The Kelsey Group announced the release of a study which estimated the worldwide market valuation of the Yellow Pages industry to be in excess of US $100 billion.
The report, "Global Yellow Pages (GlobalYP) 2005: The Kelsey Group's Outlook & Forecast," says that reliable cash flows and increased advertiser interest in new and directional media are among the influences that have increased the Yellow Pages industry's worth.
The report shares metrics on companies and markets profiled, including revenues, growth rates, titles and distribution, employees, size of sales force, online and wireless products, and key developments.
The Kelsey Group says the report is designed as a strategic planning tool for directory publishers, investors, industry suppliers and Yellow Pages agencies.
"The global Yellow Pages industry is a powerful economic force. The industry employed more than 73,000 people worldwide in 2004, and generated revenue of US $28.9 billion, according to our research," says Charles Laughlin, program director, The Kelsey Report and lead author of GlobalYP 2005.
"The Yellow Pages claims they were the originator of local search. The steps that Google, Yahoo! and other online players are taking into local search might have in some way inspired traditional Yellow Pages publishers to become more innovate and adaptive. Also, at the end of the day, everybody will win because directional media, which includes online, local search, print and other flavors such as wireless, is important when the advertiser is closer to the transaction," says Neal Polacheck, senior VP, The Kelsey Group.
Last week AOL announced a partnership with Yellow Pages.com. The two companies partnered to feature YellowPages.com, SBC SMARTpages.com and BellSouth RealPages.com advertisers on AOL Yellow Pages.
The Kelsey Group estimates that 70 percent of U.S. households today use the internet as an information source when shopping locally for products and services.
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