The debate about the value of directory advertising continues. Today, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors postponed a decision that would significantly reduce the number of Yellow Pages phone books delivered to the city. The proposal program would limit the number of books that it distributes, delivering books only to those households or business who request them.

For many cities, discussions and debates have attempted to solve this very issue. The Yellow Pages industry has also launched massive information campaigns to demonstrate the sales generation value of the Print directory, and also that the directory provides a valuable service to local and community businesses; businesses who do not have always have the money to purchase online or TV advertising.

Speculation that no one uses the print directory is unsubstantiated. The claim is that everyone uses mobile or the internet to search for information about a business when they want to buy a product or service. That type of thinking is generally derived from an individual’s personal perspective and has never been affirmed with actual data. As the media landscape continues to fragment, it is important to remember that despite gloomy media predictions, according to a recent Burke Institute study, Yellow Pages directories still reach over 16 billion point-of-purchase consumers, annually. Directory advertising has suffered from the same bad press that surrounds all print media. While it is true that there are fewer users of the print book, online usage has skyrocketed. The combined online and mobile directory usage numbers have managed to increase the overall usage numbers of the medium.

Now, not all consumers have migrated online or continued to use the print directory. Which categories continue to generate substantial leads? How do you get the maximum value from a directory buy? Should you be buying directory? Is directory advertising still relevant to business?

These critical questions have been answered by DAC group’s media allocation strategy and its emphasis on getting the best possible Return-On-Investment for clients. DAC Group CEO Norm Hagarty, stressed, “media allocation is paramount in the directory space. There are no cookie cutter solutions in directory anymore. Each client and each category needs to be examined in context.”

To demonstrate this fact, DAC partnered with comScore and then Kantar Research to show the search habits of consumers at the point of purchase. They explored various categories and then determined the extent to which Print Directories were significant by category. While other CMRs have tried other tactics, DAC group’s lead generation focus starts with a media neutral position, which allows the agency to strategize on the proper allocation of media for its clients. This expertise fostered the development of proprietary technology: PAGEtorrent €€_ and DiMITRI, an integrated report card platform that lets advertisers easily keep track of their media spend and goals. Print and online directories are now another component of an integrated vocabulary that includes a wide variety of media options.

It is clear that print directories remain relevant in context and in conjunction with other ancillary products that both help drive results and maximize budget.