yellow Pages ad design. A designer not familiar with Yellow Pages will design ads that would be appropriate for magazines, newspaper or direct mail. The designer may overlook many details that are unique to Yellow Pages advertising. Typical advertising agencies don't know Yellow Pages, and they will learn from the mistakes they make on your account. A full-page ad created by a professional Yellow Pages design firm will probably cost between $1,000 and $3,000. This is a small price to pay for the substantial increase in response that an outstanding ad is likely to generate.

Which is the better value?

or

First Place - 449 Votes Last Place - 8 Votes

$1,000 - $3,000 Free Bottom line: If you are not satisfied with the quality of the free ad design provided by the Yellow Pages publisher, investing in professional ad design is wise.


Ad #020 - The Winner - First Place


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Percent of Total Votes by Gender

Male, 12.4%

Female, 10.3%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0%

The two ads receiving the most votes were miles ahead of the pack. This ad narrowly beat out the 1st runner up to be the overall winner. What made this ad the winner? Excellent Layout - Notice how your eye enters the ad with the baby, moves to the headline and works its way through the ad ending with the telephone number. There is a lot of information in the ad, but it still flows. It's worth noting that this ad would also reproduce well in black and yellow making it less expensive to run. Eye-catching Graphics - The baby caught nearly everyone's eye, and a few people's ire. It's hard not to notice the baby, but there wasn't anything in the ad tying in the photo of the baby with TV Plumbing. Several voters commented that they didn't understand why the baby was in the ad. The headline or caption could have done a better job making the connection. Reliability Factors - The BBB Logo, "Certified Master Plumber" and "20 Years of Experience" gave a strong air of reliability. Photo - The good photo of the owner and personal statement played well with the voting audience. Brand Logos add credibility, although adding the words "We service all brands including . . ." would embrace anyone needing work on another brand. What could have been better?

• The photo of the baby could have been tied into the ad copy. Voters noticed the photo, but didn't make the connection.


• The headline could have been stronger. Roto Rooter has found that the best performing headlines are the ones that communicate that they can solve all of the customer's plumbing problems. The headline doesn't answer the key question, "Can you solve my problem?"

• The ad could have listed the major cities served, or would have been even better had it included local phone numbers for several of the major cities.

• Should show credit card logos.

• Missing a call to action: "Call Now for Immediate Service."

Comments from Voters: • I'd call. Clean, attractive, simple. Puts first things

first. (100% guarantee, customer satisfaction, in writing, fixed first time, written estimates, low rates.)

• Concise, draws attention to ad, cute – Male • Quick appeal - 2 photos of "real" people - who

wouldn't look at a baby? The guy looks clean & neat. – Male

• This is a nicely designed ad and the baby is cute. It

uses the space well, although the border so close above the baby's head bothers my eye. I like the owner's quote and picture. That and the fact that this ad stresses customer satisfaction rather than problem solving inspires confidence, although ads #018 and #019 would get my attention more than this one if I had a plumbing emergency.

• Lots of guarantees and a picture of the owner makes

it seem sincere. • The picture of the baby caught my eye, then "100%

....Satisfaction" and Guaranteed. • Too busy, too much going on. –Female • I would like to have this nice man come to my

house. He's clean and professional - I can tell. Also impressed by the BBB. The baby is cute and catches my eye. He doesn't seem to except credit cards and doesn't offer financing. - female, 50

• Very friendly looking and eye-catching. Babies

always get noticed and it’s a proven fact that people like to see people. The ad is well laid-out, simple to follow, gives all contact info in one place, tells what they do and has a guarantee from the owner with his picture on the page. Again, even though he’s the owner, he’s another smiling person in the ad which catches my attention. This ad makes me feel assured that when they are done with the work, I’ll be completely satisfied or I’ll get my money back. Very nice ad overall. -Male

• The graphic tied in so well with the headline that I felt I could trust this company. – Male

• Very eye catching. • It’s eye catching with the baby, and you get to see

who is the owner. And it says what services I would like.

• Just caught my eye better then the others. Male, 48 • The picture of the baby is very pleasing--even if it is

a stock photograph. The main selling point is the guarantee. That combined with a good list of features / advantages creates a strong impression of the company. It's also great to know this company is part of the BBB and other organizations. I also like the graphic design in the bottom left corner. Good use of white space. - Male, 27

• This ad is soothing but when a customer is referring

the YP he is looking for specific info. The Testimonial specified in the ad reinforces the Company's mission / vision. The ad also contains relevant info pertaining to the services offered by the company. An additional telephone number speaks of accessibility. - Female, 33

• Love the baby - ad is great! • 100% customer satisfaction . . . guaranteed . . . put it

in writing . . . fix it right the first time. • Easy to read. BBB stood out and I liked that he was

licensed. Cute. - Female, 30 • I love babies, so this one really caught my eye. The

word Introducing at the top of the ad was a very good idea. It made me want to read what they were introducing, and kept me interested in the rest of the ad. It is put together very well. It’s not so jammed packed with words, so it’s very easy to read.

• It is clean, well organized and has a nice picture of

the owner in it. I also saw the BBB logo and that means a lot. –Female


• …had information that spoke to me about

frustrations that I have had in dealing with plumbers in the past, offered info on how and why they were different and emphasized guarantees. The headlines drew me into the ads and subheads sustained my interest. –Male

• I will be honest—I love when people use babies in

their ads-cute ad- they have the BBB logo in it, nice layout - Female, 31

• Conveys "quality" and "safe choice"; clean

organization, good graphics; image of owner conveys that he is behind their work.

• The business owner knows plumbing is important to

my family, he is reliable and guarantees his services. • Has a nice kids picture some younger families will

relate to, and a picture of someone in the business that I can tie a name to. – Male

• The baby in the tub is an interrupt as well and the

headline is pretty good. However, the menu style misses the opportunity to educate me further on what they can do or what I should know. - Male, 39

• Although I do not care for the picture of the baby -

the rest of the ad was good. I would not put a baby and a plumbing problem together.

• Met most of my criteria. I particularly liked the two

images. The baby in the bath tub with rubber ducky, and the plumbers photo, he looked just the thing!

• This one conveys a feeling of family friendly safe

service that is professional and trustworthy. • I like the picture of the owner being on the page.

The ad is clean looking and simple yet sharp. • My wife liked it the most. Family layout. • The baby and rubber duck in the tub draws attention

to the ad. The header "Introducing 100% customer satisfaction" Gets them to call.

• Nice use of color. Different looking - captures

attention in a very developed heading. Nice layout, not too wordy, but gets the important parts across - 100% Customer Satisfaction, guaranteed - AND repeated again at the bottom of the page personally by the president of the company. If I'm calling a plumber, I'm admitting I'm in over my head - and I

want it FIXED, period. Plus, I like to know who I'm doing business with, so it's nice to see the owner's mug shot. Nice description of other services, good validation by BBB and Master Plumber certifications, and the brands they carry. Phone numbers (local and toll-free) easy to find. A very good ad.

• If I have problems I will call this guy. Family

orientated. • I would first pick to call ad #020 because to me this

ad looks clean, it has all the information I need, it's to the point, and honest. Right away I noticed the 100% satisfaction. And it made me think my 7 month old girl and how I would want to have the work done properly and clean.

• Gave me the best benefits and presented it in easy to

read format. Photo was good-I think good photos help connect the reader with the advertiser.

• The ad is simple, non-cluttered, non-gimmicky. If I

am having a plumbing problem - I don't want "funny" in my way of finding a plumber. I don't know anything about plumbing, so I want to know the company is the ad does.

• "100% Customer Satisfaction" - although it doesn't

say what that means to them, I like seeing it on top & big

• They promise the "problem gone" - I don't like

"problems", so that sounds good to me • I see "guarantee" everywhere (at least three times) -

I like that • "fixed right the first time" - sounds great to me • "On-time" service is very important to me (I just had

a a/c tune-up where the tech was one hour later than scheduled... I was an hour more later to work... I was not pleased)

• "written estimate beforehand" - maybe this is

standard practice, but I like to seeing it in the ad • "insured and bonded" and the license number is in

the ad - to me this says "I'm a professional plumber" • The owner's picture makes him look pleasant, honest

and friendly - someone I could see myself trusting


• the cute baby got my attention first when I was scanning the ads -- and he/she is right next to a headline that means something to me if I am having plumbing problems -- without the clutter of goofy, dark, bizarre, agency-ad glitz.

• I like seeing the "bullets" of services offered • It’s got it all – Guarantee, list of services &

products, photo/quote of President, BBB logo, local & toll-free #...plus a baby.

• The baby caught my eye and then I read ... "we fix it

right the first time guaranteed" that was a good line. Also a very clean ad no distracting elements and I like the pic of pres with the 100% guaranteed.

• Who can resist the baby, yet you have a nice looking

man who I would invite in to my home to fix my plumbing. - Female, 49

• Who can resist that baby, message is good, stresses

reliability through guarantee, BBB logo, owner's photo, makes you feel good about doing business with this plumber.

• Low key copy, but still customer oriented –

somehow babies are a good catch -- give the impression of cleanliness.

• Too cluttered. • What does the baby have to do with anything??? –

Female, 27 • I like the guarantee and customer satisfaction

blurbs. In addition, the photos make me want to trust this company the most.

• Who doesn’t like babies?, appeals to target market. • The baby catches my eye but the headline is weak.

This is not a call to action for my problems so I would suggest changing the headline. I like the owner's picture, it gives the ad credibility. I would not mention Flat Rate in the ad because it makes me feel like taking my car to the repair shop. Overall the ad works for me. Get rid of all the logos at the bottom, I know they pay for part of the ad but it makes me feel you only work on those brands. It also takes up space where you could have your name bigger. - male, 53

• Satisfaction guarantee and the BBB logo. If you do

not do it right I have alternatives. - male

• The baby really catches my eye; the ad's bullets

provides an extremely clean and professional appearance and isn't too cluttered with words like many of the others. - Female

• Once again it really catches my eye, comes off the

page, you can quickly and easily see the important info (fast, on time, drain cleaning, phone #, etc).

• I think it was the well displayed logos. Definitely the

BBB. This made me believe the many claims of this ad. It would have been number two. But, the baby didn't do it for me until I saw the other first.

• Good headline, clean, nice visual that gets the

reader's attention, clear message that appeals to a broader audience, especially people with time constraints - get it done right the first time, guaranteed.

• A slight modification would be to take the photo/guarantee shown in # 20 and place it within the context body of the other ads. Showing the face of the owner is always a good thing with a potential customer.

• I just don't get it. Is there a "baby-safe" procedure

they use? Is their plumbing gentle to the skin? The baby worked for Michelin tires and Gerber products, but for a plumber? Huh?

• Like that they state they offer a written guarantee,

fixed price, the owner cares because he puts his name and picture in the ad.

• 20 as my second choice because it was a baby in the

ad, says that it guarantees their work people want to hear that they have a guarantee. Female, 50

• This is a close contender. I like the picture of the

president and the copy and the sense that he might even be involved in my job. It is not clear to me why the fixture brand names are included. I don’t know the brand name of the fixtures of my tract house. - male

• Has everything that is important to me- years in

service, type of services offered, guaranteed, licensed and the brand names I have in my home. It also has the cute baby to catch my attention as well as the experience man who looks like he is trustworthy and won’t burglarize my home. It contains the BBB logo- the only thing missing is can I use my VISA to pay for it?


• I would choose #20 first because the first thing you

see is a guarantee. Everybody loves a guarantee and especially in writing.

• Like the "100% satisfaction guarantee" they claim.

Image-wise, this one was cute and easy to read. - male

• Hit home because I have small children - male • You can do away with the entire top of the ad. It

does nothing to get my attention (but it would if it was my baby in the picture) Here's what I like. o The ad is clean and uncluttered. o We fix it right the first time o The bulleted list of repairs (creates the

perception that they can take care of any problem I might have)

o The picture of Paul Veyna and his guarantee. It's an excellent picture that creates a perfect perception of the kind of man you can trust. (Is he?)

o Low fixed rates, guaranteed on time and no travel charges

• Babies are always eye catchers, and the ad looks

nice...looks like these plumbers have class - Female, 23

• If 20 took out the photo of the baby and faucet and

redesigned with the photo of the “owner” it would be much better. - Female, 55

• I like this one because it's got a strong headline that

makes a bold guarantee. That I as a customer will be guaranteed to be satisfied with their work. (Gives me a sense of 'control' over the project.) Also my problem will be gone! (that's Why I called). They put the guarantee in writing. The second headline further gives 'credence' the 1st in that they guarantee it'll be fixed right the 1st time. (implies that I don't have to pay more for them to 're-fix' my same problem.) The claim also states the promise in how I'm charged: flat rate, free estimate Before work begins(no surprises) guarantee on time (implies I'll be given a time they'll be there plus it gives me back my day 2 plan other things instead of waiting between hrs. of 'x' & 'x.') The ad describes the type of work they do so I can find my 'problem' in the mix; plus any future things I might need them for. it lists their qualification as master plumbers (not cousin Ned) years in business, lic. number, types of top name brands they deal with, association with BBB (a source of recourse) picture of owner &

personal guarantee in quotes again & lastly the 800 number plus other number (with area code) The least important thing to a customer looking in the YP is the name of the company. you've smartly put it at the bottom next to the phone numbers. A lot of ads use the company name as their main headline, how dumb is that?

• It's a little cluttered but includes the info I mentioned

above and also a picture of the president. It looks like a genuine business with a real plumber and not just a guy with a wrench and a can of Draino. I like the personal guarantee. - female, 40+

• The picture of the baby stopped me and I felt like

these were family oriented people just like myself. The baby looks happy and that translated into a good feeling for me. The add copy was good enough to finish the process of selecting this company. - male

• The baby gets your attention then the ad states:

100% customer satisfaction, problem gone, in writing. “FREE” written estimates is good. I like the word “FREE.” Very easy to read, large phone number, and the owner puts his picture there like he is proud of his business. “You will be 100% satisfied, I personally guarantee it” is very strong. - male

• The baby photo stopped my eyes, because plumbing

work is usually dirty and it appears this plumber will leave the sink clean enough for a baby and the headline was 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. Then I read the ad which included even more services and features than ad #11. - male, 43

• The baby and the rubber ducky is a cute touch

although I never understood why people put children in plumbing and or carpet ads because it has nothing to do with the topic it is a delicate ad with lots of detail without being overbearing with nice calm colors.

• Builds confidence by addressing my needs,

addressing the firm’s experience, and assuring me that they can take care of MY problem.

• I am just a sucker for babies. • Looks friendly, easy to read, shows his photo and

talks about guarantee and services. • And although usually I don't like photos of the

owner in the ad (to me it's kind of cheesy) This one


works, I guess the guy in the picture is a good looking guy. - Female, 40

• Easy to read Great bullet points 100% Satisfaction,

Flat Rate quoted, Written Estimate, Guarantee, BBB logo Certified master Plumber logo - Besides cute baby also actual photo of plumber.

• A respectable clean organized plumber that I would

feel comfortable calling. • What does a baby in a birdbath (or whatever it is)

have to do with clogged toilets? • The photo at the top of the ad got my attention. It's

simple, yet effective. In a stressful situation, I would respond to a calming photo as opposed to a negative photo such as a clogged drain or panicking person. The statement at the top of the ad also has an immediate reassuring effect. I like the fact that it says "Introducing 100% Customer Satisfaction. Your Plumbing Problems Are Gone - Guaranteed."

• The ad contains all of the necessary info, and it's

arranged neatly in bullets. Important info is highlighted (Guaranteed on Time, No Travel Charges, etc.) but it doesn't dominate the ad. There is a lot of copy, but it is balanced with plenty of white space. The photo of the president of the company is nice - it can be cheesy in a lot of cases, but it's presented in this ad in a more professional way with the "You'll be 100% satisfied with our work..." statement next to it.

• Baby catches my eye, but the fact that they say

they'll fix it and guarantee their work makes it worth the call. I can't spend the money to have it done, just to have it done again.

• Not real fond of the baby photo but like the owner's

photo -- it's reassuring to see the type of people who'll show up to help.

• Cute baby and the rubber ducky. I have a son who's

4 1/2 and I love babies • Picture & quote from the owner personally

guarantying their work. That definitely boosted my trust level with them!!!

• They fixed the tub the baby is in and they fix it right

the first time. • The baby is so cute, it's irresistible! That and the fact

that the word "guaranteed" is used throughout the

ad. Customers want the work done right. If it's guaranteed then the consumer will be more likely to choose the service. - Female

• Oooh - so cute. But I want a plumber, not a nanny. • Well laid out and a very important item listed:

INSURED & BONDED # 20 came in third because it has a baby which most women will associate with and is very non-offensive. However the majority of the ad has too much text and will turn people away with too much jargon.

• 100% satisfaction guaranteed in writing. Since trust

is a concern in the plumbing business, this is a big deal and gets my attention as a consumer. The promise is emphasized again alongside the pleasant-looking photo of the business owner.

• Who doesn't like babies? I like the fact that customer

satisfaction is in writing and that it will be fixed right the first time (connotes experience). Also, the President personally guarantees the work. I like the manufacturer logos, the number of years in business, and the Better Business Bureau logo as well. It has lots of information and clean looking. - F

• Cute visual that relates to wording, guarantee • Babies make everyone smile and this baby is very

cute. • I like the BBB logo. There is probably too much

information in this ad. • The baby is a good, eye catching visual and it

represents a good feeling rather than a bad one like a flooded room or dirty drain. I also like the picture of the owner, not that I think it’s necessarily important to have a picture of the owner in the ad but he looks like a nice, honest guy. The layout of the ad is clean with good copy points. (The first point is Clogged Drains / Leaks, which was completely absent from a number of the ads’ bullet points.) Overall a very good ad which would work especially well as a Full Page Process Color ad. I’m not sure how it would look as a B/W ad or at a smaller size.

• The guarantee is right there, and the baby image

works • Appeals to the family - my home is for my family

and I want it to work for them. • the baby thing doesn't get me to call


• Conveys a caring image thanks to the baby, is clean,

clear and informative, highlights the key reasons why I should make business with TV Plumbing, and carries the personal commitment of the president, who also looks like a good guy...

• The key to this ad is how the rest of the ad

succeeded in gaining my confidence. They are guaranteeing my happiness and the picture with the personal promise from the President secures the deal. Nothing in is ad is menacing and everything guides you to deem they are plumbing problem solvers.

• The only ad that has a quote from the owner with a

"good looking" photo that I can trust. Also, it's the most professional looking of all the ads.

• I think seeing the cute baby got my attention and I

really like the picture of the honest plumber in the lower left corner personally guaranteeing his work.

• The baby got me. Something about seeing a baby in

an ad draws me in and I feel like I can trust them. Also the picture of Paul Veyna looks like he is very trustworthy and sympathetic to my plumbing problems. I like the boxes to the right (flat rate price, free written estimates, low fixed rate, on time). I saw the baby, read 100% customer satisfaction and then the blue boxes with low prices, then Paul's picture and complete heating system. Although it says complete heating system I thought - well they are a full service company from small problem to big.

• You want everything to be working properly for

your family, and what's more precious than your baby and your family?

• I liked the family feel to the ad - we all know who

uses the most water in the house, huh? I also liked

the friendly shot of the plumber at the bottom of the ad - nothing fancy, just someone who looks like he's trustworthy.

• To be honest, I usually shy away from ads that use

babies (of course they are cute, but seems to be a shameless ploy for the "Awwwww" factor), but what I liked about this ad is it contains tons of information and reasons for calling TV Plumbing, in a very readable format. I like all of the information about customer service, the guarantees, showing the owner's picture (so you know who represents TV Plumbing), but the thing about the ad that most makes me want to call is that the company seems proud of its accomplishments: it is licensed and bonded, they are members of the BBB, the company is established, it promises 100% customer satisfaction and guarantees it. Really, the only "gimmick" is the baby, but that can be forgiven! I think this one's a winner.

• The ad looks very home coming with the baby on it

in the tub. That is what drew my attention to the ad, it left me thinking that this company is very family oriented and cares about families when their plumbing needs are meaning to be met.. I also got a feeling of friendliness looking at it.

• I especially like the graphic & the headliner. It's

RASCILS real well yet is missing the very important credit card logos and that alone knocked it out of gold or silver medaling. Oddly enough, I simply know too much about how to build an ad because I feel this one would generate more calls than any other.

�


Ad #030 - Second Place


A two vote swing would have made this ad the first place winner.

443 votes ��$ % ( % ��! � �� ! ��

Designer: Adam Strange Advertising/Marketing/Design AdRevamp.com 18565 Soledad Cyn Rd Suite 270 Santa Clarita, CA 91351 USA Tel: 661-424-9129 Fax: 661-310-2118 [email protected] www.adrevamp.com



Male, 12.5%

Female, 9.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0%

This ad focused on speed as its key selling point. The BBB logo used in the winning ad was mentioned several times by voters as a deciding factor. However, the BBB logo was not part of the information given to designers, so most didn't include it. It's safe to say that had the BBB logo been included, this ad would have won the contest. This ad was the top chosen by males. Strong Points Eye-catching Graphics - The oversized plumbing technician was a major factor in this ad's success. The oversized telephone number and the call to action also were commonly cited. Because of the simple graphics, this ad would probably reproduce well in black and yellow which would significantly reduce the cost. The research generally indicates that ads with photographs perform better than ads with illustrations. This is probably because photographs are more believable than drawn graphics. I imagine that this refers to the excessive use of generic clip art rather than custom professional illustrations as shown in this ad. In this case, the illustration effectively communicates the ad's primary message of speed. Focused Message - This ad screams "fast service." The ad headline, graphic and copy indicate speed 6 times. The ad does not isolate one particular type of plumbing problem, such as clogged drains, but features speed of service. That will broaden the appeal to solve multiple problems. This is further emphasized by the large type "Full Service Plumber."


Credit Card Logos - The MasterCard and Visa logos were contributors to this ad's success. They solve the customer's problem of how to pay for the service. Brand logos add credibility, although the words "We service all brands including . . ." would embrace anyone needing work on another brand. Hours of Operation - The bold hours of operation clearly answer the customer's question of when service is available. Often, showing specific hours instead of quoting 24 hour service can lead to greater credibility resulting in higher call volume. What could have been better?

• Local telephone numbers, or at least a list of cities being served, would connect with the local audience.

• More reliability factors such as a large BBB logo, certified master plumber logo, and years in business.

• Job pricing, guarantees, or "most insurance accepted," would provide reassurance that the customer was not paying an unnecessary premium for speed.

• Replace background screen with plain white so that the text would be easier to read.

Comments from Voters: • Great emphasis on speedy service. But once people

get that message, they don’t get any reassurances about price. Viewers need more than speedy and a guarantee that does not say what backs the guarantee.

• Fast makes me think I won't waste my day waiting

for someone to show up. • Pops off the page and catches your attention. It

conveys the message that TV plumbing will provide prompt, fast service and will get the job done with guaranteed results. I think this ad would have been my first choice if it used dedicated more space to TV plumbing’s services, experience and 21 years of service.

• Appeared too cartoonish . – Female • Again, caught my eye when I scanned the ads, drew

my attention back to it. Apparently they do not offer 24 hour service and I would have liked to see the up front price issue stated in the ad.

• I don't like cartoons, but I want someone to respond

right away to my problem. This company might work and the colors caught my eye. They take my credit cards. - female, 50

• To the point, colorful, large phone number, eye

catching. If in need of a plumber, it is normally an emergency. Less cluttered and more to the point then most. - Male, 49

• Stressed being on time which is the hardest thing to

do and a real customer grabber.

• Fast service, displayed plumbing and not just drain

cleaning. Male, 48 • It draws my attention and that they will be there fast

if I had a massive problem, - Female • Cheesy. • I have waited for service before. Not fun. • Tech is too large, but does catch your eye. • Emphasizes speed, most important with plumbing

problems. Limited text that covers important points only, but without looking too sparse. - Female

• With the guy running, it makes you think this

company wants to help you out in a hurry. • My pet peeve with any and all service providers is

the amount of time I waste waiting for them to show up.

• It doesn't cause my eyes to look all over the place to

see if they can fulfill a need that I might have. - Female, 42

• Ad emphasizes FAST, FAST, FAST and that they

are a full service plumber. • Seems a little cartoonish, but in an emergency I want

someone fast - Female, 46


• Addresses the biggest problem, of waiting. They are also open 7 days a week, guaranteed results, they take credit cards, and have a toll free number. - Male, 42

• Emphasis on speed of delivery of service. Plumbing

issues tend to usually be urgent in nature. These guys are the only ones that really emphasize that. - Female, 29

• I was also pleased that they put hours and credit card

information in the ad as those are questions that I often have. - Female, 30

• Reason being the word of "FAST" in the ad attract

my attention as I believe that the most important thing I need will be a fast service to solve my problem. - Female, 32

• I don't want to read a book when looking at yellow

page ads – Female • Identified one core benefit and ran with it (a weak

one, though) • Has a strong headline. I would try to use it

somewhere in whatever ad you chose. Maybe as a subhead.

• Really plays on the fear that plumbers will keep

customers waiting all day. - Female, 27 • This one is kind of simple. Since most plumbing

jobs require emergency calls, his specialty is speed and that's extremely important.

• Can quickly look at the ad and know what they can

do for you. • Someone will rescue the situation. • "Clogged Drains" are not the only reason people call

plumbers. It's not wise to tailor your headline to such a thin slice of potential plumbing customers.

• It is not about the plumber's ego and his "cute logo"

or "funniness." • Clearly screams action & speed. • This ad focuses on problem solving. • The character in the ad jumps out as if he is already

on the way to my house. I know it is not high tech but it works. - male, 53

• Fast Service and no waiting, we all want to do our own thing now! The graphics are great - male

• Several times in the past few years, we have waited

more than a day for a plumber, so the "Tired of Waiting All Day for a Plummer" really hit home! - Female

• Said that they did hot water heaters and had a look

of urgency about them, said that they took credit cards, had prompt on-time service, and they worked from 8-7. Female, 34

• The color is eye catching, shows that the company

would be fast, dependable. Female, 50 • Everybody wants their plumbing problems fixed

right now. • There was such an impression that this business was

action orientated - F, 52 • Was reassured that this plumber would respond

quickly by their header. - female • Now there's a guy I would call. I venture to guess

that most plumbers are called by women because we usually consider something a problem that needs fixing before a guy will. I want it NOW. That visual looks like he will get there NOW.

• The image says fast and correct, Very few words -

male, 43 • It is frustrating having those six hour "windows"

when a service man might get there and as soon as you think it's safe to run a quick errand you come back home and there is a card in your door saying "Sorry we missed you." Most people work Monday though Friday and to take a whole or even half day off work to sit at home and wait for someone is crazy especially when you need the money from work to pay for the repairs.

• When I have a blocked drain problem I want it fixed

FAST! and it looks like I'll get 'fast, friendly service by a friendly looking plumber.

• I don't care too much about the cost because I see I

can pay by credit card. • It's 7 day service! (my drains always get blocked on

the weekend!) • It's an ad that's clean and to the point. It guarantees

your problem will be solved... Fast


• It's colour scheme is very eye catching. • It doesn't give a website which would be good for

capturing the market that's not in such a hurry. • Yep! It's the best. - Male, 61, Australia • It's not gimmicky or dressed up, it's to the point easy

to read has nice comprehension and it stresses timeliness which is what most people want besides a fair price when they call a plumber.

• Variety of colours and simple, attractive graphics

make it stand out from those around it. Particularly important in light of the fact that this ad is in the middle. When searching the YP I tend to read the first few ads more carefully, and then skim through the list for one that really stands out. Most of these don't, but this one does.

• Bright blue...male's favorite color • Looks like he's on steroids and belongs on a football

field and not the plumbing field. • Respects that I don't HAVE all day. • More cartoons...yawn! • Caught my eye amongst the rest, didn't look too

polished and glossy (wrong for a plumber), and like the guarantee "Always on Time", "Guaranteed Results."

• Lots of telephone information that is easy to read and easy to find. Again, conveys speed and caring professionalism with promises such as ‘always on time’ and ‘guaranteed results’. The cartoon character emphasizes the fast and friendly service…giving a face to the company, especially since he seems to be running to fix the plumbing problem.

• Action from left to right, easy to read, telephone

number is easy to find, gives list of services, not too much text

• Let’s face it, when you have a plumbing problem, you need a plumber fast!

• Addresses my number one fear – that it’ll take days

to get a plumber to my house. If I was in crisis this ad would be my choice.

• Everyone loves a fast plumber. Female, 18 • Speaks professionalism but without appearing to be

boring • I like this ad! I would call these guys. • I think the only thing missing was their service area. • Chances are, I'll need my plumbing fixed fast - this

ad gives me hope and again, tells me the benefit to calling up front.

• Gives me a sense of security for some reason. • Reminds me of my comic book reading days. I

expect Clark Kent will come out to fix my mess. • FAST. The Plumber running with the FAST

plumbing supply box caught my eye immediately. Always on Time and the Full service is very important. This is good for the people who are looking for someone quick to fix a problem which is what I've had to do many times. I'm frantic close to hysterical and just looking for a professional to come quick! This Ad is also good if I'm looking for a plumber to update my bathroom or put in a sprinkler system - they are full service and list a couple of jobs they do.

• By the time I would get around to calling a plumber,

I don't want to wait around forever and this ad makes me believe I would get fast service.

• I would, however, be extremely insulted if they

could not fulfill the promise of fast service.


Ad #001 - Third Place


364 votes ��$ % % )�� ! ��

Designer: David Graham Mobile Illustrated [email protected] (803) 772-4402 Ext. 12 http://www.mobileillustrated.com

�



Male, 10.0%

Female, 8.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Strong points of this ad: Extensive amount of information - This ad had more content than most others. In practice, this ad would probably perform very well because it does an excellent job of providing detailed information to motivated customers with immediate needs. Credit card logos and "Senior Discounts" connected with voters. Eye-catching Graphics - Several voters commented that the humorous graphic caught their attention, while many others were turned off by humor. Strong Sub Headline - Many voters connected with the sub headline "You know the price BEFORE we start." People were not as concerned about finding the lowest price, but they responded strongly to the flat rate pricing. Local Focus - The list of communities in West Los Angeles reinforces the local focus. Layout - Good flow from top to bottom with an extra large telephone number. What could have been better?

• Humor is tricky. Hundreds of voters commented that they did not appreciate the humorous approach to their serious problem. A different, but still impactful graphic, may have improved effectiveness. Remember, the people voting were not as stressed as a customer with a serious plumbing problem.

• The headline is focused on a single problem rather than solving all plumbing problems. The body of the ad does include multiple types of general plumbing services, but the ad is highly focused on clearing drains.

• The text over the graphic is difficult to read, and would be even more difficult when the ad is printed on the thin paper used in directories.

• Missing a call to action: "Call Now for Immediate Service."

• Hours of service do not mention days of the week or provide an after-hours alternative.


Observation: I received the following note from Jim Hobson, an Account Executive from Bell South and publisher of a blog on Yellow Pages (www.yellowpagesblog.info). Jim writes: "I know that you know how much time and effort publishers spend (and revenue is lost) on adjustments to advertisers that complain how their ad is ruined because of some minor error. It is absolutely hysterical to me that not one person commented on the typo in the ad that placed 3rd!!! Look in the list of cities and Beverlywood is spelled Beverlywwod. Obviously typos are NOT always a big deal!!!" Comments from Voters: • Excellent. Eye-catching visual. Look what they offer

that is reassuring: they are the sewer and drain cleaning experts; they guarantee their results; they tell us what it will cost before they start; they provide “sudden service,” they don’t charge for travel time and they offer reasonable rates. Now, I know all the designers have these tools to work with, but most neglected one or more of them. This designer used what he had and put his best features where readers would not miss them.

• Do they work before 8 AM or after 7 PM? Should I

discover my problem during the other 13 hours of the day or on the weekend, I might not call. I would, however, call on Christmas and Easter. They guarantee their results, but with what? Money back? Fix it until it is right? Six months of clog-free drains? To me, that is no guarantee.

• Designer should know what a “smart quote” is – the

use of inch marks around “sudden service” is amateurish. In addition to being the sewer and drain cleaning experts, these people do a whole lot more. I question the honesty of a lawn and garden expert who also does roofing, foundation work, paving, and car waxing.

• Catches my eye with the colorful/funny graphic;

lists all the lines of service he covers so I can see that he does the work I need to have done; makes me feel comfortable (even a little light hearted - which is saying a lot for a YP ad); makes me feel comfortable that he's a professional who knows what he's doing and builds credibility. - Male, 32

• Might scare me away because it does not mention

money. • Grandpa and his lifesaver make me retch -single

female needing a plumber • The subtitle ”you know the price before we start”

gives me reason to call for quote or consultation. - female

• Does nice job of conveying benefits of choosing

them, and image is eye catching. Just a bit too much

info crammed in - but does convey the point - assuming the company primarily wants "emergency work" & not "anytime work" - which is the real danger of this ad, and why ultimately I placed #32 as the front runner #1 Ad - it didn't scream EMERGENCY Only... - male

• I did not have to search for the phone number - male • Plastered with too much copy and information. Too

busy - male • Eye catching and it's got some humor involved

• Out of the ordinary, colorful, clear. - Male • The best ad because it is captures your attention,

provides a good tag line – “we are sewer and drain cleaning experts” and conveys a lot of information about the business without making the ad look too busy. You can find all the important information you need very easily on the page.

• Would like to see it just include the benefits a

customer may be looking for: Knowing the price, service hours, no charge for travel time, holiday service, service area, etc. so that it jumped out on the page quickly. - Female

• Caught my eye first of all. Gave me all the info I

needed to make a decision. Only thing I didn't like was I'm not sure if they offer 24 hour emergency service.

• I don't like the old man standing in water with the

life preserver--but the colors catch my eye and it looks like this company could solve my problems-GUARANTEED. I like knowing the price BEFORE they start and they accept credit cards. - Female, 50

• I liked the order in which it showed what the

company offered and the old man knee deep in trouble with water problems.

• Eye catching, tells me what areas you service, and

what items you take care of, I like the fact of knowing the price up front.


• A great eye catcher, brings a smile to your face

when you probably don’t have anything to smile about. Also I like that there is an older gentleman in the picture it says experienced, honest and trustworthy without having to print those words.

• The graphic is what made me look. The information

about guaranteed results with up front pricing was the clincher.

• This ad immediately caught my attention with the

photo of something I could relate to when looking for a plumber...standing in water! It had all the important information I would need, such as the large bold phone number at the bottom, locations and payment options (credit cards accepted). That info stood out. The format was easy to read and find what I need. - Female

• Heading is my problem. Knowing price before

repair is important to me and Guaranteed Results is reinsuring. However, ad still looks a little busy for me.

• Too crowded. • Great color placement. This ad made me laugh the

first time I saw it. The old man standing in water with a life saver is soooo cute. With this it makes it easy to know what kind of advertising they are trying to sell (Clogged Drains). Very easy going ad.

• It is eye-catching and the photo is amusing without

being "too much." Everything you need to know about the business is right there. - Female

• Prominently states that I will know the price before

they start - Female, 46 • Again, I identify with a person. I like the person on

the top, the info on the bottom. I like the reverse on the phone # at bottom of ad. Good layout. - Female, 40

• It was humorous, had all the pertinent information,

was well presented. • Grabs me as it illustrates an urgent situation in a

playful way. Kind of gets the message across that they can fix my problem quickly without ripping me off or causing undo concern on my part.

• Could be a better ad if they cut the copy and focused

it more. Heating info shouldn't be in an ad in the Plumbing section. - Female, 30

• Although I was initially drawn to this one and

thought it would be my first choice, I was turned off by the bottom third of the ad. The picture and words "Clogged Drains" at the top drew me in but as I moved my eyes down I became disinterested. It's just all words and doesn't make me want to give it another look. I didn't even notice the phone number that much even though it is white on black. - Female

• Straightforward bullets of what this plumbing

service provides and catch phrases like “you know the price before we start’ and “guaranteed service”—are very good! only two suggestions: the headline should be “we can fix that clog!” instead of “clogged drain?” because you are offering a solution. plus, the photo should indicate a plumber instead of a guy with a life-saver (or, at least, something else to indicate that he’s a plumber!)

• This guy gives you a price before he starts and we

know how important that is. • Great use of graphics - telling a story without words.

Makes you want to stop and read • Proper emphasis on important text through

color/contrast and fonts size / placement • Selling point/header is not lost in body text but big

and bold -Female • Visual. I’m a visual learner and as such it will be the

first thing I look for. Ads filled with much ‘fine print’ looks will scare me away every time! FYI visual learning is the strongest method of teaching taught in all streamline schooling in America and you will find a large majority with a viewing of this method in their thinking and decision making. I liked the humor in the visual. If I’m having drain problems I’m going to be stressed anyways about my ‘pipes’ and about how much is this going to cost me ($$) seeing this safe elderly man with this life preserver around his neck standing in my kitchen ‘flood’ makes me laugh and I just want to reach out and say, “Help!”

• Good use of color/graphics and description. -

Female, 49 • The image caught my attention as a plumbing ad not

a bathroom showroom or anything else. • The content was NOT too wordy for me to want to

look further.


• The content was well organized so I could find the pertinent information I was looking for.

• In big and bold as a headline it states I will know the

price before they tart. As a customer I am weary of hidden charges and over billing by plumbers. Also they state no charge for travel time and that they cover the area that I live it. The ad contains a comprehensive list of their services so I will know that the do the job that I am looking for someone to work on.

• I would work on improving the read ability of the

type around the Company name on the image. I noticed that I didn't bother to read it. It needs to be easier to read. Sudden service hours were nicely highlighted.

• Had a lot of information, but seemed to flow nicely. • Too cluttered. • Catchy graphic and lists the services offered - Male,

51 • They said that they did hot water heaters and had a

look of urgency about them, said that they took credit cards, had prompt on-time service, and they worked from 8-7. I would've called #1 first since it was the first ad that appealed to me that I came to. -Female, 34

• Funny old gentleman caught attention. Firm price

quote. Info I needed listed. – M • Like the slogan, you know the price BEFORE we

begin. • Liked the image at the top and the clean order of the

text beneath. - female • Maybe I've got a thing for the guy with the life

preserver...but again it's the quirky look of the ad (of today) but also the extra information helps to sell the plumbers services - Female, 26

• It doesn't have any reference to uniformed techs.

Who cares? If you're spending this much on a yellow pages ad, you probably have enough money for uniforms. On the other hand, after paying that much, maybe my bill will be less expensive if you're not buying uniforms.

• This ad has the perfect amount of information, not

so much that it prevents me from finishing reading it, but just enough so that I can read it quickly and feel like I have the information I was looking for. I

like the way the ad is organized too, all the bullet points and different colored text makes it easy to read. - female, 27

• "You know the price before we start." That is

helpful because sometimes service people have you at their mercy because they have already torn everything apart and said "this will cost more than we thought" and you almost have to just say "OK" because you need it fixed especially with plumbing and not only did it not work it is now in pieces all over.

• "know the price before they start." • I like the towns being listed that are covered. It

makes you feel as though the plumber is not totally going out of their way to service you and possibly charge a higher rate for the long commute. I also like the ad indicating how long they have been in business. I like to hire experienced plumbers.

• Got my attention and clearly stated all the important

points. Catchy w/o being overcrowded with words, etc. Senior w/ life preserver in waders standing in calf-deep water in his kitchen- Nice visual, good use of humor to entice. Gets the important stuff out front - "clogged drains," "Know the price before we start," "Sudden service," (great phrase btw), payment options, and a few brand logos. Phone numbers very visible (toll-free and local). A very good ad, could have been my top choice but I deducted a few points off for being a bit crowded.

• A little busy, however good information and laid out

so that the important information was easy to read. Guarantee, Price before they start and the fact that they had been in business since 1987.

• Upfront pricing is attractive (although if I was

having a plumbing crisis not sure I’d have time to price shop), they specify what areas they can help with. One drawback is that they also mention heating in the ad. I really would want someone who is just a plumber- use different ads in different sections of the book.

• Great for emergencies....you know what you are

paying for before hand. • The picture of the man draws the customer in. It is

comical, yet everyone knows that clogged drain can happen. Also, the text regarding knowing the price before they start also attracts the customer. Almost everyone wants a quote before the work is done. - Female


• It was the first ad I saw when I opened page. The phone number was easy to find and the ad clearly explained the services offered. - female

• Too busy and I hate that guy. • Not normally an ad I would have chosen but

something about the ad caught my attention. There is a lot of information without appearing to be too cluttered. The phone number is very easy to find and even offers a toll free number and website address. The company name is easy to find. It emphasizes the professionalism with phrases like ‘know the price before starting work’ ‘guaranteed results’ and details all the services they offer. In an emergency plumbing situation, you really need to know that the company you are calling will be able to solve your problem and you won’t have to pick up the phone to call another company; whether you’re calling from a home or business.

• The ad depicts the situation I would be in more than

likely and has an experienced, trustworthy older gentlemen who would come and bail me out of my troubles. Having seen this situation before he would not make fun of me or blab the situation to my neighbors. I like the colors and the layout of this ad.

• I would lose the old man. I like everything about the

ad, except the man. He looks like he wouldn’t be able fix anything!

• If that old man is the plumber then they better think

twice about advertising his picture. He is scary looking.

• Good use of graphic and color. Copy points are

good but more difficult to read since they are laid over the graphic. Looses out to ad #020 because of the graphic. (Old guy in flooded, circa 1985 kitchen will always lose to a baby.) This originally was my favorite, but I believe that’s because it was the first

ad I saw, again ad position is probably the most important factor in YP effectiveness.

• Communicates that the plumber can take care of my

plumbing nightmare. • BEST-OF-THE-BUNCH. It is graphically pleasing,

very creative and most importantly, it answers the buyers questions.

• Get the company name to pop out better. The

graphic draws your eye. All the key copy points are there, and the ad doesn’t look overly busy. Nice design. Would probably look great in white knockout with yellow all around it

• Up front, it tells me what the benefit is to the call -

knowing the price before you start is a good thing. • It makes me feel like they know how I feel when

plumbing goes down the "toilet". . . also the photo helped a lot pertinent and easily referable in mind to why ad is there

• Artwork in this ad is very effective along with the

heading they used. There is a lot of type in the ad, but I was still drawn into to read it.

• Not only does it have a terrific graphic and a very complete & high RASCIL score, but the layout allows for the eyes & brain to move from one section to another, each move taking in a different RASCIL value i.e.; completeness of lines, authorizations, great job with reliability etc. In short, it holds the most reasons to call.

• I don't like the old man - change that and it would be

a great add- younger man holding a baby maybe?


Ad #007 - 4th Place


275 votes ��$ % % *��+ �� ! ��

Designer: Cindy Chesney Creative Director/Better Publishing, Inc. PH: 423.282.4927 FX: 423.282.3927 CL: 423.202.0954 www.betterpublishing.net [email protected]�



Male, 4.7%

Female, 8.9%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

This ad was actually 3rd choice of female voters, but the strong male support for Ad #001 gave it a slight edge. Note from the designer: I really thought you received several great entries! On a serious note, there was a lot of information that could be included in this ad. Too much info! I tried to highlight the important facts about the business while keeping it organized...not cluttered. I think eye-catching and to the point is better than trying to cram every detail into an ad. This ad is eye catching, simple and allows the reader to flow through the information from top to bottom. Strong Points of this ad: Bright Graphic with good use of white space. The bold use of blue water, bright red and yellow give this ad a strong visual appeal. This ad stood out against the competition. The water gave a very calming feel to this ad, which benefited its strong showing. This is one of the easiest ads to read. Gets to the point - Sparse copy does not waste customer's time. Strong Call Out for 24 Hour Emergency Service. Local Focus - The list of communities in West Los Angeles reinforces the local focus. Layout - Professional looking. This ad certainly looks better than most plumber ads. I would test this ad in a lower cost independent or local directory before committing the full $51,000 investment in the Verizon West Los Angeles directory.


What could be better? Headline - A powerful customer-focused headline would have dramatically improved this ad's performance. Customers care about their problems, not necessarily the company name. Customer Focus - The copy does not focus on the benefits the customer would receive. Lacks Details - Credit cards accepted, years of service, etc. Impersonal - Ultimately, people do business with people, and this ad does not communicate the personality of the company the way the other ads do. Would not reproduce well in yellow and black - This ad must be run in full process color to maintain its impact. Designers were not asked to create a b&w option. Comments from voters: • Loved the colors, the look of the water, etc. - female • 24 hr emergency, name brands, bulleted important

info and perfect water - female • Catchy and not a ton of reading - female • Told me everything I needed to know without hype

or too cute pictures. Looks like a solid company, state of art resources - female

• Neat and clean, and the graphics are simple: the

rippled water design is pleasant, and the faucet head is non-intrusive. I think that the magic of this ad is that it is laid out especially well, with the top third being the basics (name, simple graphic, and bullet points), the middle third being the attention-getting “experts” pitch, and the lower third being the clearly-stated “business” of the ad. This ad tells me everything I want to know quickly and clearly, while being attractive and employing a good combination of color. It doesn’t insult me or stress me out when I’m already stressed about my flooded bathroom. - male, 31

• Ho-hum. • Liked the way the way the red box acted as a mini

ad and brought attention to the fact that they were also expert at drain cleaning. – Female

• Very, very clean. Not a lot of clutter. Gets to the

point and does it in a very nice looking, eye-catching way. Positions them as the experts with the latest in technology to get the job done right the first time and talks about Guaranteed Results with No Mess! That I like to hear, especially when it comes to plumbing issues. Contact info is well placed, easy to find and read and areas of service are clearly defined. A website is also given out for further info. Again, very nice ad overall. – Male

• Looks professional & good color. • Caught my eye, I believe it was the use of color. -

Male, 49 • Good all around. • Really like - just enough info. • Clean, professional. 24 Hour service stands out and

is an often needed service - Female • Clean ad, pleasing blue water. Seems professional. • The use of color caught my attention. Also the "24

HOUR EMERGENCY" circle in the middle of the ad. – Female

• Visually appealing and looks like the plumber is

from a professional company • Emphasizes solutions rather than problems • “Experts” and “24 Hour Emergency Service” are

prominent - Female, 46 • Professional enough to reflect well on company, and

it has all the info i need. - Male, 41 • Catches your eyes with the colors used; direct and to

the point; not a lot of unnecessary information - Female, 31

• I can't say for sure what draws me. - Female, 40 • This was a colorful presentation which was eye-

catching. It got the point across with a no-nonsense attitude.


• Good coverage of the services and the service area (outlining each city in the West Los Angeles area); just enough verbiage without the clutter; clean, appealing graphic.

• Another less cluttered ad that grabs your attention.

The blue water in the background really makes it stand out and red note in the middle yelled for me to read it. I liked how the webpage and number were in a yellow box. More "professional" and less "fun" than some of the others but that's probably why I chose it. – Female

• The Tap on the right hand side immediately

indicates plumbing services; 24 Hours Emergency is very important; Offers various plumbing-type services - Female, 35

• Simple graphics using bold primary colours. Limited

text, and a bold declaration of being "Experts!." But it's really the colours that drew my attention.

• Like the color add, modern look, yet traditional

plumber feel. Emphasized video inspection, appears to be a professional organization, seems to have spent money on the ad.

• Gives off a feeling of professionalism and skill.

Very easy to read. Great contrast in colors – Female • Classier than the others. • Clean looking not too busy. It includes all necessary

information without adding to much un-necessary information - Female, 35

• I love the new shiny faucet and a clear drip is

coming out and so I know that is a clean, clear pipe. I love the movement in the water as well. My needs are easily listed in all your ‘no problem’ feeling list of capabilities. I like how you comfort me with the fact that I will be able to afford your coming. 40ish female

• It was a little hard to find that prices were quoted in

advance. • Would they charge me for traveling time even

though they service my area? • I like the red box and blue water it brings your eyes

to the ad. I like the name on the top, you know it's a plumbing company ad. I would suggest if TV Plumbing has been in business since 1987, I would add that into the ad. Knowing how long they have been in busy is important to many people. It says something about the company.

• Good information in an attention-grabbing format.

Clean and polished look to it. • Nice, unique design "24 HR" is very prominently

displayed. • Color graphic, professional looking. The "sewer and

drain cleaning" square draws the eye. - Male, 51 • Again very straightforward, with no hype. • I like the colors & the water but the way Experts is

in red in the middle along with 24 Hr Service boldly highlights all the important aspects of the company. The ad looks nice too & stands out. - Female

• It is clean, simple, the phone number is easy to find.

"the prices are quoted on the job" - Female, 31 • Gentle graphics and plenty of details- female, 23 • It's a good, clean ad that has a good amount of info.

I like it because it's not overbearing with its graphics and colors the way some other ads are. - female, 27

• Professional and attractive design. The

professionalism and the nice clear bulleted list let’s me know I can easily find out if the company has a service I need when I stop and read the ad.

• I like the towns being listed that are covered, as

explained above. I also liked seeing “24 emergency service." It sounds as though the plumber is eager to have new clients and ready to accommodate them.

• It is presented well the theme is well suited and the

contrasting colors of the add make it stand out very well, it would make me stop to read it no matter what was being advertised

• Boldly shows 24 hours emergency service. If it

were an emergency, I wouldn’t want to have to read each ad in depth. It is informative without have information overload.

• No digging to figure out what he does - no silly

gimmicks. • The inference of moving water is a great marketing

strategy for a plumbing ad. • Great box in middle with Guarantee and Video

Inspection. Also liked no job too big or small and the word Experts in the box.


• Expert is bold and visible. Easy to read, and if my plumbing were backed up, I would not have time to read a big ad. I would want an expert and fast.

• Vivid photos & colors caught my attention, along

with the large amount of white space in the ad. I automatically skipped over the ads that are full of paragraphs of copy. I don't want to have to read through all of that text when I'm looking for a quick solution to a problem. The layout of the ad is good because it's original - not boring, and it leads my eyes to all of the important info (No Job Too Big or Too Small, Video Inspection, No Mess, 24 Hr. Emergency Service, etc.) I also like how the ad lists the areas serviced.

• Clean, easy to read, masculine and confident

look/feel. Seems professional and reliable. • Aesthetically most appealing. Emphasis in the

appropriate places. It looks clean. Looks like a credible business. Is not cheesy.

• The word "Experts" and 24 hr emergency service

caught my attention. - Female • Not too bad but colours says 'we charge more to pay

for our colour ad' • There is no "catch phrase" to pull me into the ad,

only the company name and with a name such as TV Plumbing I feel it to be important to clarify you are in fact a plumber (some shoppers may not make it past the TV part of the name). If I were to call from this ad there would still be some unanswered questions; payments and years in business.

• Very clean and professional looking. I like the blue

water in the background, and the large red box that screams EXPERTS! The 24 hour bubble is good as well.

• The balance is good and the info not shouting out at

you.- female, 42 • Easier on the eye than a busy ad. The blue water is a

good graphic which is what the problem is, and the yellow band across the bottom is just the right size to put in the very important phone number and the

hours to call. The top and very bottom are white, and not as important, so you read them if you have time.

• It says they are "Experts", 24hr service, lists a

website, toll free number. Ad not cluttered with everything they do. I can go to their website to find out all of the things that they do, or call them.

• Professional and to the point. The red box in the

middle is eye catching and emphasizes they’re Experts with Hi-Tech solutions

• Looks very professional and neatly laid out. I see all

the information I need clearly. Female, 18 • I like the water in the ad. The important points

placed as bullet points keep the ad neat and orderly. There is a good balance of color and white space....its appealing to the eye. I also really like to see a company's web address listed in an ad.

• Good use of color. Copy points are ok, 24 hour

service is especially good, but more could have been put into the ad while still keeping a clean look.

• Great graphics with good tones. Not too busy and

just quickly gets the message across, if you need help call this group.

• 24 Hour Emergency service and the number is large

to call quickly. Experts! also caught my eye immediately. Looks professional and lists all the services - They are full service and no job too big or too small. This is good for the fast emergency plumbing problems and for the plumber to update your plumbing.

• Simple and the colors work. Not cluttered with too

much information. The less cluttered the better, any answers I need I can get when I call versus having to read every bit if detail on the ad.

• Best layout, took my problem seriously, had all the

info I was looking for from a plumber's ad.


Ad #012 - 5th Place


263 votes ��$ % )& ��, �� ! ��

Designer: Maria Woznyj Graphic Specialist Thomas Technology Solutions, Inc. 215.682.5314 [email protected]



Male, 6.0%

Female, 7.0%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Strong Points of this ad: Bright Graphic with good use of white space. Like him or hate him, the old dude in the life preserver caught the eye of many voters. Large graphics and headlines are effective at getting people to pay attention. The plain white background makes this ad easy to read. Gets to the point - Sparse copy does not waste customer's time. Layout - Clean layout makes this ad easy to read, and it would reproduce well in yellow and black. What could be better? Headline & Sub Headline - The headline and sub headline are critical to solving a customer's problems. In this case, the "Clogged Drain?" isn't solution oriented. The "True TV Special" (which came from the original ad prepared for TV Plumbing) doesn't make any sense and confused many voters. Customer Focus - The copy does not focus on the benefits the customer would receive. Local Cities - Highlighting the toll free number and downplaying the local number will negatively impact the calls this ad would generate. Call to Action - Ideally, the ad should lead the customer through to a call to action and a telephone number. Placing the number in blue ink above the business name requires the customer to backtrack into the ad to make the call. It's better to have the number at the exit point at the bottom. Missing Critical RASCIL information - The plumbing heading in most directories is well developed, so it's imperative for the advertiser to give the customer several reasons to call. The photo (which is from a professional photo service) of the old man indicates experience, but including years of service, BBB logo, Master Plumber Logo, Credit Cards accepted, hours of service, and senior discounts are just a few factors that would help a customer make a decision.


Comments from Voters: • Grandpa and his lifesaver make me retch. -single

female needing a plumber • Clean professional look but not funny. Nice clear

use of company logo. Use of "A true TV special" doesn't work at all. - female

• It’s clean, it’s fun, it’s colorful, it gets straight to the

point. - male • Eye-catching art, easy to find the info! - female • Uncluttered, cute – Male • The picture is catchy, it is something different and

rather funny! –Female • I really like the little old guy, and his expression.

Overall, I think the ad is attractive to look at, different and eye-catching, and covers all the bases necessary as far as information is concerned. The fonts used are eye-catching and easy to read, with the most important things standing out so someone in a hurry to have their problem resolved can see what they need right away and make the call.

• Nice attention getter, right amount of info. • Like the lifesaver graphic. • I liked the layout, heading and picture. It is easy to

read and uncluttered. The comic nature of the picture appeals to me. - Female, 24

• Large picture of unthreatening person in a dilemma

my caught attention. Clever idea: Life saver for water problem. Also concise details for what I might need. – Male

• Simple and to the point catches my eye because this

is how I feel when I have a plumbing problem... STRANDED ON MY OWN... This makes me feel like they know what I 'm going though and can help me....

• I identify with a real person in the ad. My eyes like a

lot of white background. The headline grabs me. - Female, 40

• What is ”A true ‘TV’ Special?” Why bring up such a

thing at the top of the ad? How will that entice readers to read more of the ad? If the designer did not know what it meant, why did he/she put it in?

• If I were thumbing through the yellow pages, it would catch my attention and make me stop to read the copy. The subject is shot from an interesting angle - the bird's eye view. This design aspect as well as the circle formed by the red lifesaver draws the viewer right into the ad. The choice and size of header font grabs your attention and the horizontal and vertical scaling is suggestive of an actual clogged drain. The copy flows nicely around the image. Your eye gradually makes its way down to the phone number and company

• Logo set in red, and then comes full circle resting

again on the image, which serves to anchor the page and provides a touch of humor. The overall design is clean and not gimmicky. The thin one point border ties everything together.

• Quirky, clean, personable. The use of an older face

conveys experience and trust. - Female, 26 • The words Clogged and Drain stand out.

Advertisement is not too busy. Phone number is easy to find. Short sentences, easy to read and right to the point. Appealing colors.

• My favorite of the display type "artsy" ads. It really

caught my eye. Show that they have a sense of humor, but at the same time take my problem seriously.

• Great visual, straightforward, to the point (although,

a visual that represents more of a plumber with a life-saver would be better) and not too cluttered with too much info—just enough info… only suggestion is to make the headline “clogged drain?” in an easier to read, bolder, and uniform font.

• It's just plain cute...may be too cute-sy though. • The image caught my attention as a plumbing ad not

a bathroom showroom or anything else. The content was NOT too wordy for me to want to look further. Content of information was lacking. I could barely find sudden service hours. I couldn't find if they will quote me upfront with not hidden costs. Will they charge me for traveling time?

• Where's the phone number? • I think the picture is clever but the number should be

easier to see. • I like the graphics and the uncluttered layout.

Information is thorough.


• Clearly and concisely conveys HELPFUL

PLUMBER. Implies that this guy is going to RESCUE me. Just what someone with a plumbing problem wants.. to be RESCUED!

• One small suggestion... if this isn't the PLUMBER

that owns the company, consider putting him in the picture. That would provide the opportunity for future variations on this ad format. The colours are easy to look at and harmonious. The use of RED brings to mind ALERT and the use of BLUE brings to mind water.

• Funny, easy to read ad. • Highlights the immediate problem / provides

solution & prominently displays company info - F, 48

• Grandpa with the lifesaver? Don't think so. • Again, I like the visuals and guaranteed results and

sudden service. • Wouldn't let that guy in my house -- looks like he's

plunged a little too deep into his work. • Don't patronize me, I hate weak humour and I hate

that guy. • Clear, concise and informative. Visually catching

with a little humour.

• The white space will stick out in the yellow pages

and the large picture of the man in an inner tube grabs your attention. There is just enough information to not overwhelm you and the humor of the picture goes a long way

• This one isn't as flashy but the big font and headline

tells what the ad is for right away. If I want a plumber, it doesn't need to be too cutesy, but I want to know exactly what the ad is selling.

• Over all this one has the best layout, but I believe it

comes in second in both key areas, drawing attention and selling the service. This makes this ad a solid third.

• I like the graphic of SOS life ring, again the

experienced, trustworthy, honest and reliable plumber.

• I feel this ad has a wonderful flow to it and has

effective use of white space. • The use of a real person is a tag emotionally that

draws me to the AD. Causes me to relate to my wife or family having a drain problem. Not too busy with verbiage. Do not want to have to look over an AD to long for the phone number. Contained an toll free number. still don't like the old man but -phone number too small


Ad #014 - 6th Place


210 votes ��$ % )+ ��-�� ! ��

Designer: Jay Johnstonbaugh Senior Graphic Specialist Thomas Technology Solutions [email protected] 215.682.5275



Male, 3.1%

Female, 7.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

This ad received many more positive comments than votes because it is very different than most Yellow Pages ads for plumbers. It is designed to appeal to the high-end of the remodel market, and as such would probably not receive a large number of calls for emergency services, but would probably receive a higher quality of inquiry. I would not run an ad like this in a Yellow Pages directory unless I knew that the directory used heat finishing (which enhances the vividness and crispness of the colors) and heavy paper stock. This ad would not reproduce well in the majority of Yellow Pages directories because of the subtlety of the graphics and fonts. Strong Points of this ad: Attractive and appeals to quality - In Yellow Pages advertising, you get what you ask for. This ad consistently appeals to a high-end customer. Good use of white space - Sparse copy does not waste customer's time. What could be better? Customer focus - The ad simply doesn't focus on answering a customer's questions. This ad would perform better as an image ad in a lifestyle magazine where the customer base isn't necessarily looking for immediate service. The Yellow Pages user has opened the directory seeking a solution to a problem, so the ad needs to solve problems. Headline & sub headline - Replacing the company name with a headline that solves the problem of a consumer needing a plumber to perform a remodel project would improve this ad's effectiveness. Meaningful data - Highlighting the toll free number and downplaying the local number will negatively impact the calls this ad would generate. Call to action - Ideally, the ad should lead the customer through to a call to action and a telephone number. Why should the customer call now? Missing critical RASCIL information - The plumbing heading in most directories is highly competitive, so it's imperative for the advertiser to give the customer several reasons to call.


Comments from Voters: • Another great magazine ad from the designer of

submission #11?. • Too pretty (as in magazine page). Seemed more

suited to a remodeling or new construction contractor -Female

• Might consider them for a bathroom remodel, but

not for a plumbing fix. - male, 32 • Like the classy look of the bathroom in the ad. -

female • More appropriate for remodeling, not plumbers

specializing in clogged drains. • Tasteful and very appealing...photos are of desirable

bathrooms, something everyone can relate to! - female

• too much like a magazine ad, it looks like they're

selling sinks and tubs. I wouldn't feel that they would want to fix my clogged drain, and if they did it would be very expensive. - female, 27

• Classy looking bathroom, and since I am currently

under going renovations in that area of my house, the ad now reflects my new bathroom. Its also shows that the plumber would be a classy guy if that is ever possible. – Female

• Were beautiful ads, but they looked like bathroom

redecorating ads, not plumbing ads. I think plumbing ads should have humor in them -- because when your toilet's clogged, it's either laugh or cry! -Female, 39

• Nice magazine ads, nice if you are selling bathroom

remodeling...looks like a Kohler ad not a clogged drain ad.

• Liked the modern touch, looked professional some

ads were really “cheesy” looking. - Female, 30 • Displays nice products and neutral relaxing colors,

design is not too cluttered. – Female • Would be nice at the Remodeling heading, but the

ads don't indicate that they do down and dirty repair work. Also, from these ads, I would assume the advertiser is expensive to do business with. – Female

• Beautiful but may be more for people who want to

remodel. Very clean & professional looking.

• Women appreciate a nice bathroom which drew my

attention to it right away. The services and features are clearly stated. The picture and the fonts used are elegant, you would expect a good, clean, professional to show up and leave your bathroom as neat as the picture shown. . - Female, 36

• If this plumber can work on this bathroom then he

can work on my little out house.. • This bathroom looks like the way I want my

bathroom to be.. So I know he can relate to class high end bathrooms... ALSO Makes me think I may not be able to afford him.... BUT he would have quality work. Female, 39ish

• Nicely done-looks professional. Appealing to the

eye - Female, 31 • New construction: Conveys a very high-end, quality

service level; classy, upscale, knows what they are doing (clean, etc.)

• I liked the professional look. • Simple and pretty. It may appeal more to women. It

did also mention some of the things I would look for. It should add on bonded and insured and some other key "words" a consumer would look for.

• I hate this ad because it is confusing to me. It looks

more like an ad Kohler would have in a magazine trying to sell me a nice bathroom fixture of some kind (as opposed to trying to fix my problem).

• Is really hard to see what the ad is trying to tell you • Trying to appeal to a higher class clientele and

trying to show that they are professional; not like all the other plumbers.

• Very calm ad no "bull" clean and uncluttered, has a

classy feel to it. • Classy ad, not cluttered, a dream bathroom for most. • It has a professional high quality appearance. It

quietly expresses the reasons to do business with the company.

• There is a lot of copy, but I was drawn to read the detail because the ad wasn't SCREAMING at me. Cute cartoons and sensational claims with exclamation points are a turn off to me. Usually, the


louder something is stated in an ad, the more likely it is to be untrue. This contractor doesn't really have to tell me that they clean their mess up when they're through, the quality of the images in the ad tell me they do. I don't have to worry about 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEED OR IT'S FREE. The appearance of the ad gives me the assurance that this is the type company that will come back to correct a problem with out a big stink, event though they don't say so in 72 point bold type. I may be in the minority, but this one is my pick.

• I think the ad is clean, classy, and uncluttered. It makes you think the company would be the same and do a great job. - Female

• I just recently called to have some estimates on

remodeling my bathroom--replacing sinks, toilets and tubs along with some carpentry work. I like the image displayed in the ads--urgency isn't important--only the final outcome (and reasonable estimate). - Female, 34

• Great if I want a remodel. There are so many

reasons for hiring a plumber and TV could use an image polish.

• YUCK! This one is awful for mainstream plumbing

unless all their business was confined to Beverly Hills, or all they did was remodeling. Total LOSER!! I would not call them because I would think they were priced way out of my affordability.

• Has amenities that I wish I had. It's offensive. They almost look as if the company designs houses or bathrooms, yet it says 'no subcontracting'.

• The colors are dull they are comforting and they get

to the point with their services and features information the picture is nice because who wouldn't want their bathroom to look so pretty.

• Looks more upscale and classier. They present the

impression that the company is a quality operation and therefore I would be more inclined to trust their employees in my home and the recommendations they might make. Female-52

• Esthetically pleasing...very modern and a "clean" ad. • Not produced by a company that works out of some

guy's garage

• Photo made me think they did plumbing renovations, no necessarily repair; ad also made me thing they would be expensive.

• Looks like an ad for fancy fixtures-not someplace I'd

call if my toilet was backed up. I'd think they don't want to get their hands dirty.

• I was recently looking for a bath remodeler, but had

difficulty determining which plumbers offered these services. If remodeling is part of their service offering, perhaps they should have two ads to promote both.

• Pretty ad -- too pretty. They'll pretend to pay

attention to cleanliness but in the end it's all poo-ey. • I like the elegance, but the fonts are too small.

• Just not enough focus on the text/ services. • WE ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE and we only like

fitting REALLY EXPENSIVE bathrooms • Love the nice calm colors and beautiful bath. Makes

you think, if that plumber can take care of that fancy bathroom they can certainly take care of my ordinary one.

• Shows classy, clean, functional bathroom, with list

of things they do on the side, not to interfere with the picture/graphics. Very professional looking design. Might list "Fast Service" and guarantee their results on the left side.

• the copy was hard to read (too light a color). And

while I LOVE the font used in #014, it didn't look appropriate in an ad for a plumber.

• Good for females ...shows what women do more

than men...use tubs…pleasing colors and classy picture...makes me feel company does as good a job as good looking picture shows.

• That's the way I want my bathroom to look. When

you go to the doctor and you're sick you don't want to know all the detail as to how the doctor will cure you, you just want to feel good. The same result you should expect from your plumbing service.

• Too expensive. I can't afford to call these guys.


Ad #011 - 7th Place


172 votes ��$ % ))��*�� ! ��

Designer: Will Rivera [email protected] Thomas Technology Solutions�



Male, 3.5%

Female, 5.0%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Areas for improvement: This ad performed exceptionally well in the voting because of the bright beautiful graphics of the bathroom. It is much more suited for a glossy lifestyle magazine than for a Yellow Pages directory. Very few directories are printed with the quality and resolution necessary for this type of graphic. Headline: This ad is a classic example of using the business name rather than a customer benefit as the headline. Remember, the name of a business does not solve a consumer's problem. If you don't solve problems, you don't get business. Graphic: The background graphic is very pretty, but would not translate well into a Yellow Pages directory because the print quality and thin paper would leave the ad looking muddled. Fonts and Colors: The font colors lack the contrast necessary to make them easily readable. Comments from Voters: • Great graphic and layout for a glossy magazine. Did

the designer know he/she was designing for the yellow pages? The sections of the ad with the reduced saturation will suffer bleed through from the ad on the reverse of this page and this ad will be all but unreadable. Also, when we put the reader first, we list the features first; services follow.

• Too pretty (as in magazine page). Seemed more

suited to a remodeling or new construction contractor – Female

• Makes the company seem clean and that is what you

would want to see come to your house or work to check out your problems. – Female

• Very clean but no catch.

• Beautiful, but looked like bathroom redecorating ads, not plumbing ads. I think plumbing ads should have humor in them -- because when your toilet's clogged, it's either laugh or cry! - Female, 39

• Looks like a Kohler ad, not a clogged drain ad. • More contemporary look due to opacity changes

over the photo not too busy, cool colors. – Female • It's offensive. Looks like they design houses or

bathrooms, yet it says 'no subcontracting'. • Put at Remodeling heading. Doesn't indicate that

they do down and dirty repair work. I would assume they are expensive. – Female


• Appealing if I were interested in working with a plumber during bathroom or kitchen remodeling because they look professional and appear to be emphasizing that aspect of their plumbing business. It is a different audience than the “we need an emergency plumber” group. Female, 46

• Looks like a feminine products ad - Male, 41 • It shows they take credit cards - seems more legit.

Also a clean ad - not too confusing and cluttered – Female

• I liked the comprehensive list of features and the

brands associated with the plumbers. –Female • Crisp and clean...just like how you'd like your

bathroom restored. Includes all the necessary information without being text heavy. - Female, 25

• Met almost all of my criteria. Looked very

professional and gave me a good feeling. As an aside, I liked the “Senior Discounts” even though I am not a senior (they are obviously a community oriented company).

• I like the picture and the colours. I have my doubts if

it would attract me if it was printed on Yellow Pages paper. - Female, 24

• I like the color scheme and that the pictures related

to plumbing but without being tacky. • Very calm ad no " bull" clean and uncluttered, has a

classy feel to it. • Clean looking not too busy. It includes all necessary


• Sells bathroom fixtures. • I found myself wanting to call them. Maybe just

because of the perfect looking install. Male, 30. • Deserves favorable mention. Targets market in the

higher income end of the scale. Need to improve place of text and use of layout/design. However, they are very tastefully done. I could see these ads used in home magazines.

• Very business like, no cute babies, or homeowners

with diving masks on etc. • Suggests that they want upscale residential business.

I'm concerned about the rates. A little too slick: I'm

not only going to pay for their advertising overhead, but they've got Ogilvy & Mather designing their ad campaign. Great ad -- just way too professional for what I want from my plumber.

• Plumbing graphics are attractive - business makes

plumbing look elegant- female, 23 • The background of the ad is a photo screen

emphasizing the new fixtures such as new sinks & faucets, toilet & shower. This is important to me as a consumer because we are currently looking to update these particular fixtures.

• Looks more upscale and classier. They present the

impression that the company is a quality operation and therefore I would be more inclined to trust their employees in my home and the recommendations they might make. Female-52

• Looks like they represent a professional company. • The beautiful blue colors reminded me of the ocean

and the bathroom was so neat and tidy, something that I would want for myself in my own home. I liked the contrast of blue and white, very clean looking

• Setup is very classy. It’s nice but has a little too

much focus on the photo rather than the text. But it screams class/ business people/ reliable... etc.

• WE ARE EXPENSIVE and we only like fitting

bathrooms. • I that it is CLEAN and not yelling at you like most

of the other ads. Good quality image, which makes it look like they took the time and money to get a good image. The information, logos, and the font are readable. Female, 22

• The worst - it was a page from a brochure, not a YP

ad! • Calming ad which makes me feel they will leave my

house in harmony. • the copy was hard to read (too light a color). And

while I LOVE the font, it didn't look appropriate in an ad for a plumber.

• Very clean and informative. Looks too good for me

to call them about my messy basement flood.


• Ad #008 - 8th Place


151 votes ��$ % % .��.�� ! ��

Designer: Greg Boydston Graphic Designer direct line: 208-437-0562 Certified Ad Placements, Inc. 4202 Flagstaff Cove Fort Wayne, IN 46815



Male, 3.7%

Female, 3.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This is a strong traditional Yellow Pages ad that would probably perform very well, especially with a few tweaks. I received the following comment from Dennis Fromholzer regarding a similar ad to this.

"I was giving a presentation to a sales group and afterwards one of the reps brought a double truck plumbing contractor ad up to ask my opinion of it. We brainstormed a few ways to improve the ad, but overall I thought it good ad. When I got home, I looked up the call counts for the ad and found it to be the top call-drawing ad in North America!!! A large number of your commenters would classify the ad as "ho-hum" or "a typical Yellow Pages" ad. (It is probably most similar to ad #8 of your sample - just a 2-page version with more content.) Nothing exciting about the ad, except for the fact that the advertiser is probably making well over a million dollars a year from it!!!"

Phone Numbers and Cities: The research tells us that only having a toll free number in an ad without other local numbers is the kiss of death. In practice, this designer would undoubtedly have gotten the local numbers from the advertiser. It is good to see that the number is large and easy to read. "Serving all of west LA" is not as strong as listing the major communities. White Space: It's worth noting that the white space in the ad would be very effective when the ad is printed in the directory. Most Yellow Pages ads make the mistake of being too crowded and hard to read. This ad is an example of how to include valuable information without crowding.


Designer Comments: I focus on designing "real world" layouts for my clients. In the real world, people don't have unlimited budgets. For example, money may be better spent on buying a larger ad rather than buying process color. A full-page ad in the LA basin is not an inexpensive proposition so it is wise to consider a client's budget before designing an ad. The project called for considering the "RASCIL" approach to ad layout which I felt I stayed pretty close to. The business focus was on "fast, drain unclogging" (though the company does provide other services). The van subconsciously gives the message of professionalism and speed. In a world of fly-by-night home repair companies, it is important to convey stability and professional service. If I was to add anything else, I might add a pleasant, uniformed plumber with tools in hand. The company logo on their truck, uniform, etc., is part of a corporate image package that any service industry business should consider. The more you see their company name, the more confidence you will have in calling them. Advertising on signage and or ad mediums, newspaper, television, web, etc. should dovetail together. Yellow Pages is an advertising medium which by its very nature is filled with clutter and noise. Good, clean design will always stand out. Comments from Voters: • Ho-hum. • Title is too long and poorly written. • The company name, phone number and their

services stood out. These are the most critical points I would be looking for when searching for a plumber. – Female

• Heading addresses my problem. I need Super-Fast

Service, • Check marked items cover most of my questions. • … not bad, nothing special. • Solvers, Fast Service, Up front quotes, leave the site

clean. I also like the Truck for recognition. • Just like the visuals on a budget. – Male • Conveys a strong message that TV Plumbing is the

“Clogged Sewer and Drain Problem Solvers” and that they will provide fast service. The ad outlines all of their services, is easy to read, visually appealing and gives me confidence that TV Plumbing is a reputable business that will solve my plumbing problems.

• Met most of my criteria. A professional looking ad. • Stood out among other busy ads. Told me they had

"super fast service. " I like the clean, simple layout. It was easy on my eyes with big, easy to read print. I liked that there was few colors, a big phone number and had credit card logos! - Female, 30s

• Not interested in the big fancy ads. I just want to find someone licensed and that guarantees their work. So, I really like this ad because, it has all of the information you need to give them a call and get an estimate. - Female, 36

• Clean looking not too busy. It includes all necessary


• It's OK • It is simple and straightforward and quick to read. -

Male, 30 • I like the use the van and red accent around the ad.

It's pleasing to the eye and gets your attention. You know the ad is for a plumbing company.

• Good use of photos and space. Company

information is presented in clean and easy-to-read format. "Super Fast Service" is also a great thing to say!.

• For drain only - simple and professional. • Professional, informational yet simple and clean. I

like the super fast service statement. • For a total emergency, this might be the ad I choose

first. I like that the van is already on the road! The copy is good and reassuring. But I would also assume that this one was more expensive. - male

• Gives me a van to recognize when they come.


• Was grabbed by the "The clogged sewer & drain problem solvers" text. - female

• Excellent use of White Knock Out & Red, image

and layout reflect professionalism, bullets are concise and just the right amount. Overall layout grabs the eye, and all pertinent info is prominently displayed. - male

• Direct and clear. Not gimmicky. Makes the plumber look professional and ready and eager to solve my problem. I get an idea of the nice clean van that will come to my house in the middle of the night to solve my problem.... I also like the CALL FOR FAST SERVICE bubble.

• It's neat, clean conservative. • Offers 'Fast' service • Guarantees work • Would appeal to the conservative personalities. -

Male, 61, Australia • Super fast service jumped out. Van looks like what I

would expect a plumber who knows what they’re doing to drive. Clearly lists the areas, show methods of payment (credit cards a big plus), website means I can learn more without calling if I wanted,.

• Looks professional. The headline tells me they will

solve my clogged sewer and the rest of the copy supports this. Whilst it is a nicely designed ad - it doesn't shout 'THIS IS GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE', it does say 'we'll come and sort it out because we are experts'. There are no jokes, and no pictures of owners in this ad - it is clear concise information - I don't have time to read a novel, I don't want to be made to laugh or go 'oh how cute!' or be confused by clutter when I have a clogged drain. I want to dial the number of a company who will do the job well

• Emergency service message was prominent, but the rest of the ad didn't scream for attention. Lots of empty space - easy to look at.

• Has a clean layout; easy to find phone number (for

those emergency situations), conveys speed and professionalism with a simple, crisp layout. Answers a lot of possible questions before the consumer would even call.

• "I don't care what kind of truck will be sitting in my

driveway!" • Doesn't look like an expensive service such as 011 • The picture of the van made it look like they're on

their way, got benefit quickly, but I don't like the TV part of the name

• No frills, no bullshit kind of ad, informative and

factual, and the truck conveys the image of a serious business, fast.

• For a quick fix, I like the shiny, new van since it

kind of suggests up-to-date equipment and success. • The picture of a clean van with the plumber's logo

gave me some confidence • To the point and not so busy and confusing as so

many of the ads are. It's easy to make a decision about whether they offer the service I need.

• Effective (but if I opened the book and it was next to

007 I would call 007) • Hits the opener hard – but does not go too far with

the production – trying to crowd too much color and verbiage into the ad.

• Emphasizes the emergency service nature without

scaring the reader more than they already are.


Ad #005 - 9th Place


145 votes ��$ % % , ��/�� ! ��

Designer: Rebecca Lautenbacher [email protected]

�



Male, 2.6%

Female, 4.5%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This ad almost looks like a quarter-page sized ad because of its simplicity. In reality, plumbers can not often afford the cost of a full-page ad in every directory. In the Verizon Santa Monica directory, for example, the full-page ad costs about $30,000 per year, and an ad roughly a quarter page would be on the order of $8,000. Simple is good: I have spent several hours looking at the plumbing sections of various Yellow Pages directories. Most sections are a jumbled mess where an ad as simple as this would stand out like a rose among the weeds, particularly if it were produced with a white knock out. Consumer focus: So why should a consumer select TV Plumbing over all of the other plumbers in Los Angeles? You really can't tell from this ad. It lacks a consumer focus. Comments from Voters: • How can so many of the submitters have neglected

the opportunity to submit in process color when it is available to them? First thing a designer should do is take off the blinders: look for what is possible, not at what has already been done or what you did before.

• Good for a general purpose plumber. It is not

specific so if I had needs for other than plugged drain I'd call on this ad. - Male, 65

• Not nearly as flashy as some of the others, it stands

out b/c of its overwhelming simplicity. No gimmicks or anything to distract the reader. It gets the info across in a clear, concise way, tells the consumer exactly what the company does, and gives out contact info. Not much more needed in a YP ad. The only thing missing here is the eye-catching aspect but again, I think the beauty of this ad lies in it’s simplicity vs. trying to be flashy. – Male

• Too simple. • Boring. • Legible, clean design, simple, not trying to pack in

too much information – Female • Simple and to the point. Great use of space. –

Female • Quickly can see what they can do for me. If I

needed a plumber I would call them. - Female, 42 • It's not cluttered and not filled with too many words

– Female • Easy to read words that stands out, not to wordy,

also a clean looking ad. – Male


• Straightforward. The graphic of the tap draws your attention to the purpose of the add. There's no flash or glitz. It seems to serve a purpose. – Female

• Clear, easy to read and uncluttered. The style of the

picture appeals to me and makes the advert stand out. - Female, 24

• Simple, not fancy, but eye catching. Clear without

fancy words. It reflects the simple life most of us live - just a simple plumber to get the job done. It tells me what he does and what he can fix.

• Easy to read. Seems targeted to seniors. What about

licenses and the video inspection. • Simple, to the point and black and white. The white

space drew my eyes after looking at all of the busy ads. I also liked the big print. I did not pick this to be my number one choice because it did not have credit card logos.

• Clean, Simple and to the point. Also highlights how

long they have been in business - - something I see as important with a plumber.

• Simple, clean type; number appears big and bold -

easy to read/find; Company name (which gives away services offered) appears front and centre at the top of the ad. Just a no nonsense kind of ad. Would totally gravitate to it.

• I like the name of the company on the top of the ad

in large letters, you know it's a plumbing company ad. It's a simple black and white no too cluttered with too many words with small print. It doesn't look expensive.

• After seeing all the cluttered ads this one was nice. • Clean looking and grabs attention; could make better

use of space. • Simple, it goes right to the point, the phone number

is easy to find. - Female, 31 • Good for someone on a budget - it was clean with

white space although it was one of the few that might have used a little more info. Even without a photo it was eye-catching. - Female, 55

• Very clean & inviting to read. Includes the length of

time they've been in business and a web address. I'm not sure I would actually call them. They don't have a guarantee & don't say anything about being "masters." - female, 40+

• Too simple. Not enough info. I like to see a lot of info because it helps be gauge the subjective qualities of the company. What are they like? That shows in the design. This design is so simple I don’t learn anything but simply their services and their contact info.

• Although this ad is not in color, it's very clear. It's

eye-catching because it is so plain compared to the other ads. Ad looks inexpensive, which leads me to believe (falsely?) that his prices may be more reasonable........given my experience with plumbers, this is probably not the case but hey, one can dream. - female, 26

• Not cluttered. The stark white space contrasts with

the solid black graphic, which makes the ad stand out. The copy is very easy to read, but it could be balanced with more bullet points. There is plenty of room to add important info such as 24 Hr. Service, Free Estimates, Guaranteed Service, Credit Cards, More Services, etc.

• Good ad layout, but needs a tiny boost to give you a

reason for using "TV" instead of someone else. • This business doesn't look like it would be too

expensive and could fix any problem. • Excellent layout. Presents straightforward

information & trusts the customer to make an informed decision. I liked the faucet graphic.

• The plumber isn't trying to be too flashy. • Very simple – name of business and telephone

number stand out the most • B&W ALWAYS appeals to me (since I've designed

in it for years now). • Boring! Ads need color, especially in a competitive

heading such as Plumbers. • Clear as rain, but no benefit being messaged • Very basic. Pushes the logo instead of the service. • Leads me to believe that they will provide prompt

service, which will hopefully be of good enough quality to fix the problem quickly. Also, because of the simplicity of the ad, I read into that as thinking that they don't have a lot of built up overhead in trying to put together grand masterpiece ads.


Ad #027 - 10th Place


138 votes ��$ % & *��)% �� ! ��

Designer: Dan Giampetroni [email protected]



Male, 3.5%

Female, 3.4%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This ad gives consumers a quick exit if they want to call the number without reading the ad. It's bold and strong with clear graphics. The headline focuses more on the company than the consumer, so it could be stronger. Local emphasis needs to be stronger listing local telephone numbers and cities. The ad is impersonal. The rows of bullet points are a little hard to read. Making two columns would be easier. Always have the phone number as the last major "stopping point" before the eye leaves the ad. The designer should repeat the phone number at the bottom. Since the first number is in reverse, I'd make the second number in normal black ink. Sometimes the mind won't comprehend reverse type. Comments from Voters: • Not bad. But not in the top three for sure. I’d give

this one a five out of ten score. • Shouts "Drain Cleaning." If I had a plugged drain I'd

call on this ad. These people must be drain cleaning experts. - Male, 65

• If I were looking for a drain cleaning specialist I'd

probably call. -Male, 65 • They are Drain Cleaning Experts, that's what I need.

They offer discounts and or credit terms and no travel charge. Ad is simple and easy to read.

• Not bad, nothing special. • Gets the point across w/out a lot of production. I

would also call this one. - Female, 36

• I chose this one again for the headline. I liked that they were drain cleaning experts. The photo of the drain reinforced the headline. I also liked how the phone number was easy to read. The ad is appealing to the eye because it isn't too copy heavy and has enough white space so I can read everything quickly. - Female, 30

• Easy to read, important info pops out at you easily. • Quick to read and to the point. You don't have to

"squint" to find the important details. • Similar comments again; clogged drain heading

however stands out, and although they do list their other specialties along the bottom, it would pigeon hole the plumber a bit for me - what if it wasn't a clogged drain I needed fixed? I like the simple use of colour. –Female, 28


• It’s pretty plain Jane, but it does hit all the points that are important to me as a consumer. My choices indicate that as a consumer I prefer Full Process Color White Knock Ads, but the plain Black ad does have a strong headline and a generic tool, that I am convinced some guy will have to bring to fix my home. - Female, 30-ish

• Was grabbed by the keyword "experts" in the

header. - female • Missing color. Nix all those that are just black and

white. • Professional looking/serious, clearly tells me that

they are the “Drain Cleaning Experts” and that caught my attention most. Good thorough info in the ad.

• The word ‘experts,’ and the copy was easy to read.

Not busy. • Assuming a blocked drain is what I was looking for,

because the heading of this ad focuses directly on my issue. If I was looking for a plumber to fix a leak, I may not have looked at this one.

• Professional looking ad with a list of services

beyond a clogged drain also the association symbol in bottom left corner.

• Drew my attention without a lot of frou-frou

• These are real plumbers. That is a real plumber's

wrench. They can fix my plumbing. • These guys are experts - they tell me so. Again an

uncluttered ad telling me what I need to know. Not as professional a feel as 008 - but a good solid company who will do the job and don't spend money on flash advertising.

• Which is totally focused on the plumber, and the

problem, without all the gimmicks. The ad is not too busy, and not too plain.

• Excellent traditional yellow page ad. I might call

this guy if nothing else caught my eye.

• Looks like this ad will reproduce well in the Yellow Pages, it's not too text heavy, the graphic tells me its about plumbing and the word "Experts" is emphasized. The text that follows is useful but not too dense that I'll stop reading.

• Simple and had a terrific large header. • I liked this ad because it was clear and direct. More

than anything it seemed to solve the problem or crisis that I might have when I looked up plumbers in the phone book. It came across as super professional, and very direct. It didn't trade very much on the TV theme, which was fine (most of those that did seemed gimmicky) The graphics, while simple seems professional.

• Has a clear message that reflects the problem they can solve for me, no gimmicky images. This will get my attention if I am really in an emergency.

• claiming they are capable of, and a phone number.

Simple, to the point, direct. • Why … It is clear, clean and quickly conveys what

it is about at a glance without having to read lots of text.

• Personally, I prefer the simple, old-fashioned

approach. These two ads are both very readable and touch on the salient points for why I would be looking for a plumber without a bunch of cute-sy junk that would annoy me if I was up to my ankles in water (like 33, 35, 37, 38). Doesn't mention the 24 Hour Emergency Service and should, because it defines the services available better than #013. If I have a real plumbing problem, I'm stressed out and want the straight scoop and not a bunch of artsy junk. "Just the facts."

• this ad is very simple. Not flashy or too busy. It

caught my attention because it had EXPERT in big/bold lettering. If I were in a panic, I would want an expert to take care of my situation

.


109 votes ��$ % )( ��))�� ! ��

Designer: Carolyn Packert Thomas Technology Solutions [email protected]�



Male, 2.6%

Female, 2.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: The headline needs to be consolidated into a powerful consumer benefit or be intriguing enough to keep reading. I'd lose the background screen and leave it plain to increase the white space. When the ad on the flip side of the page bleeds through the thin directory paper, it won't be pretty. Something to think about - to get the inset photos printed with white background, the advertiser would need to pay for white knockout on the entire ad. In this case, that would boost the cost of the ad by $17,000. The designer wouldn't have known this when designing for the contest. Comments from Voters: • If I have a clogged drain I might call on this ad.

Male, 65 • It looks like an ad and not an advertorial. Has clear

message and the right clip art. • Clearly states 24 hour service, it is very simple and

not too wordy all the info you need is there. • The business carries the brand names I am looking

for and the and has a 'no nonsense' approach. • A beautiful ad. Professional, simple and clean.

Guaranteed Results, Email Addresses. • Layout is also nice on this one and it is easy on the

eyes not too much info, just enough - Female, 23

• Not overly salesy. Some of the other ads with the loud graphics and images made me think I would get a really pushy salesperson.

• So attractive and different it’s worth a look. Simple and to the point. Seems trustworthy

• The other ads tried too hard to be funny or using too

much of the play on words you know the whole "tv" thing it was just annoying :) - female, 23

• Okay - but everything is a little small and not

balanced. • Good old fashioned yellow pages ad - Male, 30 • This is a traditional, successful yellow page ad that

touches all the bases. Maybe too basic. Recognizable brands like Rheem

• Color would have gotten a better score. • Good picture but not enough content. Good eye

catcher headline "24 hour emergency service" Liked the font the best.


79 votes ��$ % % ( ��)& �� ! ��

Designer: Keelan Jones Keelan Jones [email protected] Mobile Illustrated 1624 Broad River Rd Columbia, SC 29205 803 772-4402 x11



Male, 1.5%

Female, 2.4%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: The use of the house photo is certainly eye catching, but it isn't tied into the ad with any copy or headline. True TV Special - Several designers picked up this slogan from the original Yellow Pages ad. It doesn't really mean anything, and I find it confusing. I thought that someone might have used a play on the "As Seen On TV" logo. The phone number all alone at the bottom of the page tends to get lost. The bottom 1/4 of the page is where the signature block belongs. It should include business name, hours, phone address, maps, etc. Comments from Voters: • Yeah, right. I’m calling that number right now.

Where did this house come from? Is there one like it in the directory coverage area? Can any reader relate to this house? What's with the reasons people refer others to this provider? “Use these people—they wear uniforms and work on residential, industrial, and commercial so they can clean your drains at your home, your office, and your factory today.”

• Too busy, too much going on. • Horrible picture of women, and house may

discourage low/middle class.

• Must charge a lot...look at that big new house in ad...only rich people call them.

• I like the woman homeowner – most women are

picking the company to call. Like the pretty home image, pleasing to the eye. Professional looking and a fairly uncomplicated ad.

• Eye catching, the hours are clearly stated in the ad, it

gives a toll free # to contact, it shows which brands he carries and shows which credit cards he accepts.

• Easy to read, because it doesn't have a lot of

verbiage.


• DIDN'T LOOK LIKE AN AD FOR A PLUMBING COMPANY AT FIRST, UNTIL I REALLY LOOKED AT IT. IT LOOKED MORE LIKE SOME REALTOR ADD AT FIRST GLANCE.

• Again visual. I am a woman and she appears

together and ‘able’ and that’s how I sure want to perceive myself! I also like her home and of course if you come and help me I have this feeling that my home has to potential and I the hope that I’d like to have my home look that nice. I LOVE the movement feel of the subliminal swirl of the water draining-Hope in that as well because that’s what you’re going to come and make my drain do too!

• Tells me everything I need to know and not

cluttered... easy to read. nice simple graphics. • An ad for real-estate. • It is colorful and very quality looking. –Male, 30 • …grabs attention and is informative; could make

better use of ad space, though. •

Nice graphic (not yellow or black) and straight to the point of problem solving. - Male, 51

• Speaking of upscale, a dishonorable mention goes to

#3 which also has an upscale look, but what's with the house? Is that the home of the plumber? Or the rich people who can afford to use his company?

• Shows a beautiful home, a tow-free number clearly.

I assumed from the ad that there was no man to fix the plumbing. Female, 50

• The way the ad is laid out is exactly what my eye

wants to see. Plus seeing a woman in the ad helps. - Female, 23

• Ad is nice and organized and not too busy- female,

23 • I like because it incorporates an image that most

new home buyers are accustom to seeing on house ads and buying guides that big house on the hill.

The ad is ok but it clearly conveys a maturity level that will get more conscientious buyers to look at it.

• I prefer the appearance of this ad over #7 but it

doesn’t state the 24 hour emergency service. This ad also has a toll free number which could be very important. It is also very informative, and were I looking for someone to do remodeling work, I would be more apt to select this plumber to obtain quotes from.

• Place the catch phrase "TV specialty" in this ad. It's

good!!

• It has that stupid house from Photo Disc (Image 77031, to be exact) that appears in every phone book on the planet.

• A silly woman staring into space and a big house -

that isn't for me. • I like the water used in the background. I really like

the white bullet on the left side that leads down to the phone #. I do not care for the picture of the lady. She looks like she has a mouth full of water that she is going to spray out like a fountain.

• Perhaps sends the message that they work on high

end homes and not the down and dirty basics like floating poop in my basement.

• Very professional and gave an impression that the

company was reputable without even having to read a word.

• The use of a real person is a tag emotionally that

draws me. Causes me to relate to my wife or family having a drain problem. Not to busy with verbiage. Do not want to have to look over an ad to long for the phone number. Contained an toll free number. The house relates to home.

• Great add for a book that covers mostly upscale

areas...but if not the "people" can't relate


78 votes ��$ % % & ��)( �� ! ��

Designer: John Uhrig John Uhrig President & CEO Monochrome Marketing Solutions Results-Based Marketing Vancouver, BC 604.850.3416 www.monochromemarketingsolutions.com [email protected]



Male, 3.3%

Female, 0.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: My guess is that the person putting this ad together is more of a direct mail marketer and does not do the design work himself. This ad has some very powerful messages and hooks, but it needs two major thing: The copy needs to be tightened up and the ad needs a graphic artist's touch to improve the layout. The ad doesn't flow well from top to bottom. Here are a couple of things that are particularly strong: Free 10 Point Checklist - Giving a free report is an excellent method of boosting call counts. It conflicts with the emergency tone of this ad, but it's a concept that can help. A recorded message is strong as well. Some marketers have their service technicians hand deliver the report rather than mail it out. They say, "I was in the neighborhood between calls, and thought I'd drop it by." Code of Standards - This has possibilities if reworded slightly from a customer's point of view. Perhaps it should be a "Customer's Bill of Rights." Comments from Voters: • Too much copy to wade through – Female • Had too much verbiage. If I am in need I would not

take the time to read over. - Male, 49 • Good thoughts but a lot to read.

• Look like magazine rip off ads for vitamins, weight loss, miracle drugs - ALSO I don't want to have to read ALL THAT COPY.

• Clean and simple - Male • Copy is focused and direct, emphasizing problem

solving and reassurance


• One useful freebie on the website • Loses points for grammatical error (to instead of

too) and overcrowded page • Ouch. “Homeowners” is one word, not two. That’s

one hell of an error to have in the first line, in the headline no less. But, the writer did not stop there. People are no in emergencies’ they have emergencies. What is the ellipses for? Do I want a suspense mark between my emergency and what I need? I don’t think so. Do three exclamation marks add anything to the headline? No. Use of three explanation marks just identifies the writer as a junior high school student trying to make something exciting. The subhead may be worse. Why is every work capitalized? Why does the writer use ampersands and “ands” in the same “sentence?” Is it a sentence? What is it with the ellipses again? I notice the writer did not use the two most commonly used punctuation marks in either the headline or subhead (periods and commas). Instead the writer uses explanation marks to end each “sentence,” ellipses instead of periods or commas where periods and commas belong. Can any intelligent human being continue reading this ad? No, It Is Much... Much... Much... Too Much Work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• WAY too wordy; who's going to sit and read

through all that crap when they've got a leaky sink. They also look bogus, like those ads for wonder diet pills in the back of a magazine.

• It feels like you're reading a book, not an ad. You

want an ad to be simple, for a person is looking for a quick call.

• Did the best job and it also offered a free

information product that further positioned the company as a "helper" not just a vendor looking for my business. - Male

• Again good headline. Three unique guarantees. Free

checklist. Has website for further info. Great call to action & toll free #. Doesn't have any testimonials. - Male, 50

• Does a good job of catching my attention. It's not

very eye appealing but it does touch on my hot buttons for why I am looking for a plumber. Also, it's very informative and gives me information I can use or should know. - Male, 39

• Kicks butt by itself without any graphics when you

match it up to the rest. - Male, 39

• …they looked like weird stories from magazines. I don't want that if I need plumbing assistance. I want someone who will come quick and do what needs to be done. - Female, 27

• Headline catches my attention. • Offers free service - even if I don't use them • Lays out guarantee in clear English how they resolve

my major issues with getting a plumber • Well laid out. Name of company and contact details

at the bottom of ad - not at the top. Who cares what they are called. Will they do the job to my expectations!?

• WAY too much text, no graphics to attract the eye--

Female, 27 • Don't cram too much into a small ad.

• Looks professional - not goofy - customers don't

want to think that the three stooges are coming to fix their plumbing.

• Looks more like a contract than an ad • Should have some graphics besides logo. • Copy reflects client concerns and the three

guarantees strike at the heart of everyone who has worked with plumbers

• Too cluttered. • If I want to read a book, I will go to the Library! • Too wordy. I'm not likely to read all that - male, 51 • How to avoid the pitfalls of picking the wrong

company. - male, 40 • Good colors and headline speaks to "gripes."

Everyone is scared to call a plumber and hate the bills - Male, 46

• Seems to follow what another expert implies is a

good format. However, I know what my main gripes are with plumbers. I don't need someone to tell my what they are. I need someone to tell me they will solve those problems.

• UGLY A customer looking for a plumber is in a

hurry and won't read all that. Who cares?


• Good headline that will interrupt the Yellow Pages surfer who is looking in the plumbing section, causing them to naturally read the sub-headline. Good, logical flow to the sub-headline which builds on the urgency and frustration factors, promising if the reader reads on, they’ll find a solution to their issues. The body copy does a good job of laying out the 3 most frustrating things people typically experience when dealing with a plumber (in fact, with most service providers), and then lets the reader know how TV Plumbing is different from the rest of the shouting, color-spewing pack. Finally they offer the reader a risk reverse way (if they have the time) to find out more by offering them their “10 Point Checklist” not once, but twice at the bottom of the page…AND invites the reader to visit their website for even more insight. This ad could pull as much as 10-to-15 times more response than the more traditional, “me too, we’re all essentially the same” style most of the rest of the ads employ.

• Would seem more suited to a newspaper as they are

more like an editorial then an ad. • Too busy and wordy.

• I can't even see the copy let alone read it. • Reads like a contract. Cold and unwelcoming. Too

much information. • Too busy. Too much text. Nobody is going to read

all of that to find what they want. • If my problem was a clogged drain, I would not call

#2. I personally believe that in an emergency situation people will not read paragraphs and the ad has no headline to "get" me.

• Needs a photo and reformatting but this ad, in my

opinion, has the best copy. The headline is a sure winner.

• "Less is sometimes more." This ad reeks of

professionalism & contains all of the pertinent reasons to call in a direct format. Lacks credit cards and needs a little more flair.


Ad #025 - 14th Place - Tie


77 votes ��$ % & , ��)+ �� ! ��

Designer: Katie Nelson Production Artist - Yellow Pages Cramer - Krasselt 733 N. Van Buren St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 ph: 414.227.2258 e: [email protected]



Male, 0.9%

Female, 2.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observation: The retro look has been used very effectively by various plumbing companies over the years emphasizing "Old Fashioned Service." This ad has some strong design elements, but it could benefit from being de-cluttered and adding white space. The copy should be written from the customer's point of view. It's all we, we, we, but would be better if it were you, you, you. Headline meanders a bit getting to the pun. Would be better if it were a compelling consumer benefit. Comments from Voters:• Retro is certainly better that outright ‘50s or ‘70s

design, but ad would not get my call. It’s going to take more than clever retro to get me to call.

• Appeared too cartoonish -Female • I like the old fashioned look of it as it inspires

quality service of long ago with integrity and honesty. – Female

• Retro look and the headline "...driving you Plumb

crazy" creative and cute. Lots of info, yet still enough negative space to make the graphics and colors stand out. It has a hip/modern look without looking like a template or by using stock photos. It has oldies television kind of look to it. - M, 27

• Charming retro ad, the way they used to be when

TV (not TV Plumbing) was black-and-white. Plus, the cartoon fella is pretty handsome! - Female, 39

• Like the plumb crazy, the check marks, right amount

of info.

• Different style stands out from clutter. Retro look implies "old-time" quality work from the past - Female

• Too cluttered - Too stupid. • I love the retro plumber as well as the cute

questions. This company knows how to get a 20-30 yr olds attention - Female

• Looks like they may be using the same techniques to

fix my problem as they used in 1950...no thanks, Hubert.

• Us good ol boys will come around in our pick-up,

really mess up your plumbing, rip you off and rape your wife and daughter.

• Just on the cusp of being too much, but I like the

animation in the ad and the direct dialog with the customer. It causes them to ask themselves the questions and would probably generate a response.

• "plumb crazy" - humour sells, I like the font.


77 votes ��$ % )-��)+ �� ! ��

Designer: Tracy Tidwell Company: TransWestern Publishing [email protected]



Male, 2.3%

Female, 1.6%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This ad really worked hard to make the name TV Plumbing mean something. It is loaded with RASCIL factors which would certainly help. The border is a little much, and it could be cleaner. I'd move the phone information to the lower right and cluster the four credit card logos together for impact. I like the white background rather than a screened image. Comments from Voters: • Dick, you sly devil. You didn’t tell me you were

opening this contest up to junior high school students. Up until now, I was taking some of these ads as serious submissions. Also: Where the hell is West Los Angles?

• Too busy, too much going on . – Female • Cluttered. • Really clever copy...are you watching reruns - not

too crowded - would work only if TV Plumbing though.

• It has the best use of the TV Special catch line and

even though it is a "busy" ad, things are not just in there randomly. - Female

• It might have placed higher if layout were a little

better. - Male, 41 • Far too much going on - busy - busy - busy - This ad

makes me dizzy if I look at it, • Colorful, eye catching, not too wordy but gave

information that would help me, as a single woman, feel confident they could do the job

• Concept of watching reruns of plumbing problems

(reoccurrence) is neat and the fact that all the points were in TV's. It was colorful and I could identify with it.

• Catchy tie in to TV's, but not over the top;

information, holiday services, reasonable rates • Too busy and looks like a TV ad. • I like the pictures across the top, the humor of them,

how "Reruns" connects to the name TV Plumbing. Gives plenty of information about the services of the company, plus indicates that it is licensed and certified so instills confidence.

• Too much going on my eyes didn't know where to

look • Clever use catch phrase that tied into the company's

name; should've omitted the section that listed specifics types of plumbing as this made it a too crowded; need to proof spelling, the word "Angeles" is misspelled as "Angles" and because of the large print it's very noticeable


73 votes ��$ % ( , ��)-�� ! ��

Designer: Randall Hilton [email protected] www.upfrontprice.com�



Male, 2.5%

Female, 1.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Note from the designer: I do think this ad would be a top performer because of its headline and friendly face and color scheme. The copy aims at emotions as much as information. Observations: This ad is certainly eye-catching. I believe that a positively worded headline would be better. Perhaps "relax" or "chill out." It breaks a few too many design rules with too much reverse type, and such. The clever copy around the border might be an effective eye catcher. It would be interesting to see this ad with a simple white background. The signature block needs to move down to the bottom. Comments from Voters: • A solid five on the ten scale. I enjoyed all the funny

stuff in the border. But I don’t want a funny plumber. I want a plumber who gets the job done right and offers good value.

• The kid photo is very appealing & gives the ad depth

- a good headline would have put this at the top. "My Dad's a Plumber - he's neat, clean & on-time" - Male

• Seems like a clean and care free choice. • Geez, I was a parent of a little girl, gave me all the

info I needed to make a decision again. Made me feel comfortable with the company.

• The graphic tied in well with the headline I felt

comfortable with them, just not as comfortable as with #020. - Male

• It's eye catching, says what I’m looking for, don’t worry.

• Don't mean to be sexist but men won't call a pink ad.

-Male, 27 • Take care of WHAT? • Has that nice kids picture – Male • The "Shirley Temple" girl really isn't relevant, but

she sure grabs your attention. • Don't Worry! we'll take care of it. I feel relieved that

these people will take care of me. It is not yelling at me. The red headed girl could be my daughter, not that she looks anything like her but the feeling of her being relaxed in her room. The services they provide are upbeat not downgrading how other plumbers do their job. It is just a refreshing ad that grabs my attention. - male, 53


• This ad grabs you. The little girl is not in the ad, she is lying on top of the book! Who is this little girl and why is she smiling? The headline is great.

• …really disturbing in the "we're using our plumbing

business to stake out your joint in case you've got little Jon Benets we might want to kidnap" way that #35 suggests.

• First thing that catches my eye are the words "Don't

Worry." • Great Image appeals to the fears and urgency - male,

43 • Little girl is cute and naturally gets your attention.

Then you see headline – Don’t Worry we’ll take care of it. I would add “Call now” before the “we’ll take care of it.” But I like the ad. Large phone number in middle of page, easy to see. “Pick up phone and make troubles go away.” Just what I want to see when I have an emergency. - male

• Sense of calm, concern for family, etc. Made me

feel confident in their abilities, priorities. • Too cute - too pink - too meaningless. • Picked ad for back ground and little girl. Would

have picked this first except for baby ad.

• Hard to tell it is for a plumber at all. Not enough specific information on plumbing issues they are experts on.

• Has a cute picture of a little girl with a pink

background. I can't even tell what this ad is about, let alone thinking it's for a plumber!

• Little girl and colors tell me they won't treat me like an idiot. Uncomfortable with fine print around the edges ...and wonder what kind of business advertises a masculine service like this using pink.

• Expect the plumber to be gay -- but very clean. • Had potential, but it is lost in the amateur masking

job done on the photo. It's 2005, and you better know what the #@$%&@ you're doing if you're going to be doing professional computer graphics. Whoever worked that one needs to be sent to a Chinese prison for the criminally inept. Actually, that's probably where this ad was worked.

• Having a child in the ad doesn't make me think of a

plumber; thought of daycare not plumbing; definitely would not call them


73 votes ��$ % ( & ��)*�� ! ��

Designer: Alan Saltz [email protected] Author: Legal Theft 2.1 available in the Yellow Pages Store http://ypcommando.com/store.html



Male, 2.3%

Female, 1.4%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Note from the designer: Portrays a professional company with solid benefit laden content. Testimonials are key to making me trust the word of the company, and there's a lot of personality in there that would make me feel good about picking up the phone.

Observations: I laughed out loud when I received this entry. It's very gutsy to run this type of ad. The headline and photo are not really customer benefits, but would be good attention getters if the ad were run in a newspaper weekly or mailer. This is the best use of testimonials in the contest. It is light on RASCILs and needs cities and local numbers. Alan's book about Yellow Pages is actually very good with the fundamentals. He took some risks with this ad for the contest rather than playing it safe. Comments from Voters: • Clever. Need I say more? • Scary. • Weird. • Too facetious. While amusing, I want my plumber

to be a serious, competent professional - not a comedy sketch artist. – Female

• I like to deal with someone who has a sense of

humor like my own. i love the headline for the laugh so much that I'd call. (similarly, I could not resist a buffalo company called "gutter people" when I needed repairs on those) - Male, 41

• The white text box really jumps out at me with the most important information.

• The "new customer special" is another hook to at

least call them and see what they have to offer. • Very funny but not sure I would actually call. • A catchy headline with a fun and unique photo. The

extra information is well laid out with testimonials. - Female, 26

• Very creative, but, are too cute too work. • This picture and opening line is great - Got a laugh

out of me and encouraged me to read on.


• Testimonials always work, especially with pictures of the people attached. I liked the “7 Reasons Tough Customers Choose Us” thing, although the design here didn’t work very well

• The “7 Reasons” text and the box didn’t seem to

relate to each other. - Female, 27 • Is he selling toilets? –Male, 54 • funny & light-hearted but tells me what I need to

know—I do not like the fact that only new customers get a “deal”, so much for customer loyalty. I like the ad, but probably would not use them for that reason.

• Cheesy • Get a kick out of the guy hugging his toilet! • Hilarious, unusual. • I love the idea of being so comfortable that they hug

the toilet - eye catching. - Female • It has people (attractive) who actually used your

service and gave you a reference. It appeals to the, “I don’t trust contractors” crowd.

• The visual draws the reader in along with the cleaver

headline; the features and benefits should be more prominent however (they're buried within the copy).

• I'm going with the self-deprecating humor. • The only thing I don't like about #32 is the "backed

up" color of the water in the toilet basin the guy's hugging. But, heck, don't they deserve a call for no other reason than making me laugh as the toilet water cascades down the stairway in my house...?

• There are some pretty good ads, but -- actually to

my surprise after the first run through -- I feel comfortable saying that this one stands out above all others.

• Creative attention-getting headline/graphic combo Testimonials (only one that had any) 7 Reasons (benefits) - male

• It is amusing, making you look at it further. The

previous customer testimony is helpful to customers who have had bad experiences in the past and are unsure of who to choose. I also like the information provided on the tacked note. It is all information that a potential customer may ask, if they could remember, in times of urgent need.

• I particularly like its heading, testimonials,

guarantee and special offer. • I think this ad combines good artwork with great

content. Also, it is pretty damn funny - male

• First of all, it’s a catchy headline, and the photo is very clever. It immediately catches the eye. Its simple. And a person just flipping through the yellow pages is definitely going to notice the ad. In addition, the content is featured in such a way that its not overwhelming by any means. I’m a big fan of this ad.

• Great gag ad with a guy hugging a toilet. Who in

their right mind is going to hug their toilet, and why would I call someone who likes to hug their toilet to my house? Not.

• What kind of freak hugs his toilet? He'll show up,

dig in, and never leave my house. • Odd fetish toilet hugging. Testimonials always say

phony to me, especially when accompanied by a picture of a hooker and an old maid.

• Because it's visually catching, good humour helps

set it apart and information is clear and succinct • Gross. • Honorable mention - The headline is clever but

doesn't focus on the problem or fears of the prospect. I do like the 7 reasons.

• The hugging toilet one is just yuk!


72 votes ��$ % ( ( ��).�� ! ��

Designer: Joe Stewart Company: TransWestern Publishing [email protected]�



Male, 1.3%

Female, 2.3%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This is the first Yellow Pages ad that Joe has produced, and it's not a bad first effort. By now, you'll know that we're bashing the humor. It works well in other media, but it simply isn't a draw in the Yellow Pages. This ad is missing a border, which isn't such a big deal in a full-page, but it is a must in a smaller ad. The company serves all of West LA, but the only local number is identified as Santa Monica. Need to include more local numbers. The business name (which is not a consumer benefit) takes up too much of the space. Not sure if the bullet points mean that the plumber supports our troops, breast cancer research, or AIDS prevention. Simple is better. Very good use of a large graphic and white space. This ad is visually appealing and would stand out. Comments from Voters: • Clever. (Though this one did make me laugh; I’m a

sucker for that clever and corny thing. Didn’t call.) • Not impressive. • It's hard for me to resist puns! - Female, 39 • Stupid. • Similarly clever headline and almost "agency-like"

execution. - Male, 41 • It's simple, classy, easy to read, not to much colors

so it makes me think they are serious - Female, 31

• Cute play on words and good graphic.

• I think it’s cute and quickly caught my eye. • Headline is catchy in a wacky way. I didn't get it for

a second. The writing is kept to a minimum and the points are all relevant.

• It has some humor to it. Humor is a great way to pull

in an audience. It would depend however on the humor of the consumer. Do they get it? If yes, is it too sophomoric? Or does it just state, "we have a sense of humor" even though it sucks. It's not so much the actual ad I like as it is a touch of humor when advertising. - female

• Eye catching. Cute. Lists everything you need to

know without going into too much detail. Phone number is highlighted to make it easy to read. - Female, 25


• The phrase and the Picture together grab your attention and get you to call.

• Clever headline and photo. It was pleasing on the eye and had brand name logos. Not my number one choice because it was missing credit card logos. I particularly liked the bullet points were in a box.

• There's nothing like a good gimmick to keep your

company in the forefront of the customers mind! A bit hokey, but it gets the message across. Especially if its used in a Yellow Pages advertisement.

• Some empty, negative space for the eye to find a

place to relax amongst a lot of other busy ads. A tired eye might just as well relax in YOUR CUSTOMERS advertisement! Negative space works!

• It's funny. • Clog joke is cute. • What do clogs have to do with fixing my problem? • Professional and cute at the same time. - female • Easy to read words that stands out, but getting

starting to get to wordy, pretty clean looking ad, not bad. - male

• Clever picture (I have clogs). They've been in

business since 1987. The ad is easy to read and includes a website so I can get more info. - female, 40+

• Best PC ad layout, excellent humor tag, good

balance between image and bullets/pertinent info. - male

• Really clean lines and good use of humor. I got the

impression my house would be clean when they were finished and the humor wasn't so tacky that it caused me to question their competence. - male

• 24 hour emergency service-clean copy, includes

services and credibility • Clear, fresh and there is no overload of information.

You can read the ad in 10 seconds. Very funny and clean. Straight to the point. The layout is good. But I don’t like the way the contact information looks like they just threw the information crap on the last min. Female, 22

• Creative and clean, yellow page advertisers have a tendency to overfill ads with too much information. Not too "wordy" and is eye catching. Columns are filled with text why make a display ad filled as well? Even though the fonts used wouldn't have been my first choice the ad itself stands out. Could be better by having just the clogs, and no sink, therefore standing out in the heading.

• Catchy slogan that drew me in, the print had a little

bit of color (not too much) that made it eye-catching and fun, but the pertinent information (like the company name and phone number) was in big, easy to read print

• Nope, too cute and a little hard to understand at a

glance. God help you if you don't know what "clogs" are.

• Very clear, simple and conveys all key elements that

are appealing to me... • Draws attention. The “Got Clogs” does the best job

of bringing you to the ad. Like these types of ads or not, they work, we all remember “Got Milk” and around here someone is using “Got Space” signs selling office space. You can’t help but notice them. The ad only does an average job of selling the service. If you use the “got Clogs” in place of the baby picture in ad #20, it’s the perfect ad.

• Not too cluttered but I also thought the ad was cute

with the clogs and the sink. • I am a sucker for a pun so like the whole "Got

Clogs" with the clogs on the sink. Maybe this is just a personal quirk, but the thing that would make me pass right over this ad is the bullet point markers. It seems to be a symbol for a cause or perhaps a religious symbol, both of which there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with, but I just never feel an advertisement is the place for that. I've got a clogged sink. I want to know about your company, not what group you are affiliated with, etc. Am I the only one like this? Should I seek professional help? :-)

• Clean, simple, easy to read, etc… Got Clogs? plays

off a famous ad campaign. you can relate to the ad. The yellow area also focuses on the contact information

• humor caused me to read the bullet points.


72 votes ��$ % % -��).�� ! ��

Designer: Shel Horowitz - copywriter, marketing consultant, author, speaker [email protected] www.principledprofits.com Affordable, effective marketing materials and strategies



Male, 2.4%

Female, 1.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Selected notes from the designer: As a copywriter who is *not* a designer, if this were a real-world situation, I would have turned the copy over to a graphics person--but I wasn't going to pay someone to do that for the contest. I was going for those who wanted a literate and honest plumber they could trust. When building this ad, I focused on:

• Enough copy to be convincing but not enough to overwhelm

• Emphasis on honesty

• Realistic, believable guarantee

• Priority response for emergencies • Draw people to the website via specific benefits

Words are the most important part, and since I'm aware that color photos and detailed art reproduce poorly on yellow newsprint, I went for a very simple graphic look, with a single additional color as the main graphic element. Also, I kept the page open and emphasized the core benefit of honesty.

Comments from Voters: • Too cluttered. • Just really bad design! • If I want to read a book, I will go to the Library! • Too wordy. I'm not likely to read all that - male, 51

• Implies that all plumbers are dishonest. Okay, so

maybe they are. - Plumber, M 46 • All in all, I feel it's a very powerful ad. • …has some really strong copy.


• Great concept for an ad five or more ads back in the

heading. Not a good ad for the first through fourth ad though. This ad appeals to the “loss-focused” individual. Many readers who look beyond the first half dozen choices in the directory do so because they are skeptical; they are concerned they are going to be ripped off. This ad addresses those fears directly and then provides solid, credible solutions to the rip-off problem. The choice of black plus one color is great here. It reassures the reader that the advertiser is not making a killing by ripping people off, and because he/she is a conservative spender, will also charge a fair price. The free products (tips and helpful information on the website is a great reinforces that this provider makes money by helping the reader by putting the reader first. However the handshake graphic is right out of the ‘50s and any designer who fails to use a spell checker is worth about the same as any batter who always hits the ball one foot short of the outfield fence.

• Too much copy to wade through. • Had too much verbiage. If I am in need I would not

take the time to read over. - Male, 49 • I think using "ripping you off" in an ad is not good

even if you're against it. • Would be a nice brochure or direct mail piece. • WAY too wordy; who's going to sit and read

through all that crap when they've got a leaky sink. They also look bogus, like those ads for wonder diet pills in the back of a magazine. – Female

• 24 hour instant repair, Hot line, customer

satisfaction testimonials also I like the matter of fact hand shake.


want an ad to be simple, for a person is looking for a quick call.

• Good headline, has cleanup guarantee. Has call to

action and a toll free hotline. Domain name plays on concerns. Website offers free info, testimonials & news stories about company. Graphic shows trust & friendship. Doesn't offer guarantee on work. - Male, 50

• HATE - the text-heavy, advertorial approach. -

Male, 41

• …drives me crazy. Too much text!! Nobody is going to read all of that. I always skip by these. Less is more!! - Female, 31

• Honesty and competence are core competencies that

are highlighted. - Female, 29 • It's simple, clean and to the point. While I don't care

for the headline and opening paragraph (it's negative), I like the handshake picture, the bulleted items (they address my concerns) and the invitation to the web site. If a customer can be drawn to the web site, this removes the exposure to the competition. The easy to do repairs is a great incentive to take the reader to the web site.

• First it has a Strong headline that deals with the

'internal dialog' going on in the customer's head. The 2 sub-heads make the promise & the bullet points shows you how they will be kept.

• Secondly, the box gives you a website you can go to

check out more about the plumbing company & should further reduce the "right-decision" anxiety. The website gives you some easy repairs you can do yourself; further letting you know they are not trying to rip you off.

• It also offers testimonials, write ups in noted

newspapers, and with the newsletter (whether you sign up or not) shows 'service after the sale.' It also has the 24 hr. repair 'hot-line' & the other numbers to call.

• I like the content of this ad – the opening line

grabbed me because, yeah, I guess I do think plumbers are shifty blokes (Aussie for untrustworthy guys), and the website offering tips on how NOT to need a plumber – that’s gold! It tells me that this plumber is truly customer-orientated, and engenders trust… they’re not going to fleece you, as the opening line says. - Female, 27

• Too much information. They look more like

contracts to me than ads. • I love numbered lists and this ad tells that if my

problem is simple and I feel like playing Mr. Fix-It that free info. is available via the web. However ,if the problem is larger than expert help is readily available. - male, 40

• Like that they are willing to show satisfied customers and favorable press from reputable newspapers.

• The clean graphics and caption "Honest plumber" and fast emergency service grabs me.


• This literate ad has a lot of things to read. But that

appeals to me. I know it won’t win, but I want someone who is literate in my house. The arguments for hiring are clear. It trades on integrity, but is not pandering or merely verbose out of incompetence (see 2). I would probably call them first. - male

• I haven't time to read a story. • Like the honesty angle "Get fixed, not fleeced."

They "don't want to rip me off" so they say. I would hope that was true. - male

• Bad because more than half the ad is devoted to

general plumbing concerns and tells me nothing about the company itself.

• Liked the header with the word "honest." - female • Reference to the web site for "honest plumbers" that

is a big deal. It's like getting your own quality guarantee because no company would be willing to put their name on them being a good plumber unless they didn't have complaints disproving they were a good plumber.

• It would appeal to a broad market looking for that

elusive 'fair deal' plumber. • It offers a 24 hour service, differentiating it

from many of the others. - Male, 61, Australia • …this is also a good ad, but the play on words in the

sub-headline, the graphic appeal, and the offer not being as obvious as the other two, caused me to place this version in third place. If it was alone in the “Plumbers” section, not competing with # 02 or # 10, it would likely out-pull all the other ads in that section…provided they were the typical, "me too" kind of ad the Yellow Page folks sell and design in their cookie cutter fashion.

• Seems honest and fair. Has website for more information. Overall, they seem like experts at what they do. Areas for improvement- a handshake does not really jump off the page in a plumbing section. The phone number needs to be larger. Service areas should be mentioned.

• Content is quite good though it needs a graphic work

over • Catchy URL which lists what information can be

gathered from the Web site. So many Web sites give you the URL but they don't tell you what to look for once you get there. The ad also addresses customer questions such as no hidden charges and guaranteed no mess. Also, what kind of response to expect "within 2 hours." This is so very important that the customer does not feel left hanging once the service call is made - when am I going to hear back or did I just go into a black hole.

• The "is there such a thing as an honest plumber?"

was eye catching and appealing to me due to my experiences (& friends experiences WITH plumbers) and they offered tips on why you might not need them (and referred to more info on their website -- very appealing to me.

• Interesting, but no one is going to read it. • Low-quality handshaking graphic???, wouldn't play

the getting ripped off card as part of messaging

• #06 The second thing that everyone worries about with a plumber is how much is it going to cost and how will I know if the price is reasonable. I like the fact that the price discussion occurs at the top of the ad and not somewhere stashed in the middle.

• plays a little two heavy on the "you have probably

been ripped off before card"


70 votes ��$ % & -��& % �� ! ��

Designer: Paul Henry [email protected]�



Male, 2.3%

Female, 1.3%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: The first draft of this ad arrived with a space for the plumber to put his own photo in. I advised the designer that he needed to use a photo because in the contest his ad would not stand a chance with a blank space. He probably could have chosen a better photo, but many Yellow Pages ads use unflattering photographs of the owner. It's not easy advising a paying client that he looks like Satan's cellmate. I know a plumber who ran a similar ad to this (5 reasons) and was very satisfied with the results. Needs more RASCIL factors, payment types, and local phones. The copy needs to be cut by 1/2. Comments from Voters: • Who is that guy and when did he crawl out from

under the table at the Irish pub? I wouldn’t hire this guy to do my work even if the advertiser told me his name or why his picture is in the ad.

• Not quite sure why it appeals. Maybe because they

try to put you at ease or because how they do business is spelled out. Would have sacrificed some of the secondary headlines to have a larger font size on bulleted items though. . – Female

• I like the price to be known before I get hit with an

expensive bill. Gives me an option of having the work done or not - Male, 43

• Had too much verbiage. If I am in need I would not

take the time to read over. Male, 49 • Guaranteed a price and had picture of owner -

Male, 48 • Addresses the number one worry when calling a

plumber----COST!!!!!!!!! - Male, 46

• I liked this ad for it's headline and heavy text.

Marketing research shows that heavy text sells and I think this one can reach a certain audience. Basically it tells the customer that you can trust this plumber and you won't have to worry about expensive up charges, hidden costs, or extra repairs that "aren't covered by standard service."

• Heavy text builds trust and so does this ad. A classic

"Sales Letter" format that a certain demographic is familiar with. - Male, 27


Male, 41 • Takes away my fear of being overcharged. Male, 42 • They promise to give me an estimate before the job

is done. My experience has been that plumbers tend to rip you off, after the job is finished. - Female, 29

• Really strong copy.


• Looks more like a contract than an ad. • I don't like the statement "guaranteed results right

now" -- what does that mean? -- here are 4 great words in their own right, yet they mean nothing said that way "On-time" service -- the whole ad is based on being on-time (a very important point of interest) but more is needed

• I like seeing the hours of business • I like "friendly service" being mentioned -- who

knows if it's true, but it gives me the illusion of it • Services are "bulleted" - I like to see what they offer,

maybe they do things I never thought of. • Like seeing the picture of the guy - he looks friendly

enough. The "We will give you a guaranteed price..." statement was key - male.

• Liked the keywords "guaranteed price." - female • Attention-getting headline w/eyebrow and subhead.

Photo (presumably of owner) adds credibility. Plenty of reasons to choose them - male

• Price guarantee so I am not afraid of a "wait and

see" bill - male • Attacks specific issues that cause many people

concerns when selecting a plumber - male • A little hard to read because too wordy, but the

picture and the phrase “Guaranteed Price” gets my attention. I do not like the toll free phone number. I would not expect to call long distance for a service repair. Also the phone number should be as large or larger than the company name. I would emphasize “credit terms, senior discount” and maybe change to “Specialize” in holiday service. - male

• The reason I like this ad - although I think it's a bit

too wordy - is its overall "blue-collar" feel. It's

different-looking enough to stand out from the others, and gets the point across that this company is serious about plumbing. Lots of room for improvement, but still a very effective ad.

• looks like the guy in the photo just woke up and

didn't brush his hair- not somebody I'd call • It's honestly something I would usually glaze over

just because it seems like it has more info than I'd want to sit and read. But the line about getting a guaranteed estimate before starting any work is a major plus.

• it's just like an advertisement from the

'Attorneys' section. No one trusts Attorneys, so why try and imitate them?

• very attractive guarantee to not over charge - again

an issue with plumbers. • The text at the top of #026 was almost equally

appealing, but I didn't like the layout as much and it was a bit text heavy -- but the top line was just what I would be looking for (trust/honesty).

• I really hate ads with owner photos. Too much

room for prejudice. Is the guy too Hispanic, too Black, too White, too much facial hair, does he look honest or does he look like my weird Uncle Harold, is that a hairpiece, does he like himself too much?

• Needs a new photo and reformatting • They will provide you with a guaranteed price

before they even lift a tool and start the job. Some places will give you a low estimate to get the job, then stick you with a huge bill claiming they had to do more work

.


Ad #029 - 21st Place


68 votes ��$ % & /��& )� �� ! ��

Nicole Chiasson ADs Parish Red Books http://www.louisianalocal.com/ Southeast Office 985 532-0249 [email protected]



Male, 1.6%

Female, 1.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

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� Comments from Voters: • If this ad were better, it might qualify for “ho hum.” • Photo of a clean guy, promise of showing up on time

- Male • OK not great...I wish you would show up on time,

not leave it a mess AND SOLVE MY PROBLEM! • H-O-T guy!! I would be disappointed though if I

called and the plumber that showed up at my doorstep was your typical plumber ~smelly, overweight grease monkey. - Female, 30

• We show up on time and the picture of the guy made

me want to trust this company. (The cartoon type

pictures don't give you that trusting feel) Also they did not provide too much information, they kept it simple which was appealing to me. . - Female, 36

• Has a spelling error!! The word “Equipped” within

the TV screen is spelled wrong. That’s bad!! - Female, 31

• HOT! - Female, 40 • TV outline leaves me cold but a few things grabbed

me. I like the plumber picture (it would be better if he were in a uniform or at least a shirt with a collar. He almost looks a little too dirty) What I do like is...

• "We show up on time and don't leave a mess"


• Reasonable Rates (It must be true if you say it, right?)

• My wife would rape him! • Senior Discounts (Okay, I'm showing my age) • Again, I like the long list under plumbing because it

creates the perception of a full range of repair services.

• Why is so much said about video inspection. "So

what, who cares?" • The headline is effective. The writing is kept to a

minimum. the points are all important. I'd pick this guy as a competent looking tradesman.

• Classy, not a cheesy plumber ads like many of the

others. • Cheesy • Clean easy-to-read presentation of all services; good

headline, too, as most people are afraid of plumbers being late and leaving messes in their house.

• He's cute, and a repair person recently left my

basement a mess… • Good layout, picture. • Liked the relationship between the tv in the ad and

the name of the business, also liked the headline. - F, 52

• Clean, great catch phrase, good info and use of

white space – and an appealing photo for women. - Female, 55

• The ad headline definitely stood out – WE SHOW UP ON TIME AND DON’T LEAVE YOUR HOUSE A MESS. If you are married and your wife gets pissed off every time a contractor completes a project and there is a mess left behind, this headline is VERY IMPORTANT - male, 43

• The only picture ad that didn't annoy me... just looks

like a no-nonsense competent guy ready to get to work & the rest of the ad was relatively uncluttered.

• I like the idea of putting an attractive guy in the ad. I'd imagine that a large % of callers are women and, even though they know this guy isn't likely to show up at their door, I think it still draws them in. It did me.

• I'd suggest not using a script font to make headline easier to read.

• While I didn't care for the picture, I LIKED the text

in the TV. (but the TV annoyed me, so I wouldn't call them).

• Good visual with tie in to TV, "on time", reasonable

rates • The plumber (image) shows power and confidence,

that is why I can trust him when I am in trouble. Also, helps me to remember the brand, seeing a plumber in a TV

• Hard working able bodied man, with his tool at hand

ready to work and besides the ad reassures you that no mess will be left behind and that they will do the work on time.


Ad #004 - 22nd Place


62 votes ��$ % % + ��& & � �� ! ��

Designer information withheld by request.



Male, 1.9%

Female, 1.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This ad could only be run in a directory with a high quality print on good paper. In a typical large metro directory, the lower quality color and paper would probably make this look messy. The unusual colors are too dark and make the text hard to read. Comments from Voters: • Nope. Kid is not a good graphic. The “Ya, we do

that!” is so casual as to be disrespectful to the concerns of the reader about being overcharged and getting sloppy (read “casual”) service. The prominent addition of air conditioning, heaters, and furnaces in the Plumbers heading is a distraction and a waste. Really, how many readers needing work on their air conditioners, heaters, or furnaces are going to be looking in the Plumbers heading?

• How many are going to want to email the provider

or go check out the website while the poop is flowing through the house? This is an emergency! Offering financing for drain cleaning (not the case, but that’s what the ad implies) suggests that prices are pretty darn high. Would think that a restaurant that offered financing was reasonably priced?

• What’s with “All of West Los Angeles, CA”?

What’s with the “CA?” Do these readers tend to get Los Angeles, California confused with some other Los Angeles?

• Too busy, too much going on. –Female • Not professional looking.

• Not bad, nothing special. • Very bright and colorful, catching my attention

immediately and the format and text are clear and jumps out at you. - Female, 36

• Would never get a call from me, I think they are a

joke and not professional plumbers. • Creative, not a lot of small writing. gives you all of

the basic information without being bogged down with details that most people don't care about.

• Expresses how I might feel in a situation where I

need a plumber. Very eye catching. • Attention-grabbing, fun, informative. • Loved the kid. Good use of color/graphics. -

Female, 49 • Actually turned me away - the colours evoke

creepiness... • Reminds me of barf.


• Absolutely Hated. This screams of that mouthy kid from HOME ALONE. Not an attitude I'd like to have attached to my company.

• It has a great headline. And despite the apparent

busyness of the photo, there is “space”; there is not too much copy.

• Reminds me of the boy on “Home Alone” always

creating problems. • This ad is eye-catching and easy to read. There is

not a lot of unnecessary information and I don't have to read through a mountain of verbiage just to figure out exactly what they do. If I have a plumbing problem, I probably won't know what the problem is anyway so I could care less if they can fix and replace angle stops since I don't know what those are.....most girls (in my experience) who have a clogged shower or toilet don't care about stuff like that. - female, 26

• Against #4- cluttered, unclear, hard to read. The

exact services they offer aren’t clearly outlined. Plus, financing available sounds like they expect this to cost a lot of money.

• Looks like an add for a horror movie- it's too

scary...ooohhh. Not for me thanks.

• I like the humor but I hate the color scheme.

• Looked like an ad for horror movie or dentist at first glance

• Nightmare plumbers from the twilight zone -

probably alien plumbers. • Good layout with the colors and all, but didn't get

the kid. Most 8-year-olds aren't stressed out about leaky pipes.

• I like this one for its really dynamic graphics.

Maybe a little too slick for some people. • Is that the kid from Home Alone? It looks like an ad

for a horror movie. He appears to be screaming the name of the company

• I really did not like. Too many colors, too busy and

just demonic looking ad. • Please, no comedy. My dang pipes need work - I

don't need a Home Alone scene. • creepy • Child screaming has nothing to do with plumbing;

definitely would not call them


Ad #017 - 23rd Place


58 votes ��$ % )*��& ( �� ! ��

Designer: Dan Eby [email protected]



Male, 1.6%

Female, 1.3%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0%

Observations: The images in this ad are problem-focused rather than solution-focused. The customer already has problems. He's looking for solutions. In non-Yellow Pages advertising, it's sometimes important to remind the consumer that he has a problem. In the Yellow Pages, the consumer is actively looking for a solution. The ad should focus on how they are going to help the consumer solve their problem. Comments from Voters: • Certainly one of the top five. Finally an ad that

features a lesbian, like myself. • Too busy, too much going on. - female • The orange letters and large font grab your attention

right away. • Bad graphics. • Not bad, nothing special. • Too facetious. While amusing, I want my plumber

to be a serious, competent professional - not a comedy sketch artist. – Female

• The question in large type at the top catches your

eye, the use of color is nice and all the brands and credit card info is there. - Female, 29

• TOO big presentation caught my eye. • Too graphical, Company name gets lost- Female, 31 • I don't like the pictures of the people in them. They

took my attention from the ad right away and on to the next.

• Loved the headline and the graphics, message on

point, had a hard time finding the company logo however, I think the logo should repeat near the phone number.

• If I had a drain problem this really catches my eye. I

don't think I would respond to it for any other problem. - M 53

• A gross photo of a nasty drainer and a woman

standing in muck – too negative. - Female, 55 • Help me, help me I'm shrinking! Nope - that doesn't

do it for me - it is far too silly. • Looks professional and very creative. Agency

quality ad that might make them look too big for my little job.

• Don't like pictures of actual drains, I'm getting

sucked down a clogged drain -- gross! • Appears to be a giant bug attacking the woman; I

thought of terminators not plumbers; definitely would not call them.


50 votes ��$ % ), ��& + �� ! ��

Designer: Rick Ribiero Company: TransWestern Publishing

�



Male, 0.8%

Female, 1.6%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This is a good example of "image" advertising, but it doesn't do a good job of answering the customers' questions and giving them a reason to call. It needs much more content to be successful, but it does have a nice design concept. Comments from Voters: • Kind of clever: finally somebody “justifies” the firm

name — TV Plumbing. But, the ad won’t generate many phone calls. As a reader, I am not given any reasons to call.

• For some reason the retro TV kept me coming back

to it. - Male, 49 • Corny. • Good only IF the heart and TV Plumbing are also

the company's logo. • Looks like an ad for an antique store, not a plumber.

–Female, 22 • Makes me think classic with good old time values

ETHICS. Reminds me of "I Love Lucy" and every kid around grew up on that. I want them to come out and help me! The old TV also helps me remember their name!

• I can afford this plumber!

• Would appeal to the masses since the masses watch TV and there is a graphic of a television set. Also, it's nostalgic. Anyone seeking the services of a plumber is old enough to have seen every episode of I Love Lucy and that's what it is likely reminiscent of. – Female

• I don’t like ads like this because they focus on the

company. And not on me. At least MY world revolves around me.

• Fully equipped trucks, no travel time and reasonable

rates. It appeals to many of the things I want from a company. - male

• Again, good use of white knock out and red to

compete against full color ads ads.-Male • Simple and to the point. The phone number is

clearly displayed and the graphic is very eye-catching since the rest of the ad is not in color. It also makes me think of I Love Lucy, so I automatically have positive feelings about it. (Sheesh, I've never given a yellow page ad this much thought before), female, 26


• No relevance at all - a TV and a heart? Are these plumbers?

• Eye-pleasing, not too busy and re-enforces the

company name with the graphic. If your company name is TV, it makes sense to use it. Add more important bullets, 'FAST SERVICE'(8-7), etc. times

• "I Love Lucy" look could attract many viewers. The

theme is easily related to, because most people are looking for a plumber they can feel comfortable

with. Even though it is a past "iconic" reference, most that would be calling should recognize it. If the customer is already familiar with a look, then they don't have as hard of a time adjusting to it.

• Too basic. What services can they provide? • Cheesy but would probably work in TX, Mid-west

or South.


40 votes ��$ % ( )��& , �� ! ��

Designer: Carolyn Packert Thomas Technology Solutions [email protected] �



Male, 0.7%

Female, 1.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: The background screened image would look muddled in print. The ad would print more crisply with a stark white background. Comments from Voters: • General purpose plumbing ad. If I were looking for a

general purpose plumber I might call on this ad. • "Violations corrected" does not sound quite right. • Boring. • Simple and gives a feeling of security. Looks like

they have been around a long time. No gimmicks, just facts.

• Is better because the other ones were too busy for

me. I like to look quickly and see exactly what service is being provided. - Female, 42

• Mentions credit cards and 24 hour service. Credit

cards are important because it provides consumer protection. No unnecessary photos. - Female

• Just a grey splodge on the page. • Maybe a bit too cluttered, especially w/ the

watermark image, but still very simply laid out and clean/bold type.

• Reasonable Rates, Fully Equipped, Violations Corrected (they know how to do it properly). Also high customer referrals.

• Clearly states all the important points. • A good old fashioned yellow pages ad, as a

consumer I had to do very little work to find what I needed in this ad. Male, 31

• Very clear what the business is, what they do, where

they do it and how they do it. BIG phone number for easy contact

• "Plumbing" at top gets attention for basic service

sought. Mentions guaranteed results and violations corrected.

• Didn't like the grayed out pic w/text over it.

• Maybe too basic... no real focus except "plumbing."


40 votes ��$ % % /��& , �� ! ��

Michael Winicki [email protected] Author: Killer Techniques to Succeed with Newspaper, Magazine and Yellow Pages Advertising



Male, 1.4%

Female, 0.6%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: The powerful headline almost forces you to read the copy, but it is way too tough to read. Comments from Voters: • Ouch. The writer should take a sixth-grade refresher

course in grammar. • The add gives me a confident feeling that when they

come out they will be able to fix my problem at that time. - Male, 43

• Simple and brilliant . • Looks like magazine rip off ads for vitamins, weight

loss, miracle drugs - ALSO I don't want to have to read ALL THAT COPY.

• WAY too wordy; who's going to sit and read

through all that crap when they've got a leaky sink. They also look bogus, like those ads for wonder diet pills in the back of a magazine. - Female

• …drive me crazy. Too much text!! Nobody is going

to read all of that. I always skip by these. Less is more!! - Female, 31

• Very interesting, but cheap looking (I know it's only

a draft, but...) It might rank higher if it had a toll-free number, and looked more professional.

• Addresses a lot of concerns. - Male, 42 • I like it, but what if mine wasn’t one of the 33 that

this plumber can solve? • It's a simple, eye catching ad that directly addresses

the problems most people have. It's not a fancy ad, it's not 'high-end' with high graphics or design, it's not 'kitchy' or cartoonish with cartoon characters, it's not 'grampa' with his wading boots on, it's not geared only to women. Straightforward and is not a 'tear-jerker' either as some of the other education based ads are.

• Too cluttered. • I just wouldn't have the patience to read that -

Female, 34 • The ad clearly states what they will and will not do.

Easy to read. • They should have the 800# listed. I am not sure

where the 33 problems come in but it did grab my


attention They should have mentioned 24 hour emergency service. (if available) - male

• Worst of the bunch. People are looking for

information about a plumber, not wanting to read a damned novel.

• Plumber doesn't have to go back to shop, Senior

Discounts, clean, no charge for travel, doesn't use sub contractors, insured and work fully guaranteed.

• So you do everything - how good are you at the one

thing I need? • Touches all my hot buttons for a plumber by saying

what the plumber will do at the same price, keeping the area clean which is very, very important and that

work is guaranteed. Lists all customer's concerns and emphasizes good customer service.

• All info in just one paragraph, difficult to read and

didn't like the yellow background (the whole PAGE is gonna be yellow, it's the yellow pages) so it wouldn't really stand out.

• Who is reading the yellow pages that has that much

time? By the time the customer finishes reading, their house will be flooded.

• Headline and subtitle plus not an excessive amount

of copy • I Hated this ad! It looked like a yellow page filler. It

will blend with the rest of the page and not be seen.


39 votes ��$ % ( + ��& *�� ! ��

Designer: Maria Woznyj Graphic Specialist Thomas Technology Solutions, Inc. 215.682.5314 [email protected]



Male, 0.6%

Female, 1.3%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: The color choices and layout obscure the large amount of content. The ad is difficult to read, and when you are finished, you have to backtrack to find the phone number. Comments from Voters: • Clever is wearing on me. (Get it? See the boots? Just

another example of why clever does not get people to respond.)

• Too busy, too much going on. -Female • The subtle humor of this ad appealed to me. All of

us have had minor plumbing problems and many of us have husbands who procrastinate when asked to fix them.

• The overall design was interesting and playful,

providing information about the company in a user-friendly format. The green swirl in the background leads your eye from the word "wait!" to more detailed company information in the eye-catching red vertical bar. The phone and contact info is prominent and easy to locate in the black reverse box. - friend of designer

• Bad design: green swoop is out of place. • OK not great - too much small text. • Too cluttered.

• I like this ad because it leads with a different approach than the others. Who hasn't at some time felt like just packing their bags and leaving the problem behind? Especially when the problem is something as messy and hard to figure out as plumbing woes can be. The information is all there, and the layout and colors are attractive and memorable, if you were flipping pages. - another friend of designer

• What does this have to do with fixing my problem? • Highlights the immediate frustration level of the

prospective customer/ provides solution & clearly highlights company info - F, 48

• I like the visuals and content. Thinking about

getting a plumber makes me want to run away a hide as well.

• Looks like the matted mess in my drain. • I had to think too much about the boots and cases -

and I wouldn't read all of that. • Pleasing to look at, but what are they selling?


39 votes ��$ % )% ��& *�� ! ��

Designer: H Scott Miller Senior VP of Worldwide Operations Far East Enterprises Westborough Technology Park 1900 West Park Drive Suite 200 Westborough, MA 01581 TEL: 508-366-6400 FAX: 508-366-2840 E-mail: [email protected] WWW: http://www.fareastpcb.com



Male, 1.9%

Female, 0.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This ad violates the readability rule. Despite the grammar and spelling errors, it's simply a tough slog. Comments from Voters: • Can't read beyond the headline. It's too much work.

What’s that comma there for? If I pause at the comma, the message gets totally confused. What’s with the ampersand in a sentence? (We have a word for that.) How about: WARNING: One improperly installed pipe fitting could leave you with thousands of dollars in water and property damage. Can you afford to hire somebody else?

• Informational/ to the point. • …had too much verbiage. If I am in need I would

not take the time to read over. - Male, 49 • Way too much to read and scare tactics. • Too crowded, don't like scare tactics (like insurance

companies do!)

• WAY too wordy; who's going to sit and read through all that crap when they've got a leaky sink. They also look bogus, like those ads for wonder diet pills in the back of a magazine. – Female


Male, 41 • Drives me crazy. Too much text!! Nobody is going

to read all of that. I always skip by these. Less is more!! - Female, 31

• I love the copy of this ad, but I feel it may be trying

to oversell me a bit, thereby causing me to question it.

• WAY too much text, no graphics to attract the eye, and who, when flipping through the yellow pages, is going to stop and ask themselves 18 questions??? Dreadful. - Female, 27


• Looks like a contract. • Way too much text; I need to find a plumber fast, I

am not going to sit and read that! Female , 28 • Too wordy. I'm not likely to read all that - male, 51 • Compelling points w/o selling on fear. Informative.

If I am not a plumbing expert, how would I know how to select a good one. This ad tells me how to pick one and not make a bad choice. I'm sure it's also seeded with a few things only they offer or do in their market - BRILLIANT! - male, 40

• Would seem more suited to a newspaper as they are

more like an editorial then an ad. • Flashy graphics and a list of services are OK in

some cases however I prefer ads that educate and provide the customer with information to help them make the right choice for them and their family.

• The 18 questions address a variety of issues that a

customer may have when having to call a plumbing, heating or air conditioning company. I think the questions should say do you, are you, how will you - make it seem like the customer is asking the questions.

• It adds an element of humor often lacking in YP

Ad's. It also educates and itemizes what's in it for the customer. - male

• It educates the consumer on how to select a plumber

and offers a no-risk inspection to address the issue raised in the headline - male

• If this ad was in the “Plumbing/Plumbers” section

all by itself, it’d deliver the same 10-to-15 times response advantage…it just doesn’t look as nice. By itself, the looks wouldn’t really matter, it’d still stand out in the sea of ad rabble.

• Looks appealing but I honestly had a difficult time

reading it to make a decision. From what I could read, I liked the headline, guarantee, something free and a call to action. This ad could be bumped up to number 1 for me if I could it read it better.

• I liked:

- Attention getting headline - free inspection service - list out what they do well - no mess! - Aim me with questions to ask competitor if I

was to do so - Clean and simple - Name of company and contact details at the

bottom of ad - not at the top. Who cares what they are called. Will they do the job to my expectations!? – Male

• Worst of the bunch. People are looking for

information about a plumber, not wanting to read a damned novel.

• Senior discount and free equipment inspection. • That much text should only be found in the bible


33 votes ��$ % ( *��& /�� ! ��



Male, 1.0%

Female, 0.7%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

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Comments from Voters: • Ho hum. • Look like nationally developed generic ads which

are crap. • This add shows empathy towards my feelings on

having to call and trust a plumbing Co. Male, 43 • Good text. -Male, 27 • Scary! - Female, 30 • Great headline & graphic tied to it. Needs more

definition on reasons why TV is different. Guarantee is too vague. Family owned is good. No call to action. No testimonials. Website should tell what I will find there. - male, 50

• Has some nice copy in it. I like the line comparing a

plumber to a dentist. • Good Headline since it deals with a real issue people

consider when finding a plumber, but the illustration is way off. The iconography doesn't say "Plumber" at all. This Ad could be used in any section of the book. Like -- "Afraid of Lawyer's?"

• Copy reflects client concerns – but a bit more

dramatic – could catch the eye of someone flipping through the ad quickly.

• Makes me want to avoid the problem (and the ads) -

male, 51 • I am afraid of plumbing problems, and this

acknowledges that fear most homeowners has, and how they remedy the situation. - Female

• Everyone is afraid of plumbers----good headline - Male, 46

• Makes me want to run screaming the other way. • Might be the plumber I would call if I was needing

someone at 2:00 am for an immediate response that couldn't wait until morning. - female

• Makes me afraid of plumbers - particularly this one.

• Of the ads that are kind of gimmicky, I liked this one

the best. • Do you want to scare people away? Not funny, not

scary - not going to get my business. Take pride in your work - be professional.

• Picture just put me off. I'd rather see the text with

NO pic, than that one -- but I liked the heading "afraid of plumbers?" -- too true for many of us.

• ASSUMPTIVE – Why assume your customers are afraid of you?

• Headline hit my emotions squarely. Not as copy-

heavy and busy as 030 • If color wasn’t an option, I though 37 was good for a

B&W ad, perhaps with a little bump on the size of the text fonts

• Just plain ugly • #37 & #38 are essentially the same ad and both have

absolutely remarkable graphics and strong headliners. They were not chosen because they do not score well at all on RASCIL yet they also will certainly collect great call results.


33 votes ��$ % )/��& /�� ! ��

Roger Williams [email protected] www.meandmymouse.com Me & My Mouse PO Box 2002 Danbury CT 06813-2002 1.203.790.0779



Male, 1.5%

Female, 0.2%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0%

Observations: One of the lessons from great copywriters is that a successful headline is one that compels you to read the next line of copy. I found this headline a bit too negative, but the concept is well demonstrated. The rest of the ad shows unfamiliarity with the basics of Yellow Pages ad design. Comments from Voters: • Great headline. It all but forces readers to read the

subhead, (which was insufficiently vetted). The logical and natural movement to customer testimonials is also great. The black triangle at the bottom of the ad reinforces the logical movement thorough the ad and, even better, encourages the reader to become a caller.

• This ad is a superbly well executed example of

design used to create movement that all but hypnotizes readers into calling.

• However, there are some errors that lessen the

impact of the ad: 1) the quote from the person who had a sprinkler system installed is probably not a good choice for a plumbing ad, and 2) the lack of development of “good design” so far as color, typeface, and image choices.

• And, about that “insufficiently vetted” subhead, how

about: For three weeks, Mary suffered with clogged drains nobody could fix right. We fixed Mary’s

problem, quick as a flash. Then, we gave Mary some helpful tips on how should could keep her drains running clear and problem free. (No need for the “tears of joy.” That treats readers like they are stupid.)

• I love the headline. It made me stop and read the

message. It reminded me of one of my favorite headlines " They laughed as I sat down at the piano… until I began to play." – Male

• Had too much verbiage. If I am in need I would

not take the time to read over. - Male, 49 • Great hook. • Looks like magazine rip off ads for vitamins, weight

loss, miracle drugs - ALSO I don't want to have to read ALL THAT COPY.


want an ad to be simple, for a person is looking for a quick call. –Female, 22


• The headline was the most attention grabbing, and

while probably possibly?? exaggerated you can relate to it. Even though no picture or graphic it pulls you in and then you are given the testimonials etc. It's great.

• Looked like weird stories from magazines. I don't

want that if I need plumbing assistance. I want someone who will come quick and do what needs to be done. - Female, 27

• Headline didn't tell me what they did; I would have

skimmed past it. –Female, 28 • WORST AD!!! TOO DEEP FOR MOST

CONSUMERS, NO COLOR, NO GRAPHICS • The headline is Different and uses the 'curiosity'

approach. the support paragraph tells a story & builds trust that they can fix problems that other's can't.

• I like the use of testimonials. It shows that others

have used you & like your service. Next the questions they use cause you to wonder (especially if this is your 1st time having to call a plumber) " If I use someone else, Will I have to clean up after them? Wait around all day? Be charged too much by someone else?"

• Good questions & great follow up answers as to

what you can expect from their service. It gives the various methods of payment, gives lic. #, gives brief description & professional attire of who will show up at your door (not 'Bubba in a tool belt') has a 'call to action' (stop looking & call US)

• Finally the company name & phone# in bold at the

BOTTOM of the page.

• The headline is really strong. It will (easily) stand out from the pack, almost forcing the reader to read it. It’s just really strong. I love the testimonials. They only way I think you could improve it would be to talk about TV’s guarantee and also have Paul’s picture and his personal guarantee from ad#20.

• Missing an offer and guarantee but I like the use of

testimonials and call to action. • Don't try to catch my attention with an intriguing

headline - I have a blocked drain and don't have time to read clever copy.

• The worst was the headline on ad #19. "She cried

when she saw what we had done" does not bring good things to mind. The "tears of joy" clarification is in much smaller print.

• Got my attention at first but I got bored reading it. • BAD CAPTION – gives wrong impression • Nope, I don't have time to read all this to see if they

can fix my faucet. • really plain, msg doesn't pop out, is this a plumber?

• The copy is excellent (especially the testimonials)

but it lacks a photo of the owner. • I liked this one because, it gave testimonies from

previous customers on their satisfaction of the job well done by this particular company.

• Too much text, the color isn't effective for the price-

either use it or go with yellow and black


Ad #022 - 31st Place


32 votes ��$ % & & ��( )� �� ! ��

Fred Tew, Dothan, Alabama



Male, 0.8%

Female, 0.8%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: Humor can sometimes work to instill an image of competence, confidence and reliability. This, unfortunately, would not be an example of that. Comments from Voters: • Ho-hum. • My husband (being a man) would think a talking

toilet was pretty cool, and in fact I know he would finds hours of amusement pretending what a talking toilet might say! Men… - Female

• Hilarious but I wouldn't call. • As well as talking toilets! The anthromorphism is

quite clever. - female, 39 • Corny. • The cartoon toilet makes me smile and want to call

the ad! - Female • Image got my attention and the message was clear -

male, 43 • I don't want my toilet talking to me even if it is in

the Yellow Pages

• Even if I was not looking for a plumbing ad I would stop and read this one if I saw it. I am majorly disappointed that they did not take out some of the white backgrounds of the logos that they have in there. That is so tacky.

• I hate this ad most. It has bad clip art and a really

bad joke. Just because an ad catches my eye doesn't mean I'll call the advertiser. Equate it with seeing the obese girl in a bikini on the beach. Yeah, she caught my eye, but she has no shame and no date with me. I'll call on someone who tastefully presents themselves in simplicity before the over the top type.

• Plungy? Give me a f@#%ing break! • Basically, it's a very amateurish ad that doesn't solve

any of my problems, and looks bad to boot.


Ad #036 - 32nd Place


28 votes ��$ % ( -��( & � �� ! ��



Male, 0.4%

Female, 1.0%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Note from the designer: I designed it to be attractive, clear, concise and to-the point. The headline is geared to people who are seeking that exact service. The customers get all of the information they need quickly without having to move their eyes all over the page. The art is eye-catching – seeing money go down the drain. The important services are easily distinguishable from the descriptive body points. It is emphasized that this plumber is a specialist in this service. I don’t believe people want to spend a whole lot of time reading plumbing ads to find the services they are looking for. Comments • What is a “true TV Special?” Why would I want to

visit the website or send an email? A laundry list of services motivates nothing.

• $100 dollar bill may suggest high dollar repairs? -

Male, 27 • Nothing outstanding. • It contains the most info without overcrowding the

ad. The bold service "captions" caught my eye, so I wanted to read more about their services.

• I really like this ad because, it has all of the

information you need to give them a call and get an estimate. - Female, 36

• Clean, easy to read ads are best. Others are too copy intensive and confusing.

• Emotionally the graphics hit home with the money

down the drain. It does contain services and a local telephone number.

• The layout puts me off and it looks like they only fix

(or sell) washing machines. • Very clean, but the graphic doesn't work. The

headline doesn't say anything about "money going down the drain." No brand logos. What TV Special? I don't get it.


Ad #023 - 33rd Place


22 votes ��$ % & ( ��( ( �� ! ��

Larry Dulaney, Dothan, Alabama



Male, 0.5%

Female, 0.6%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This ad suffers from a lack of white space and poor font selection. It has plenty of RASCIL factors, and useful information, but the low contrast between the fonts and background dramatically reduce the impact. The WorldPages.com address should be replaced with tvplumbing.com Also, the corner frame technique really doesn't do much to benefit the user or boost call counts. Comments from Voters: • Another ad from the ‘70s. Another point: Why

would the designer encourage a reader who will respond to this ad to respond by going to www.worldpages.com? What will the reader find there? More ads for more of this advertiser’s competition. Why not just give the yellow pages publisher your money and save the effort of signing off on a proof? (Dick, I bet one of your designers came up with this ad. They need to be trained to take care of the customers’ interests first, and their employer’s interests second.)

• Appeared too cartoonish -Female • Scary movie meets bad clip art. • This ad is simple, but the info supplied was good,

and the important info stood out. I don't know any plumbers or anyone to recommend one, so the yellow pages is the first and probably only place I'd go to find one. – Female

• Tech looks Hispanic? Is this on purpose? Might be

a good thing if want to target Hispanic. • This had while the most traditional format of all I

selected, conveyed the most info in an easy to find format and caught my eye based upon the message that you are plumbers to help repair a problem. I

liked it the best because it had the most complete amount of info. From the phone numbers, list of services, better business affiliation and state licensing info, to the internet/email contact and info reference was a big plus.

• Take out the bad graphic in the left hand corner—

it’s distracting from the nice plumber graphic and it’s also hard to make out what, exactly, it is. and, well…it’s just ugly.

• Cartoons say cheesy to me, thumbs up say cheesy to

me. This guy must be cheesy and I wouldn't trust him around my wife.

• It has a cartoon graphic but it's not trying to be

funny or silly the way other ads are. I'm not really looking for a sense of humor when I'm looking for a plumber. This ad tells me they're serious. - female, 27

• The background color needs to be a darker yellow

and picture and text more sharp. Especially helpful to see key info like number of years in service and hours of operation at a first glance. On balance it looks symmetrical and easy on the eyes and takes the thinking out of it as to what the ad sells. Two big thumbs up to the designers.


18 votes ��$ % & .��( + �� ! ��

Designer: Adam Holland [email protected] 518-810-5951

�



Male, 0.5%

Female, 0.4%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This ad plays on the horror movie, "The Ring." Aside from the obvious copyright violation, it raises the issue of duration of the ad. A Yellow Pages ad has a shelf life of a few years. People don't automatically discard their old directories when a new one arrives. The ad design must be timeless. When licensing a popular icon, person, etc., look at it from the customer's perspective. TV Plumbing wants to service all demographic groups. Before associating with a popular character, consider the long term implications. For example, MetLife's association with Snoopy can continue forever because of Snoopy's good guy, timeless nature. Ask yourself this question, "Will this association make people like, trust and respect me 10 years from now?" If the answer isn't overwhelmingly positive, move on. This ad would not print well. It's heavy use of dark images could easily come out like a black blob on the page. Comments • Clever? Yes. Generate calls? I doubt it. People don’t

want clever advertising; they want to be reassured. They want to know they are going to get the best value. Nobody wants to call a clever advertiser unless they are looking for a clever person. I notice there is no heading in the yellow pages for “Clever People” so I am left believing there is not a great demand. Why do so many designers miss this?

• Copy is stupid - leaky TVs? • Two words - Copyright Infringement. I doubt the

producers of "The Ring" would find the unauthorized use of an image from their film terribly amusing. – Female

• LOOKS A LITTLE CORNY TO ME.

• The color caused me to slow down read further. Because there was humor played, on the already confusing name of this business, I felt more comfortable with TV Plumbing at that point. The TV Plumbing people didn't take themselves too seriously it seemed and these would appear to be reasonable people to work with. - male

• Catches your eyes because you try to figure out what

she is looking at. • Looks extra-terrestrial. • 'They're here!' Too weird. • Has a famous star and plays off of a very popular

movie. A little dark, but still highlights the important information.


• Ad #024 - 35th Place


16 votes ��$ % & + ��( , �� ! �� Designer: Abbie Kind, Beaverton, OR



Male, 0.4%

Female, 0.4%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations This ad had many customer benefits, but the cluttered layout made it too hard for most people to follow. The cartoon graphic of the plumber is the first item that most people would look at, yet it is located in the lower right portion. Successful ads need to lead the eye through the ad. The cartoon graphic was cited as a major turn off, although the real culprit here is the composition. Comments • Ho-hum, another one. • Appeared too cartoonish - Female • Plumber is loosening pipe when he should be

tightening and he isn't backing it up - poor technique, can't vote for it.

• This ad has all the contents of a good ad but is very

crampy. Looks like the customer has decided to utilize the entire space provided to him. There has to be some breathing space in the ad. - Female, 33

• I don't see any ad - just lots of bits of stuff thrown together.

• #24 is very good, colorful, name and number really

pop out well – may be just a little busy, and I’m not a big fan of cartoon characters in ads – think it somewhat cheapens their professional image

• Although the graphic by itself would rank at best

midway in the whole lot, and although the overall layout is a teeny bit awkward, this ad is the best of all content-wise. "If it doesn't say you do it, they will assume you don't."


15 votes ��$ % ( .��( -�� ! ��



Male, 0.4%

Female, 0.3%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

See Comments from the Designer on Ad #037 Observations: I received several negative comments about the screaming woman. Ads that perform well are those that solve a customer's problems, and this ad simply reminds the customer that he has a problem and it is about to get worse. Once you get past the graphic, this is one of the only ads that explains the value of the PHCC designation by comparing it to a licensed doctor and attorney. The PHCC is a trade association which is nothing at all like a licensing and regulatory body such as the ABA and AMA. Still, it does indicate a level of professionalism. Being in Black and White really hurt the ad in this contest, but in reality, the plumber should probably run a black and yellow ad to keep the costs in line. The designer who made this ad is a specialist in direct mail. In that business, unlike the Yellow Pages, it is important to capture the attention of the person who is not looking for your product or service. In the Yellow Pages, the consumer has decided to make a purchase, and they are deciding who to call. At this point in the buying cycle, it's time to build trust and confidence rather that go for the attention grabber. Comments • This ad scares me. - Male, 49 • Holy crap are you kidding? -Male, 27 • Hate that girl's pictures...she looks deranged. • Scary! - Female, 30 • It gets my vote because of the crazed woman and the

headline. Hey, who wouldn't feel like this when your plumbing has gone bad? - Male, 39

• I don't like the pictures of the people in them. They

took my attention from the ad right away and on to the next.

• Starts off with a negative idea. That does not attract me, it makes me want to avoid the problem (and the ads) - male, 51

• Bad picture would not call. • In-your-face headline/graphic combo • Lots of differentiation points • Consumer alert - male • Number 38 shows how some plumbers can make

you feel the first then how you should feel. - m • Makes me want to run screaming the other way.


• What can I say? This add is just outrageous. I would be afraid that the folks who run this company are insane as their ad or at least just not quite right. Too risky.

• I'd never call because it just goes too far, looks

stupid, maybe even scary. • Humor, sex appeal, simplicity, but again, way too

much text. • Do not think open mouths belong in a plumbing ad-

UGH-would not call these ads • She is so scary - what if they send her? • Do you want to scare people away? Not funny, not

scary - not going to get my business. Take pride in your work - be professional.

• #38 would have probably gotten my top vote if the bottom photo of the girl was smiling and not frowning. Top picture works very well to draw your eye, but after all the good copy pints shouldn’t she be smiling, especially being located so close to their name, which does stand out well

• Just plain ugly • #37 & #38 are essentially the same ad and both have

absolutely remarkable graphics and strong headliners. They were not chosen because they do not score well at all on RASCIL yet they also will certainly collect great call results.

• #38 - obnoxious looking woman; doesn't make me

think of a plumber; definitely would not call them



10 votes ��$ % ).��( *�� ! ��

Designer: Lua P - Hong Kong [email protected]



Male, 0.2%

Female, 0.3%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0%


Observations: Originally, I wasn't going to include this ad from Hong Kong, but then decided to give it a whirl. It performed about as expected. And still, it received a few votes. I did not consider this ad to be one of the bottom three performers in the executive summary because it is so non-standard in size that most voters simply overlooked it. Comments about Ad #018: • Kind of a nice concept. Nothing more. • Witty but plain. • Nice copy but ad boring. • Putting on my best Simon Cowell accent - This

looks like it was put together in Microsoft Publisher by a student attending a sub-par vocational school. I can't even tell what that thing in the upper right corner is even supposed to be! I'd stand in water up to my ears before I called that advertiser to stop a leak. - F

• Looks like some sort of certificate??? • It is both funny and not too overblown. I am tired of

ads that are too "in your face." And, lets be serious: if I am looking for a plumber, I will not be looking for colorful ads. I will look for somebody that is decent, not too fancy, and will get the job done. If he has humor in this somewhat embarrassing situation, all the better! It will help my over my shyness to call in the first place.

• Worst ad. Way too sparse on info. Lots of white

space that is wasted. Tries to be too cute but doesn't sell me on anything. - Male, 50

• Easy to read with white background, neat in appearance, not to wordy, clean looking ad. - male

• Boring. • Made me think of my first attempt at graphic design

using WordPerfect. Someone’s 16 year old child must have designed it. - Female, 55

• It's whimsical and to me that means friendly. • Too small, horrible border and an ad with a bad

poem in it - you have to be kidding. • Although I'm fond of B&W, #018 was not well

written and the picture looked too childish (maybe the pipe outline/lines were too thin).

• Here is a perfect ad for your 1963 high school

yearbook.

• Wow, maybe wins 1st prize for lamest ad, don't even get the message here

• Very poor ad; looks like a child drew it; they need to

learn how to use punctuation


8 votes ��$ % & )��( .�� ! �� Designer: Allen Brackin, Dothan Alabama



Male, 0.4%

Female, 0.0%

0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0%

Observations: This ad is a perfect example of the importance of being eye catching and easy to read. It has plenty of information and other aspects, but it is missing a powerful eye catching graphic and needs white space. Ironically, the metered ad study looking at effective elements indicates that this ad has the possibility of being successful. This ad simply faded into the background receiving neither positive nor negative comments. The headline, copy, colors and graphics were so nondescript that the ad faded into the background. In the contest, this ad was directly behind the strongest ad, so positioning could have contributed. Comments from Voters: • Ho-hum. This ad is right out of the ‘70s. • Appeared too cartoonish -Female • Not bad, nothing special.


Conclusion The Yellow Pages is where consumers select plumbers. "Plumbing Contractors" is the 9th most referenced heading in the Yellow Pages receiving 265 million annual references. The Yellow Pages Association reports that plumbers typically receive $10 in revenue from every $1 they invest in Yellow Pages advertising. Well designed, easy-to-read, content rich ads that solve the customer's problems will generate calls. Using the design techniques in this report will increase the ad's likelihood of success. Every Yellow Pages publisher includes free ad design as part of the advertising in the directory. The quality of ads that the publishers produce varies wildly. To increase your chances of receiving a highly effective ad, give the designer (or Account Executive) very specific direction, including all of the content that you want in your ad. Give the publisher's design department a crack at designing your ad. Some of the best ads in this contest were created by publisher's internal designers. When you receive a proof of the free ad, compare it to the top ten performing ads in this contest. If your free ad is not as good as the top contenders, hire a professional. It's worth the money. When hiring a professional to design your ad, stick to firms that focus on Yellow Pages ad design. There are many details that are unique to Yellow Pages advertising. Typical advertising agencies don't know Yellow Pages, and they will learn from the mistakes they make on your account. A full-page ad created by a professional Yellow Pages design firm will probably cost between $1,000 and $3,000. This is a small price to pay for the substantial increase in response that an outstanding ad is likely to generate. Advertise in every directory that is likely to generate more profits than the cost of running the ad. Every directory is used by some people. Compare the content, scoping, completeness, quality and price of the various directories. Whichever you choose, track your response to determine your true return on investment. When in doubt, refer back to the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule of Yellow Pages Advertising:


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Bonus Report - The Ad that Research & Experience Built The research from the metered ad study provides guidance on the elements of ads that generate high call counts. However, it takes a truly talented designer to translate that information into an ad that strikes all senses. I am very pleased to present the following ad. It was by designers at Berry Network Inc using BerryAdVantage strategic ad design process. Working with more than 500 national and regional clients, Berry Network is the second largest Yellow Pages and Interactive Media agency in the U.S. Here are some notes from the designer of this ad, Matilda Jackson, Senior Art Director, New Creative Development, Berry Network, Inc.

At Berry Network, we've found that by integrating marketing research with proven design principles we can develop Yellow Pages advertising that gets great results. For this particular ad design challenge, I used principles from our research-based design process to create a layout that immediately gets the point across without being cluttered or visually overpowering. This approach combined high-impact imagery with a solid message, good use of white space and key content points. Additionally, because TV Plumbing's existing branding seemed a little dated and not reflective of the service they are providing, I redesigned the logo to give it more impact and relevance.

For more information, contact • Kathy Geiger-Schwab, Executive Vice President of The Berry Company and President of

Berry Network, Inc. [email protected]

• Kevin Payne, Group Vice President, Berry Network Inc.

[email protected] Following the ad, I give my review of the various components that would get make the ad successful. I also have a few suggestions that might make it a tad better. This ad shows that it really pays to work with someone who understands Yellow Pages ad design. The investment in a truly professional YP designer will be paid back many times in increased calls.


Elements of this ad boosting response: SIZE - The size of an ad is directly related to the ad's response rate. Large ads generate more calls than small ads. Accounting for the increased cost for the larger ad, the return on investment is almost always better for the larger ads than the smaller ads. LAYOUT - this ad is easy to navigate while still providing a load of information. GRAPHIC - Large, inviting graphic - 1/3rd of this ad is an inviting and calming photograph conveying the major consumer benefit. HEADLINE - loaded with consumer benefits - This headline is as loaded as it can be with personal benefits (1. fast), (2. quality), (3. solutions), (4. all), (5. your), (6. plumbing). Roto Rooter finds this headline is consistently effective.

Easy to read headline is positioned AFTER your eye enters the ad. You start at the running water in the faucet, scan the bathroom photo and flow right into the headline. Perfect. RELIABILITY FACTORS - BBB, four credit card logos, bonded, licensed & insured.

Many key consumer benefits bulleted over a plain background. The two key benefits are in bold.

SERVICES provided are clearly listed and easy to read. There are no bullet points, which keeps the clutter down. The rule is that if you don't say it, the customer assumes that you don't do it. ALIGNMENT - The columns of information are aligned top and bottom making it easy on the eyes.

PHOTO of the man washing his face lends a human touch. I believe that the owner's photo and personal message from Ad #020 would be even better use of this space.

I recommend replacing this photo of man with a note like this from the owner.


COMPANY LOGO is easy to read, but notice that it is much smaller than the consumer benefits. The designer of this ad reworked the company logo to make it legible. I'm not exactly comfortable with the three icons above the company name, because they could be a bit confusing, but that's my opinion, not based on research. DROP SHADOW on the icons gives the logo a nice three dimensional look without obscuring the company name.

Old Logo

New Logo

CALL TO ACTION

HOURS of service mentioning that emergency and holiday service is also available.

YEARS of service is a winner with customers

FOUR TELEPHONE NUMBERS are listed. The more telephone numbers, the more calls. I'd list the major city names instead of cardinal directions. More people will relate to "Santa Monica" rather than "West." The toll free number removes any doubt if the customer is worried about incurring a charge for calling. Phone numbers are slightly difficult to read. I'd recommend making them a little clearer.

WEB ADDRESS is listed, but not given too much emphasis. Remember that the customer will be holding a telephone directory and a telephone, so it's important to get the customer on the phone. The web address is acceptable for providing deeper information, but you're more likely to lose the customer along the way. As a side note, TV Plumbing's web site is pretty bad. If you are going to send customers to your web site, it better be good. FOOTER, the bottom band says that they are experts. You've got to say it if you want to customer to know it.

All in all, this is a powerful ad.


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Using "Free Reports" to Boost Response Get the customer to call you. You get what you ask for, and unless you ask the customer call and give her a real benefit for doing so, you risk losing her to someone who does. Here is an ad created by marketing expert Michael Hepworth (www.Results-Exchange.com) for a paralegal who wants to help clients fight traffic tickets. The ad is text heavy, has no graphic, and is not warm and fuzzy. But if you are looking in the Yellow Pages for someone to help you fight a traffic ticket, wouldn't you at least consider calling this company?

Michael reports that he has used this ad under various modifications, and it has been highly successful in generating good volumes of qualified prospects. I'd recommend making the phone number considerably larger and moving it to the lower right corner. The layout needs more white space. It's acceptable by itself, but once in the directory, the clutter of the listings and other ads will make this look too jumbled to read. I'd also recommend including a photo of a person and rewriting the copy in a more direct tone. The ad takes a very negative scare tactic, but it's trying to convince the reader not to go it alone. It scares you into calling for the report.


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Bonus Report - YP Advice from Barry Maher Barry Maher wrote the book on Yellow Pages. Literally. The author of "Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages Advertising," Barry is one of the top experts in the field. He was also a national champion Account Executive for GTE before they merged with Bell Atlantic to become Verizon. Here's what Barry wrote regarding my Yellow Pages ad contest . . .

You’ve got some strong entries. But after working with ads for so long, I’ve come to realize that the ads that I’d call are not necessarily the ads the majority of normal human beings would call. That also seems to be the case with the ads that most ad professionals would call, which may be why so many prize-winning ads generate so little response. And of course with Yellow Pages, the real question becomes “Which ad would be called by the majority of the type of customers that the business is looking to attract through the Yellow Pages?” As you know, the only real way to judge an ad’s effectiveness is to test it. Testing it on consumer focus groups can be very effective for developing an image and a look. However, even consumer focus groups aren’t always effective in developing the thrust of the ad, especially with the headline and the visual grabber. Ads consumers select under test conditions can be very different from the ads the same people might pick when they actually have the need for the product or service. Then, of course, their selection may be based

on entirely different standards: like cost, speed of service, or which business looks like they aren’t going to leave the type of mess the last plumber left. So now that I’ve weaseled out of actually picking an ad, let me at least tell you the standards we design to. We do have quite a bit of experience designing Yellow Pages plumbing ads: ads for members of trade organizations like Nexstar (the former Contractors 2000); ads for literally hundreds of individual plumbing contractors. None of this, of course, is unique to us. The standards we use are, as a matter of fact, the standards that are most common among ad design pros in the industry.

In general, the ads that always seem to draw the best are the clean ads: those that are as readable as possible, with large illustrations

as visual grabbers, and strong benefits-based headlines.


There is no question that ads with dense text (the classic ugly ad) can sometimes work. This is usually the case only when the headline is a great grabber, strong enough to compel prospects to wade through that dense text. That’s very difficult to do when those prospects have so many easier to read ads in the heading, all selling the same products and services. Further, with a great headline the dense text needs to be designed in such a way that the main points are extremely scannable to the majority of readers; those who won’t make the effort to plow through the verbal forest, even when attracted by the headline. Obviously any Yellow Pages ad should differentiate the business from the competition, answering the potential customers’ unstated question, “Why should I call you instead of one of the other ads in the heading?” I’m not a huge fan of Yellow Pages ads whose headlines are geared to appeal to an extremely limited set of potential customers. Like the ugly ad, this is an old direct marketing strategy. And there’s no question that it works in direct marketing, where the advertisers only need to attract an extremely small percentage of the thousands and even millions of targeted prospects who’ll be exposed to the ad. However, in the Yellow Pages, appealing to a small subset of those looking under the heading usually means only being able to afford a smaller ad, which means an ad farther back in the heading. This also means that many of those with that particular need never even see the ad. They’ve already called a business earlier in the heading: a business that may have simply mentioned that specialty in their ad, or may never have mentioned it at all.

I may be looking for tooth whitening when I look under DENTISTS, but I probably find someone who can satisfy my needs long before I get to the ad for “The Tooth Whitening Experts” that comes later in the heading.

Anyone who has ever sold Yellow Pages ads knows the dilemma of the specialty business with a product or service that only appeals to a small percentage of those who look under a broader heading: “All I’m trying to sell is chartreuse wall covering, but I’ve still got to buy that big, old ad so I can be seen under Wallpaper. When are you guys going to put in a Chartreuse Wall Covering heading? You’re killing me here.” This of course doesn’t mean businesses shouldn’t differentiate themselves from the competition. That’s absolutely key. But it does mean that if they’re only aiming for a small segment of the market they’d better be sure that their ad (with the size and the likely position it’s going to have) is going to generate enough business from that small segment of customers to pay for itself the way a typical, well designed Yellow Pages ad does. Can ads that cast a smaller net work? Of course. Though they work best for larger market segments and for high-ticket items where a few sales can make the ad profitable for the entire year. In my experience they seldom work as well as ads for well-differentiated companies that appeal to a broader market. There’s a huge difference between differentiating your business and excessively limiting your potential market. All the Very Best, Barry Maher P.O. Box 1104 Helendale, CA 92342 760-962-9872 www.barrymaher.com [email protected]

Barry Maher Author,

"Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages Advertising"


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Bonus - Roto Rooter Ads 1945 vs. 2005 60 years has gone by, but the message remains the same. What's with the crazy phone number, though?

Roto Rooter Ad from the 1945 Minneapolis Telephone Directory


You could update the phone number and run this ad today and probably be quite successful with it. That's the beauty of the Yellow Pages. Satisfying customer needs never goes out of style.

Roto Rooter Ad 2005 Roto Rooter is an interesting case because their brand name is so strong. Decades of television and radio advertising have made their name synonymous with drain cleaning. Since the early 1980s, Roto Rooter has been a full-service plumber, so the company has to promote its full-service side without diminishing the drain cleaning business. The company’s logo is prominently displayed in three places in the ad. They also reinforce their other advertising by showing the van with decals and including the jingle "and away go troubles down the drain." Multiple phone numbers have been proven to increase overall call count. From the ad, it appears that they have local technicians standing by all over town. They point out that Saturday is a regular work day. The homeowner is comforted that service and pricing will be consistent with Mon. - Fri. Notice how the ad doesn't say "No Overtime Charges" on Saturday. That's a negative statement. The homeowner might infer that there ARE overtime charges on Sunday. The upcoming versions of this ad will replace that text with "Fully Staffed....Nights, Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays." This ad is a double-truck size. That means that it would be spread across two pages of the opened directory.


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Small Ad that gets BIG CALLS You don't have to buy the largest ad in the directory to get great results. There is a section of the population who would rather call someone with a smaller ad, thinking that the company will be lower priced than the "big boys." This ad is a Quarter Column-sized ad and would cost a fraction of the price of the larger ad. I would recommend using a White Knock Out so that the ad pops. Also, if the directory is published in color, use a simple color scheme but leave the background white. This plumber says that this ad gets great results. I would agree. Notice that it's directed at solving the customer's problem. I enlarged the ad to make it easier to read.


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GLOSSARY OF YELLOW PAGES TERMS Advertiser: An account for which the records show one or more paid items of advertising in any current directory or future directory. Advertising: Any paid current issue advertising item (items other than an SRL, RLF or SRLF) that appears within a directory. (See UDAC legend below for explanation of abbreviations). Alphabetical Section: Every business is entitled to a free listing in the alphabetical section (the White Pages). Anchor Listing: A reference line that directs the reader to a display ad. Audiotex: An audio advertising vehicle that complements the printed directory. This advertiser-oriented service allows the caller to receive timely information on the advertiser's product or service. Bleed: When a printed image extends to the trim edge of a sheet or a page. Bold Listing: The company name is printed in bold, capital letters. Business Office Close: The last day listing changes may be requested. Business-to-Business Directory: Provides information to assist business purchases. Caption Arrangement: An arrangement of a customer’s listing information in the White or Yellow Pages where the listed name appears only once with two or more addresses and telephone numbers. Used by customers who have several locations or several departments within a location. Example:

C & M TRANSMISSIONS 123 Main St Hay ….785-3921 456 Collins Fmt …..786-3455

Carrier: Any entity that is engaged in the provision of telephone exchange service or exchange access. Often referred to as LEC (Local Exchange Carrier). Carrier Identification Code (AKA: CIC): A four character numeric code primarily used for routing between the Listing Exchange Carrier and the access purchaser. CD-ROM: Stands for "compact disk-read only memory." This is a computer disk drive that runs compact disks instead of magnetic floppy disks. (CDs have a greater storage capacity than floppy disks.) CD-ROMs are already being used to read electronic White and Yellow Pages listings. Certified Marketing Representative (CMR): Certified Marketing Representatives are advertising agencies that place Yellow Pages advertising for nationwide and regional business clients. CMRs are specially licensed with the ability to order unlimited amounts of advertising from the largest print publishers in the U.S. and the world (SBC, Verizon, BellSouth, YellowBook, Dex Media, etc.), including small and independent publishers, publishing over 8,000 print directories and Internet Yellow Pages covering every city, town, county, and state with telephone service. They also have almost exclusive rights and access to YPIMA Rates & Data Information, including product pricing, directory coverage, etc. CMR Code: A three digit number assigned by the Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association(R) to identify a specific Certified Marketing Representative or one of its branches.


CMR Contact List: A monthly Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association(R) publication listing members, business hours, address, telephone number(s) and other information. Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC): A business that operates as a reseller of the incumbent local exchange carrier’s telecommunications services, or enters the market as a facilities-based provider. Consumer Tips: Also referred to as "middle of the book" audiotex. See Audiotex. Co-operative Advertising: Advertising jointly funded by the manufacturer and the retailer for their mutual benefit. Core Directory: Has the largest reach and greatest usage; includes information for the entire market. Coupon Advertising: Coupons bound into directories, offering discounts to consumers. Creative Advertising: Media designed to appeal to potential customers and to create a desire to buy. Examples of creative advertising include: radio, television, magazines, newspapers, billboards and direct mail. Customer: All businesses, locations, and telephone numbers that have or will have the same Point Of Contact (POC) for a given cycle of directories. Demographics: The statistical, social, and economic characteristics of human population (i.e., age, income, number of members in household, occupation, education) used to identify markets. Descriptive Extra Line: Extra line of copy in a Yellow Pages listing, designed to supply additional information. Directional Advertising: Advertising that directs buyers to sellers when they're ready to buy. Yellow Pages and newspaper classified ads are examples of directional advertising. Directory Close Date: Last scheduled date upon which new, additional, or different listing information will be accepted for publication in the next issue of a directory. Directory Code: A six-digit number that uniquely identifies a specific telephone directory. Directory Listing Request (DL): Form submitted by the CLEC to the ILEC that provides the administrative and listing information associated with the customer’s request. Directory Name: The official name given to a directory by the owning company. Display Ad: An advertising product purchased by size (either by the inch, column, or page). Display ads consist of varying sizes with graphic art, photos, logos, color, company-specific design, descriptive text, etc., limited only by the publishers graphic standards. Placement on the page and within the heading is usually determined by size or seniority. Existing Item: An item of advertising that appears or was contracted to appear in the current issue of a directory. Extended/Expanded Coverage: Utility directories with coverage beyond the telephone service franchise area contains extended/expanded coverage. The area that is reached by the directory, but is not served by telephone service is considered extended/expanded coverage area. Finding Line (AKA: FL): A brand, firm, service, or business name that appears in alphabetical order in a directory. Foreign Advertising: Yellow Pages advertising placed in directories other than the one in which the advertiser's business is physically located. Foreign Listing: A White Page listing in a directory outside the primary directory coverage area. This listing is purchased and incurs an additional cost. A foreign listing does not appear in the Yellow Pages unless purchased through the directory sales channel.


Four-Color Process: Printing with four colors of ink (in directories-red, blue, yellow and black) simulating the full color spectrum to graphic images in print. Four-color process requires color separations in order to produce the final product. Free Regular Listing: This item of advertising is referred to as a courtesy listing. A courtesy listing includes the customer's name, address, and telephone number and appears under a Yellow Pages heading in the customer's home directory. Gross Revenue Value: The total revenue value of purchased items before any incentives are applied. Gutter Ad: Display ad that falls along the fold of the directory; easier to overlook than other ads on the page. Heading: A word or group of words that describe a business, product, or service that customers engage in or sell. It is used in the Yellow Pages to categorize advertisers in a given line of business. Heading Code: A six-digit code that uniquely identifies a Yellow Pages classified heading. In–Column Ad: An advertising product purchased by the half-inch. In-column ad placement is determined alphabetically, listed within a column, using mostly text and surrounded by a box. These ads can contain a logo, color, sometimes varying text (fonts, bold, italic, etc. depending on the publisher). Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC): The only local telephone service provider for a geographic area prior to the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Indent Level: A numeric indicator, showing the number of spaces that a caption line is to be indented. Indent Text: Line of text within a caption. Independent Publisher: A non-utility-related company that publishes Yellow Pages directories. Interconnection: The trunking connection of the LEC’s network with ILEC’s/CLEC’s networks to allow the customers of both companies to easily call one another. Interfile: The process of combining listing information from two or more LECs or geographic areas into a single set of alphabetical listings. When referring to captions, “Interfile” generally means the process of combining listing information of businesses operating under the same name, or other subscribers with multiple telephone numbers, into a single listing with multiple addresses and/or phone numbers. Internet Yellow Pages (IYP): Online version of the Yellow Pages; is accessed online by computer; national in scope. Joint Users: Multiple businesses using the same telephone number. Issue Date: The month and year a particular directory is published. Letter of Authorization (LOA): A letter authorizing the CMR to place listing information on the advertiser’s behalf. Listed Address: A customer’s address that appears in the printed directory. Listed Name: The customer name or business name. The Listing Name field is made up of two sections: the finding name and subsequent words. Listed Telephone Number: The ten-digit telephone number (NPA, Prefix, and Suffix) that prints in the directory and quoted in directory assistance. Listing: The most basic of all Yellow Pages advertising products, a listing consists simply of the business name, address, and telephone number. These can be made bold and sometimes color.


Local Advertiser: A business that advertises in a directory and has a physical business location within the directory's primary coverage area. Local Business: A business that has a physical business location within the directory's primary coverage area. Local Directory: The utility directory reaching telephone service subscribers with a physical business location in the coverage area or the non-utility directory reaching businesses with a physical location in the coverage area. Local Exchange Carrier (LEC): Any entity that is engaged in the provision of telephone exchange service or exchange access. Local Search: Service provided by some Internet Search Engines (Google, Yahoo!) to provide information about local businesses, even those without a web site. Local Service Request: Document transmitted from the ILEC/CLEC to the incumbent telephone company for the processing of local dial tone service. Local Yellow Pages Sales Rep: Work one-to-one with businesses in placing their ads in the local directory. Lone Display Ad: Ad that falls before or after the section it belongs in, so isn't seen by visitors to that section; such ads are essentially worthless. Medium: A term that describes various advertising vehicles such as magazines, newspapers, radio, television, and Yellow Pages. National Advertising: Advertising purchased through a national authorized selling representative for insertion in directories. New Connect: A customer with newly established telephone service. New Install: A customer with a new business telephone number not associated with any pre-existing telephone number. (Has neither an SRL, SRLF nor present issue revenue in the current issue of their local directory. New Issue: The upcoming publication of a given directory. New Issue Revenue (NI): The total net value (after incentives) of all advertising purchased for the upcoming publication of a directory. New Item: An item of advertising purchased for the upcoming issue of a directory in addition to rather than in replacement of an existing item. Niche Directory: Targeted to specific demographic groups, like foreign language, universities, or women. Non-Advertiser: A business telephone customer who has a physical business location within the directory's primary coverage area, no paid present issue advertising items and a published Service Regular Listing (SRL/SRLF) in the current directory. Non-List (NL): A listing that appears on directory assistance records but will not appear in the published directory. Non-Local Advertiser: A business that advertises in a directory, but has no physical location within the directory's primary coverage area. Non-Local Business: A business that has no physical location within the directory's primary coverage area. Non-Local Directory: A utility directory that does not provide primary coverage to the area where a business is physically located, or a non-utility directory that does not reach the area where a business is physically located. Utility directories with extended coverage to an area where a business is physically located are considered non-local to that business.


Non-Utility Directory: A directory not published for a telephone company or primarily distributed to its subscribers. Number Portability: Allows the end user to change service providers without changing their existing telephone number. Numbering Plan Area (NPA): Otherwise known as area code. NXX: See Telephone Number Prefix On-Line Services for Yellow Pages: Electronic Yellow Pages and classified advertising offered on personal computers through joint ventures between Yellow Pages publishers and computer on-line services. Operating Company Number (AKA: OCN): Number assigned to each company in the telecommunications industry. Order Due Date: The deadline date for when an order needs to be returned to the publisher for placement of listings into the current directory. Present Issue: The current issue of a given directory. Present Issue Revenue (PI): The total net value (after incentives) of all purchased advertising within the current issue of a directory. Primary Coverage Area: The primary coverage area of utility directories will mirror the telephone service area. The primary coverage area of non-utility directories includes the entire directory coverage area. Businesses with a physical location within the directory's primary coverage area are typically entitled to a Service Regular Listing SRL/SRLF in that directory. Process Color: Four-color printing; used for four-color color printing process, composed of percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, which creates a full-color look. Pub Initials: Unique alpha code, assigned by YPIMA, which identifies a specific publisher or one of its branch locations. Publisher (PUBCO): An organization responsible for compiling and producing information contained within a telephone directory. Publisher Code: Four-digit number assigned by Yellow Pages I.M.A.SM to identify a specific publisher or one of its branches. Ratable Item: An item of advertising for which there is a rate in a given directory (whether or not the rate is charged or billed). For example, due to a published error the rate of an ad is adjusted to zero. The customer is still considered an advertiser because of the ratable item. Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCS): The telecommunications companies that were formed as a result of the AT&T divestiture. Each RBOC covers a separate area of the U.S. Reverse: Reverse resembles a negative of a picture. What was black becomes white or vice-versa. Reverse usually refers to type. RLF: A free listing given to a business in the extended coverage area of a directory. Screen: Used to stimulate various shades of color through use of dots, lines, or textured patterns. Service Order: A service order is the term used by most telcos for the format of listing and telephone information used by their internal systems: A request for new telephone service, change in existing service, or disconnecting service. Most Service Orders are customer initiated, but they can also be company initiated.


Service Order Activity: Changes in the customers local service or listing: activity process by the business office of the telephone company with regard to regular listings, name, address and telephone number changes. Service Order Close: The last date Service Orders are accepted for a specific issue of a particular Service Directory. Service Order Number (AKA: SO Number): The number assigned by the Telephone Company for any change activity to the service or listing of a customer. Service Regular Listing (SRL): A courtesy or complimentary Yellow Pages Listing is provided to a business subscriber under a Yellow Pages Heading appropriate to the type of business. Space Listing: see In-Column ad. Spec: A prepared "speculative" or "suggested" rough sketch of a layout incorporating copy, illustrations, and design, used to promote the advertiser's products and services. Split Run Test: A split run is created by printing two or more versions of a test ad in the same publication. Directory "A" contains test ad one, Directory "B" contains test ad two. In an A/B split, each version would be represented in half of the run and then distributed evenly and randomly throughout the market. Spot Color: When two or more colors are used in an ad but never touch each other. SRL: Service Regular Listing. A free listing given to a business in the coverage area of a directory. SRLF: A free listing given to a business in the coverage area of a system neighborhood directory. Standard Industrial Classification Code (AKA: SIC): A numeric code established by the Federal government to identify the type of business. The SIC appears on the Service Order and in the database, and is updated by the Service Order. It qualifies the industrial or commercial product or service into 99 primary categories, using a two-digit code from 01-99. Straight Line Listing: A listing that includes name, address, and telephone number and is printed flush to a left margin. Sub-Caption: A sub-heading phrase that is part of a caption and describes the indented elements below the subcaption. Suburban Directory: Neighborhood directory; covers a small localized area. Surname Suppression: Process in alphabetizing where a surname will be printed once and the individual first name, address and telephone number are indented under the one surname. Talking Ads: Also referred to as "back of the book" audiotex. See Audiotex. Telephone Company (TELCO): Examples: BellSouth, Dex Media, SBC, Verizon, etc. Telephone Number: The area code, NXX, line number and customer code assigned to the account when telephone service is initially established. Telephone Number Prefix (AKA: Prefix, NXX): The left most three digits of the seven-digit telephone number. Trademark: A legally registered symbol or mark, representing a particular brand, product, or service. Traditional Media: Magazines and TV, compared to directional media, like the Yellow Pages directory. Type Style: Variations in the thickness, thinness, slant, etc., for a unit of type.


UDAC*: Universal Directory Advertising Codes are abbreviations, referring to the advertising products and sizes available in a directory (such as the ones used below in the legend). An example for a common UDAC or item code, is the RL, which stands for Regular Listing. Upgraded Item: An item of advertising, with a different item code, that replaces an existing item at the same heading and has a larger revenue value at full rate than the item it replaced. Utility Directory: A directory published for a telephone company and primarily distributed to its subscribers. Utility Publisher: A company that publishes Yellow Pages directories for a telephone company. Voice Information Service: Often referred to as "front of the book" audiotex. See Audiotex. White Knock-Out: A printing technique that gives display ads a white background. White Pages Directory: The white section of the phone directory that lists businesses alphabetically; every business within the coverage area of the directory receives a listing at no charge. YPIMA: Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association (Formerly YPPA) is the major national trade organization for the Yellow Pages industry. YPIMA regulates, promotes, and markets the Yellow Pages medium as a form of advertising and lobbies for Yellow Pages issues for its member companies. YPIMA's headquarters are in Troy, MI and Berkeley Heights, NJ.

*LEGEND for Yellow Pages Products (UDACs) – Note: Not all ad types/sizes are represented.

Listings

SRL: Free Regular Listing (actually Standard or Service Regular Listing) - The most basic listing, consisting of name, address, and telephone number in plain type.

RL: Regular Type Listing - name, address, and telephone number in plain type.

SL: Semi-Bold Listing (or Standard Listing for publishers that do not offer a RL product) - name, address, and telephone number in semi-bold type and usually all caps.

BLN: Bold Listing Name and Number - name, address, and telephone number. The name and telephone number are bold.

EL: Extra Line - An extra line of text to follow the name line in a listing. An EL usually consists of five words per line.

AL: Alternate Listing or Alternate Call Listing - Used for secondary lines at the same address such as TDD, TTY, Toll-Free numbers, etc.

TRL: Trade Regular Listing - A Regular Listing that follows a trademark logo product.

TBLN: Trade Bold Listing Name & Number - A Bold Listing that follows a trademark logo product.

In-Column Ads

HS Ads: (Half-Space) - In-Column Ads - Box Ads. The number in an HS ad code denotes the size. The number is twice the height in inches of column space. For example, the number 2 in an HS ad, or 2HS, denotes one inch of column space. See examples below.


1HS = 1/2 Inch In-Column Box Ad 1MS = 3/4 Inch In-Column Box Ad 2HS = 1 Inch In-Column Box Ad 3HS = 1.5 Inch In-Column Box Ad 4HS = 2 Inch In-Column Box Ad 5HS = 2.5 Inch In-Column Box Ad 6HS = 3 Inch In-Column Box Ad 7HS = 3.5 Inch In-Column Box Ad 8HS = 4 Inch In-Column Box Ad If the UDAC is followed by an "A" such as a 6HSA, it denotes the ad contains artwork (logo). An ad usually must be at least 3 inches to contain artwork. Trademark Ads TM: TradeMark - Similar to a half-space or in-column or box ad. Trademarks are used mainly to allow a corporation to split the cost of the logo with individual dealers. They consist of a logo and a tag line and usually 7 lines of text or about 25 words, with the logo right-justified to the ad border.

CTM: Custom TradeMark - Same as TM, but about twice the available amount of text to print and the logo can appear centered.

Display Ads NOTE: Display Ads are purchased by size (inch, column, or page) and depends on how many columns are in that particular directory. Please click here for a chart with visual descriptions. QC: Quarter Column - 0.25 Column High x 1 Column Wide

DQC: Double Quarter Column - 0.25 Column High x 2 Columns Wide

TQC: Triple Quarter Column - 0.25 Column High x 3 Columns Wide

DHC: Double Half Column - 0.5 Column High x 2 Columns Wide

THC: Triple Half Column - 0.5 Column High x 3 Columns Wide

HP: Half Page - 0.5 Page High x 1 Page Wide OR 1 Page High x 0.5 Page Wide

FP: Full Page - 1 Page High x 1 Page Wide

DT: Double-Truck - 1 Page High x 2 Pages Wide (side-by-side left and right, with book open)

Anchors Display ads use "anchor listings." These anchors refer the reader from the alphabetical location of the business name in the column to the display ad.

ARL: Anchor Regular Listing (usually free with display ads)

ASL: Anchor Semi-Bold Listing

ABLN: Anchor Bold Listing


Color

"C" added to any display ad, usually denotes a color (red, blue or green).

"M" added to any display ad, usually denotes a multi-color. "W" added to any display ad, usually denotes white background or White Pages Listing.

"Y" added to any display ad, usually denotes a yellow highlight.


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Will Internet Replace Print Yellow Pages?

Since the commercialization of the Internet in 1994, pundits have been predicting the death of the printed Yellow Pages. In recent years, all major search engines have emphasized their local search offerings in hopes of expediting this shift. The predictions of print's death have been greatly exaggerated, and recent evidence indicates that sustained growth in the printed directory is highly likely. Dennis Fromholzer's research indicates that total call volumes in the top 100 headings is remarkably consistent with those recorded 5 years ago. Total Yellow Pages references are in the area of 15 billion per year. There has been a slight decrease over the years, but it's barely larger than a rounding error. Also, the studies measure primarily the references to the utility company owned directories and do not always take into account the dramatic rise in independent (non-Telco owned) publishers such as Yellowbook, Phone Directories, Inc. and Names and Numbers, Inc.


His research shows that 40% of the top headings in print experienced an increase in call volume, 20% of the headings showed no increase or decrease, and 40% showed a net decrease. Usage is strong, and shows only slight signs of weakening. The following chart supplied by the Yellow Pages Association shows where consumers look before making a decision.

What the research doesn't say is that small businesses do not BUY advertising. They are SOLD advertising. That's why the directory publishers employ huge staffs of account executives who physically visit nearly every business in a market. It's hugely expensive to have a highly trained field sales force gathering RASCIL and other important data from small businesses. Selling annual advertising space in the directory is what pays for this data collection. The number of local businesses who purchase advertising via a self service system is too small to measure because it simply doesn't happen. Currently, no search engines employ the necessary field sales people to collect, verify and publish this information. It is not economically viable. They have opted to partner with various


Yellow Pages publishers to make these sales on their behalf. These partnerships have met with very limited success. The Yellow Pages publishers are better about making the detailed information in their print directories searchable online. However, the number of references and the leads generated online are still a tiny fraction of that generated by the print directories. Printed directories continue to be cost effective to produce and distribute. Consumers continue to find a flip through the book to be faster, easier and ultimately more satisfying than searching online. Consumer behavior may eventually shift away from print to the Internet. That shift remains beyond the horizon in the future. In the meantime, the smart advertiser uses a combination of media with the printed Yellow Pages for maximum effect.

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Hooray for you if your got them right (answers at the end of the report.) Now, without looking, tell me the telephone number of the nearest location of the company you just recognized.. If you couldn't recall the number, chances are good that you would open the Yellow Pages directory. It's at that moment that the mass media advertising pays off. Either the consumer recalls the brand and finds the information, or the information isn't found and the consumer calls someone else. The following chart shows how well Yellow Pages extends the advertising in other media. The mass media advertising makes the consumer aware of the itch, but the Yellow Pages helps the consumer scratch the itch.


The more you advertise in other media, the bigger your benefit when advertising in the Yellow Pages. ��

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Plumbing Contractors

RASCIL Prep Sheet

Advertiser Name

Account Executive:

Phone Number:

Date:

Every major study of Yellow Pages effectiveness has shown that more information in an ad will generate more calls as long as the information is readable. Use this guide to identify the information that a motivated buyer would use to select your business over the competition. The business that answers the customer's question gets the call. Specific information builds trust.

Reliability

BBB Local/state business association Master plumber sealRegistered license number Years in business

Authorized Products and Services

American Standard Bradley DeltaEder Kohler MoenRheem State

Special Features/Safety and Protection Features

24-hour emergency service Agree upon price before work Clean-up serviceCredit terms Days/hours of operation Free estimatesFully equipped trucks Holiday service Insurance claimsNo charge for travel time No subcontracting Radio dispatchReasonable rates Senior discounts Toll free/fax numberViolations corrected

Page 1 of 3©2005 TransWestern Publishing. All rights reserved.

Notes:

Remember: people buy from people they trust. Be very specific in your ad copy. Use individual brand names and logos instead of "all major brands."

Thursday, March 10, 2005Updated


RASCIL Prep Sheet

Advertiser Name

Account Executive:

Phone Number:

Date:


Completeness of Lines and Services

Additions Air conditioning Air conditioning pipingBackflow devices Backflow prevention Bathroom remodelingBoilers Disposers Drain cleaningDuct cleaning Electrical Electronic leak and sewer locatingEquipment installations and upgrades

Faucet repairs Faucets

Fixtures Frozen pipes thawed FurnacesGarbage disposals Gas HeatersHeating High pressure water jetting Hot water tanksHydro jetting Industrial InstallationKitchen Leak detection LeaksMaintenance Mechanical contractors Mobile home repairNew construction Parts Pipe repairPlumbing Remodeling RepairsRepiping Replacement and repairs ResidentialRoot control Rootering Sales and serviceSewer cleaning Shower drains SinksSprinklers Toilets TrenchingTubs Video pipe inspection Washer linesWater heaters Water repiping

Illustration and Impact

Large dominant graphic Logos Photo of happy customerPhotos of owner or staff Slogans


Notes:




RASCIL Prep Sheet

Advertiser Name

Account Executive:

Phone Number:

Date:


Location and Area Served

Areas served Ease of access Email addressLandmarks Local phone numbers MapWeb site address

Related Headings

Air conditioning contractors and systems

Blowers and blower systems Boiler repairing

Contractors-general Furnaces-heating Furnaces-repairing and cleaningHeating contractors Kitchen cabinets Oil burnersOil burners-servicing Pipe thawing Plumbing drains cleaning servicePumping contractors Roofing contractors Roofing materialsSewage disposal systems Sewer contractors Sheet metal workSteam pitters Tin smiths Ventilating contractorsWater heaters-dealers Water heaters-repairing Water main cleaning service


Notes:



· © 2005 Dick Larkin, All Rights Reserved Page 2 of 150 Tabl eof C nts Foreword

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Transcript of · © 2005 Dick Larkin, All Rights Reserved Page 2 of 150 Tabl eof C nts Foreword