Directory turns new page

By SIMON HENDERY

The Auckland Yellow Pages - arguably the country's most popular marketing tool - has undergone its own marketing makeover.

Telecom began delivering 752,000 copies of its three-volume 2004 Auckland White Pages and Auckland Yellow Pages last weekend.

The company has made some subtle changes to the directories this year. Yellow Pages marketing and strategy manager Greg Runnerstrum said they were an attempt to update the brand by making it easier to use and more relevant.

"We see ourselves as a media and the value we offer advertisers is the size of our audience."

Telecom said research showed that nationally, the number of people referring to the Yellow Pages each week had almost doubled from 520,000 in 1989 to 1 million in 2000, of whom 639,000 purchased as a result.

Only 50 per cent of Yellow Pages users refer to the book's index so the company now included more cross-referencing in the body of book.

Runnerstrum said the Yellow Pages faced its strongest competition online from search engines such as Google. The company was working on changes to make its website more user-friendly.