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

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, a Denver company that has owned the rightz tothe region’s largest Yellowa Pages product since 2002, blames the dela y on printer changes and organizational About 140 of its 900 directories are bein delayed nationwide. Cincinnati is the largest market affected. “It’s a stinkiny deal,” said Brenda Hacker, controller for in Clermon County. Hacker was planning to downsizeher company’s ad in a directory she thought would be published in June. When she calle d the company in May to confirm the she was told it was exercising its contractual righy to extendlast year’s publication. Hackerr said it will cost her compan y anextra $700 each month.
“It’s just not right, what they’rwe doing to people,” she said. Local Insight spokeswoman Pat Nichols said 75 percent ofits 10,000 local customers will be unaffected by the Those are companies that plan to maintain the same ads they had last year or Local Insight CEO Scott Pomeroyu is asking business owners angered by the delayy to call the company’s customer service (888) 237-8570, although it’s not clear what stepas the company will take to address concerns. “If the product’se not delivering value to them, our customer services department is prepared to talk to those Pomeroy said.
“I think it’x evaluated on a case-by-caswe basis.” The directory delay comes at a time of turmoil for Yellos Pagespublishers nationwide. The recessionm is accelerating a trend that has long threatened theindustr – the shift of so-called “directional advertising” from pring publications to online searcjh engines and mobile The , a subsidiary of , is projecting total revenuw will shrink to $11 billiojn for Yellow Pages publishers by down from $14.4 billion in 2008. A year ago, the Kelseyt Group was forecasting a compound annual growth rate for the industryof 4.5 Now, it’s minus 5 percent.
“Thr recession has driven prinft sodeeply negative,” said Charlex Laughlin, senior vice president and program director of the Kelsey Report. Laughlin said growtnh in digital revenue might never make up for salez lost inprint publications. “Those who downsize, will they start spending again once thesmoke clears? It’s probablt next year before we know,” he said. Laughlin said most of the nation’x largest Yellow Pages markets are seeing revenus dips of more than 20 percent this Pomeroy declined to reveal numbers for Cincinnati but said the revenus dropis “nowhere near” 20 percent here.
He said companywidde revenue was flatin 2008, standing at roughly $700 Laughlin declined to reveal Kelsey’sx future outlook for which is dominated by Local Insight but include s a second directory, the Yellow published by of Berkshire, England. The industry’as major players, including spinoff Idearc and the better-knowjn , are struggling through the recession with heavhydebt loads. Local Insighft also has leverage but its focus on smallefr markets has helped temper the impact of the recessiohn onthe company, said Emile a credit analyst for ’s. “Idearc has filer for bankruptcy, and Donnelley has missed interest payments on debt withvariouds entities.
Local Insight has not. From a strictr financial-metrics point of view, they’re the healthier of the three,” Courtney said. S&P revisee to “negative” its outlook on Locao Insight but retaineda “B” rating on its corporatw debt in a March 31 At least one of the company’s local customers has a less positiv outlook. “I think they’re really in trouble. The phoned book is a dinosaur, and nobody’s usin g it any more,” said Vicky exclusive marketing agent for Bezak estimated the directory delay would cost hercompany $300 a montnh – if she pays it.
“I’m going to call Cincinnati Bell and tell them that my contracfwith (Local Insight) terminatess on June 1, and I’m not payiny the ad costs listed on my current bill because I didn’t renew it,” she Cincinnati Bell serves as the billing agent for Locaol Insight and permits the use of its brande name as part of a rights agreemenyt signed when it sold its Yellos Pages company, , in 2002. But Cincinnati Bell is not involvef inthe company’s operations otherwise, according to Lisa a public relations consultant for Bell.