New Yellow Pages Measurement Service Set to Release Local Directory Usage Shares

MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In early 2006, Yellow Pages Market Reporter(SM) (YPMR) -- a new Yellow Pages market measurement service from Knowledge Networks/SRI (KN/SRI) -- will deliver specific directory usage data for 125 geographies covering 161 DDAs (Directory Distribution Areas). In total, KN/SRI conducted about 75,000 in-depth consumer interviews to produce these 2005 YPMR findings.

"Yellow Pages Market Reporter(SM) gives us an important new tool for making buying decisions in this unique medium," said Janice Lucente, Marketing Manager for Allstate. "Having these data at our fingertips will bring YP more deeply into the media mix, allowing us to better plan directory advertising as part of our established media allocation process and prove its effectiveness to marketers and others in our organizations."

Yellow Pages Market Reporter(SM) is the result of an intensive process which began when advertisers, ad agencies, and CMRs (Certified Marketing Representatives) made a request for independent third-party syndicated research to aid Yellow Pages advertisers in selecting directories in which to place ads. The rapid growth of multi-directory markets renders this information a necessity for making accurate ad buying decisions, and publishers have responded by funding measures in many DDAs.

Ten publishers participated in the 2005 program; they are Ambassador Yellow Pages; Associated Publishing Co.; AT&T Yellow Pages; BellSouth Advertising and Publishing Corp.; Cincinnati Bell Yellow Pages; Dex Media, Inc.; RH Donnelley Publishing and Advertising; Verizon Information Services; White Directory Publishers, Inc.; and Yellow Book USA, Inc. The 2005 publisher funded DDAs collectively represent 30% of the total U.S. adult population and encompass almost half (45%) of consumers located in A and B county areas.

Creation of the syndicated service has also been supported by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the Association of Directory Marketing (ADM), the Association of Directory Publishers (ADP) and the Yellow Pages Association (YPA). In addition, guidelines and standards for the YPMR measurement were developed under guidance of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF).

In late January, KN/SRI expects to release 2005 YPMR reports on 45 key markets -- a broad spectrum ranging from Manhattan (NY), Chicago, and San Francisco to Boise, Idaho. Data from the remaining 116 DDAs -- including St. Louis; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Charlotte, NC; and Laredo, TX -- and others will follow. Overall, DDAs in 63 different DMAs will be represented, including 33 of the top 50 DMAs.

Twelve CMRs (Certified Marketing Representatives) have already signed up for the 2005 YPMR reports; collectively they represent more than 60% of the $2+ billion in YP ads placed by national advertisers annually. Current non- publisher subscribers are Berry Network, Inc.; CommNet Marketing, Inc.; Cramer Krasselt; DAC Group; DCG Yellow Pages, Inc.; Hurrelbrink Advertising, Inc.; Ketchum Directory Advertising; Nationwide Yellow Pages; SMG Directory Marketing; TMP Directory Marketing; Wahlstrom Group; and YPM, Inc.

"We are excited to be providing Yellow Pages buyers and sellers with standardized market measurement that will make Yellow Pages an even bigger player in the media mix," said Burt Michaels, Vice President/Managing Director of Knowledge Networks/SRI and Director of the KN/SRI Yellow Pages research program. "All signs indicate that participation in YPMR by publishers, CMRs and others in the industry will be growing in 2006 and beyond."

(Table 1 [attached] lists the 2005 markets that will be reported early in 2006, representing a 12-month market read. Participating publishers, DDAs, and markets for 2006 will be announced shortly.)

Knowledge Networks/SRI has been a long-time measurement provider to the media industry -- including Yellow Pages buyers and sellers -- and won an industywide RFP (request for proposal) in order to launch the YPMR service. The final service parameters were designed by KN/SRI in conjunction with a broad representation of Yellow Pages stakeholders, who organized to steward the launch of this service.

Knowledge Networks delivers quality you can use -- superior methodologies, design, and analysis that give you an edge when it comes to making smart, safe business decisions. KN's unmatched consumer research resources include the only projectable Web-based consumer panel. The company leverages its expertise in brands, media, advertising, and analytics to provide insights that speak directly to clients' most important marketing issues. In addition, Knowledge Networks has built a substantial practice in government and academic research, an area notable for its rigorous methodology standards.

In 2001, Knowledge Networks acquired assets and expertise from Statistical Research, creating Knowledge Networks/SRI. KN/SRI is one of the country's leading authorities on consumers' use and ownership of media and technology. The company is the leading measurement provider for Yellow Pages directories; other specialties include cross-media allocation (MultiMedia Mentor(TM)) and studies of consumers' interactions with media (How People Use(R) research).

       Table 1: Measured DDA Within DMAs in the 2005 YPMR Program*


   New York DMA               Dallas-Ft Worth DMA    Cleveland-Akron DMA
     Manhattan, NY            Washington, D.C. DMA     Akron, OH
     Queens, NY                 District of            Cleveland, OH
     Brooklyn, NY                Columbia, D.C.      Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
     Bronx, NY                  Maryland              DMA
     Nassau County, NY           Suburbans           Denver DMA
     Middlesex County, NJ       Sub MD-So.           Sacramento-Stockton
     Monmouth County, NJ         Montgomery, MD       DMA
     Fairfield County, CT       Sub-MD Prince          Sacramento, CA
     Western Fairfield           George's County,      Stockton, CA
      County, CT                 MD                    Stanislaus, CA
     Eastern Fairfield          Virginia             Orlando-Daytona DMA
      County, CT                 Northern, VA          Orlando, FL
     Northern Fairfield       Atlanta DMA            St. Louis DMA
      County, CT              Detroit DMA              St. Louis, MO
     Fairfield/Westport, CT     Macomb County, MI/   Pittsburgh DMA
   Los Angeles DMA               Detroit Metro         Pittsburgh, PA
     Riverside, CA               East                Baltimore DMA
     South Orange               No. Macomb, MI         Baltimore City, MD
      County, CA                Livingston County,     Baltimore Suburban
     Ontario, CA                 MI                     West, MD
   Chicago DMA                Houston DMA              Baltimore Suburban
     Chicago, IL                Houston, TX             East MD
     Schaumburg, IL           Seattle-Tacoma DMA     Portland, OR DMA
   Philadelphia DMA             Seattle Metro, WA      Portland Metro, OR
     Philadelphia, PA           South King             Greater Westside,
     Allentown, PA               County, WA             OR
     Wilmington, DE             Tacoma/Pierce          Clackamas County,
   San Francisco DMA             Cnty, WA               OR
     Los Altos, CA              Puyallup/Pierce        East County, OR
     San Mateo Central, CA       Cnty, WA              Vancouver, WA
     San Mateo North, CA        Snohomish            Indianapolis DMA
     San Francisco, CA           County, WA            Indianapolis, IN
     San Jose/Santa Clara, CA   Eastside, WA         Hartford & New Haven
     Oakland, CA              Tampa-St. Petersburg    DMA
     Sonoma, CA                DMA                     Greater Hartford
     Marin, CA                  Tampa, FL               Area, CT
     Palo Alto, CA              St. Petersburg, FL   Charlotte DMA
   Boston DMA                 Minneapolis-St. Paul    Charlotte
     Boston, MA                DMA                   Raleigh-Durham DMA
     Manchester-Concord, NH     Minneapolis Metro,     Raleigh, NC
     Nashua, NH                  MN                  Kansas City DMA
     Newburyport, MA-           St. Paul Metro, MN     Kansas City, MO
      Haverhill, NH             Highland Park, MN    Cincinnati DMA
   Columbus, OH DMA             Edina, MN              Cincinnati, OH
     Columbus, OH               Forest Lake, MN      Milwaukee DMA
   San Antonio DMA              Lake Minnetonka, MN  Greater Milwaukee,
     San Antonio, TX            Northwest Suburban,   WI
   Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/       MN                  Traverse City/Cadillac
   Battle Creek DMA             South of River Sub,   DMA
     Grand Rapids, MI            MN                    Traverse City, MI
   Birmingham DMA               S.E. St. Paul, MN    Peoria-Bloomington DMA
     Birmingham, AL             S.W. Suburban, MN      Peoria, IL
   Oklahoma City DMA            St. Croix Valley,    Santa Barbara-SanMar-
     Oklahoma City, OK           MN                  San Luis Obispo DMA
   Providence-New Bedford       White Bear Lake, MN    San Luis Obispo, CA
   DMA                        Phoenix DMA            Monterey-Salinas DMA
     Providence, RI           Flint-Saginaw-Bay        Monterey, CA
   Louisville DMA             City DMA               Boise DMA
     Louisville, KY             Genesee County         Boise, ID
   Jacksonville, Brunswick       (Flint), MI         Chico-Redding DMA
   DMA                        Wichita-Hutchinson       Butte County, CA
     Jacksonville, FL         DMA                      Shasta, CA
   Austin DMA                   Wichita, KS          Rockford DMA
     Austin, TX               Toledo DMA               Rockford, IL
   Little Rock-Pine Bluff       Toledo, OH           Columbia-Jefferson
   DMA                        Tucson (Sierra Vista)   City DMA
     Little Rock, AR          DMA                      Columbia (Jeff.
   Dayton DMA                   Tucson Metro, AZ        City), MO
     Dayton, OH                 Tucson Central, AZ   Lubbock DMA
   Tulsa DMA                    Tucson East, AZ        Lubbock-South
     Greater Tulsa, OK          Tucson North-N.W.,      Plains, TX
   Mobile-Pensacola              AZ                  Lake Charles DMA
    (Ft. Walt) DMA            Des Moines-Ames DMA      Lake Charles, LA
     Pensacola, FL              Des Moines, IA       Laredo DMA
                              Omaha DMA                Laredo Borderplex,
                                Omaha, NE               TX Area
                              Shreveport DMA
                                Texarkana, TX
                              Madison DMA
                                Madison, WI
                              Cedar Rapids-Waterloo
                               DMA
                                Cedar Rapids, IA
                              Waco-Temple-Bryan DMA
                                Brazos Valley, TX
                              Colorado Springs-
                                Pueblo DMA
                                Colorado Springs,
                                 CO
                              Davenport-R. Island-
                               Moline DMA
                                Quad Cities, IA


  * Some of the listed report geographies have more than one measured DDA.