Head Yellow
The Worst Yellow Page Ad
On a typical call, I would look at all the competition within the heading of the client’s ad and cringe at most of them. Only a few might be above average and then one or two of those could be considered outstanding. To understand what constitutes a bad ad, you must recognize the elements of a good ad.
It begins with the headline. Unless you are a franchise that uses it’s name for recognition purposes like Goodyear Tires or Allstate Insurance, having your name at the top is rather meaningless. Does it really matter to the consumer that you are Frank’s Flowers or Henry’s Towing? Or is it more important to give a prominent location or hours of operation? “SE Corner of Main and Central” could be much more important than Frank’s or “24 Hour Towing” sure beats Henry’s any time. Yet the ego of the business owner often trumps the headline and I had to place the name at the top just to appease management, in spite of my logical arguments against it.
Then there was the picture. Do I care to see Frank’s smiling photo in the ad? Or perhaps a beautiful bouquet of roses might do better, but isn’t that obvious? Not so for the advertiser, I’m afraid. Sometimes it was a picture of their shiny truck or perhaps the family dog that was required. Even when I pointed out the waste of space, the owner stood firm.
“I spent $40,000 on the plumbing truck so I darn well want it in the ad,” he might say.
If I said that the YP user didn’t really care what truck they had, I would get a shake of the head and a stern warning: “My ad, my choice.” Okay, fine. Even though that space could have been used for information about the services. Which leads me to another point.
The customer chose to open the Yellow Pages for information. They expect to learn about the goods or services and find an easy way to contact the business. If you don’t give them the basics, you’re not being fair to them. Offer up reasons for them to call you. Many times I would have to search for features or benefits of the business. Simply saying that you are a quality carpet cleaner and been in business ten years, is not good enough anymore. There are dozens of cleaners, so why should I choose yours? Talk about or describe the cleaning process, guarantees, any discounts available, and special services such as flood damage or pet odor removal. Be specific and then give good directions or a map, if it applies.
Then finish up with a large, readable phone number, website address and ways they can pay such as credit cards. It’s that easy to build a good ad and just as easy to destroy one. Here’s an example of a poor YP ad.
It begins with the name in the headline: “Sal’s Restaurant” (what type of food?) Next is the text: “Finest Southwest Cuisine” (again, describe the food) Next text: “Homemade Tacos, Tamales, and Enchiladas” (okay, but too little too late. Taco Bell has the same stuff) Next: “10 years, Same Location” (who cares?) Now there is a picture of the storefront (a waste of space. I’ve seen lots of storefronts before) Now, the address: “3427 E. Main Street, Plainsville” (where is that? What are the cross streets?) The phone: “555-345-9900″ (is that it? No website? Do you take credit cards? What about catering or takeout?)
By now you’ve gotten the point. There are many simple tricks to creating an effective YP ad or any ad for that matter, be it newspaper or magazine. For more details, look into my book, “Inside the Yellow Pages on amazon.com or my website. After all, no one wants to waste their money on a lousy ad. It just takes a little time and knowledge, so educate yourself.
Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years.
He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master’s Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. He authored a book about his directory years, “Inside the Yellow Pages” which can be seen at his website, http://www.poweradbook.com and he is officially retired.
About the Author
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