On Monday, May 17, the California Senate Appropriations Committee will consider a new bill designed to regulate the delivery of print directories in the Sunshine State, including Yellow Pages directories.
Currently, thousands of California businesses advertise in the Yellow Pages, generating a high level of new business leads and revenue across numerous industries from ready-to-buy consumers.
It’s clear that any effort to limit local businesses from reaching consumers not only hurts businesses, but negatively impacts the state economy. In times like these, we can’t afford to place an undue burden on local business owners trying to make ends meet.
These days, Californians access local business information in a variety of new ways, including online directories and mobile apps. But studies from both Burke and Simmons show that 70% of Californians continue to use print Yellow Pages to find neighborhood businesses.
Over the years, our industry has made concerted efforts to design consumer choice programs that let consumers manage their Yellow Pages experience, as well as introduced a variety of environmental initiatives that further limit our impact on the environment.
Last year, the Yellow Pages Association launched www.yellowpagesoptout.com, a one-stop destination for consumers across the country to reduce or stop directory delivery.
And through advancements in paper production, it is no longer necessary to use new trees to make directory paper. In fact, most publishers now use a mix of recycled directories and leftover woodchips from the lumber industry to create Yellow Pages paper. Read more about our sustainability programs.
Additionally, Yellow Pages companies are proud members of the California economy, employing thousands of local residents and paying local and state taxes.
We hope the California state legislature will take into account the value our industry brings to the State when considering this bill and the negative impact its passage will have on local businesses and publishers. In short, we believe the bill is unnecessary in light of industry programs that are in place, working well and getting better.
So far, a number of key constituents in the State are standing up against the bill, including small and large business publishers, LGBT and minority publishers, advertising agencies, and local and regional suppliers.
To let your voice be heard, contact any member of the California Senate Appropriations Committee by clicking here.
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If the bill means regulating the up-to-three print Yellow Pages dropped at doorsteps a year, I’m all for it. The biggest difference in these books are the covers.
I’ve seen the YPA opt-out campaign although have not seen it work. Distributors still drop off the books. Also, I’m sure this drop-off season will continue to include print book distribution to boarded-up homes and closed-up businesses as it does every year.
Advertisers pay for this distribution. If the YPA addressed these issues in the first place, I doubt this bill would exist at all.
[...] Neg Norton wrote a post about why the Yellow Pages Association opposes legislation that puts the government in the middle of the small business advertising [...]