Critics call out Cincinnati Yellow Pages deal - Phoenix Business Journal:

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, a Denver company that has owned the righta tothe region’s largest Yellow Pages product since 2002, blames the delay on printert changes and organizational restructuring. About 140 of its 900 directoriea are beingdelayed nationwide. Cincinnati is the largesg market affected. “It’s a stinking deal,” said Brenda controller for inClermont County. Hacker was planning to downsizeher company’a ad in a directory she thought woulcd be published in June. When she called the companyt in May to confirmthe change, she was told it was exercisinb its contractual right to extend last year’s publication.
Hackerr said it will cost her company anextra $700 each “It’s just not right, what they’rer doing to people,” she said. Local Insighg spokeswoman Pat Nichols said 75 percen ofits 10,000 local customers will be unaffectedd by the delay. Those are companies that plan to maintain the same ads they had last year or Local Insight CEO Scott Pomeroy is asking business owners angered by the delah to callthe company’s customer service (888) 237-8570, although it’s not clearf what steps the company will take to addresz concerns. “If the product’s not delivering value to our customer service department is prepare to talk to those Pomeroy said.
“I think it’s evaluated on a case-by-cass basis.” The directory dela comes at a time of turmoil for Yellosw Pagespublishers nationwide. The recession is acceleratinh a trend that has long threatenefd theindustry – the shifg of so-called “directional advertising” from print publications to online search engines and mobile The , a subsidiary of , is projecting tota l revenue will shrink to $11 billion for Yello w Pages publishers by 2013, down from $14.4 billion in 2008. A year ago, the Kelsey Group was forecasting a compound annual growth rate for the industryof 4.5 Now, it’s minus 5 percent.
“The recession has drivenn print sodeeply negative,” said Charles senior vice president and program directod of the Kelsey Report. Laughlinj said growth in digital revenue might never make up for salesa lost inprint publications. “Those who downsize, will they stargt spending again once thesmoke clears? It’s probablyu next year before we know,” he Laughlin said most of the nation’s largest Yellow Pages markets are seeing revenue dips of more than 20 percentr this year.
Pomeroy declined to revealk numbers for Cincinnati but said the revenue dropis “nowher near” 20 percent He said companywide revenue was flat in 2008, standingy at roughly $700 million. Laughlin declined to reveal Kelsey’s future outlook for Cincinnati, whicj is dominated by Local Insight but includeas asecond directory, the Yellow Book, published by of England. The industry’s major players, including spinoff Idearc and the better-known , are struggling through the recession with heavydebt loads.
Local Insight also has leverage issues, but its focus on smalle r markets has helped temper the impact of the recession on the saidEmile Courtney, a credit analys for ’s. “Idearc has filed for and Donnelley has missede interest payments on debt withvariouxs entities. Local Insight has not. From a strict financial-metrics poiny of view, they’re the healthier of the Courtney said. S&P revised to its outlook on Local Insight but retainera “B” rating on its corporatew debt in a March 31 At least one of the company’ds local customers has a less positiver outlook. “I think they’re really in trouble.
The phond book is a dinosaur, and nobody’s using it any said Vicky Bezak, exclusive marketing agent for Bezakj estimated the directory delay would cost hercompany $300 a montyh – if she pays it. “I’m going to call Cincinnato Bell and tell them that my contractwith (Local Insight) terminates on June 1, and I’ not paying the ad costs listed on my curreng bill because I didn’t renee it,” she said. Cincinnati Bell serves as the billing agent for Locak Insight and permits the use of its brand name as part of a rightss agreement signed when it sold its YellowPages , in 2002.
But Cincinnati Bell is not involvecd inthe company’s operations otherwise, accordinv to Lisa McLaughlin, a public relations consultany for Bell.