Turning Yellow...

This weekend, PJ and I watched Veggie Tales together. I love Veggie
Tales -- if you haven't seen one, it's a 3D cartoon series starring a
cast of vegetables. The art is excellent. The writing is hilarious. And
the messages are solid. The lesson of our video: "You don't have to be
afraid to do what's right." A lesson I had to live out just yesterday.

I told my client not to advertise.

It was a waste of her money. (Ironic coming from an ad agency, huh?)
And it took a little convincing to get her not to advertise. But, in
good conscious, I couldn't watch her waste her money.

The fee for my recommendation: nothing. Zero. Nada.

Let me clarify before you jump to conclusions...

She had called me about the design of her yellow page ad. She'd
moved to a new location last year. When I thought about the huge
competing ads and the much larger ad cost in her new market, I
realized she had two choices: buy a much bigger ad, or not advertise
at all. By my calculations, for the bigger ad to pay for itself, it would
need to generate an unrealistic number of new customers. I
recommended she just get the free listing. She could use her Yellow
Page budget for something else.

Then I got to thinking about Yellow Page ads. I don't think they work
for most business-to-business professional services, either. My
rationale? Of the approximately 773 Ad Agencies and 255 Public
Relations firms listed in the Chicago Business-to-Business phone book
there are only two display ads. One for an ad agency and one for a PR
firm. So, if the professionals who make their living on marketing
communications don't advertise in The Book, what's that tell you about
it's effectiveness? Don't get me wrong some professionals MUST be in
the yellow pages: attorneys, doctors, electricians, plumbers and the
like. But there's no reason to do it just because everyone else is. My
point is: don't let yourself be bullied into doing something that isn't
right for you.

By the way, I just found out I'm not listed in the Yellow Pages at all
-- I didn't even get my free listing. (I am on anywho.com and if you
Google "Phil Sasso" I'm at the top of the list.)

So, if you need to get in touch with me, you can reach me at 874.451.2246

- Phil Sasso