Prepared by the Association of Directory Marketing, Inc. Pittsburgh, PA August 2006
YELLOW PAGES
Running Smoothly for National Advertisers
Mufflers & Exhaust
Accelerating Returns
Yellow Pages generates robust return on investment (ROI) and profit for
advertisers under Mufflers & Exhaust. Average ROI for Large and Medium
Display ads is 20:1, meaning that for every dollar spent on a Large or Medium
Display ad, the advertiser receives $20 in profit. Median ROI for Large and
Medium Display is 13:1. All display ads in this sample returned a strong 4:1
ROI or higher.
Average projected profit per location is $39,649 for Large and Medium
Display ads, and median profit per location is $30,577.
A recap of performance for Large and Medium Display ads is shown below.
Cost Per Call RESULTS
Average cost per call for Large and Medium $20 profit for every
Display ads is $3.90, and median is $3.73. $1 invested
Average Values for Large and
Medium Display Ads Based on Average Median
Projected Calls to a Single Location
ROI 20:1 13:1
Projected Profit $39,649 $30,577
Projected Annual Calls 848 654
Cost per Call $3.90 $3.73
Pages in Heading 5 4
Number of Ads in Heading 8 8
Number of Locations in Ad 11 11
Calls per Thousand Population 1.53 1.39
Number of Ads 28
THE SAMPLE
headings (Source: SRI 2006). Factors used in the analysis are: Customer value,
This analysis summarizes 28 Large and Medium Display ad units (FP, TQP,
$165; conversion factor, 56.7%; and profit margin, 42%; (averages of advertiser-
HP, THC, DHC) from tests conducted between 1997 and 2004 for four national
provided values in PAYS); percent of customers by phone, 95% (SRI 2005).
advertisers under the heading “Mufflers & Exhaust.” Ad costs were updated to
Please note: This information is intended for directional purposes only. Test
reflect June 2006 Rates and Data costs.
results vary by directory. Figures shown are based on past results and may not
Average heading size for all directories in test summary is 4 pages with 6
predict future results.
display ads. Average distribution is 685,000.
Category receives 17.7 million annual references, ranking 129th among all
Source: Proof that Advertising in Yellow Pages Sells (PAYS) Database of national yellow pages test results.
PAYS Database Summary for: Customer Value: $165
Conversion Factor: 56.7%
"Mufflers & Exhaust" Profit Margin: 42%
Based on Projected Calls to a Single Location % of Customer by Phone: 95%
Split Run Directory Position
or Keyed Test Distribution In Projected Calls/M Profit
Test # Ad Version (Thousands) Ad Unit Heading Total Calls Population Cost / Call Generated ROI
Test 1000+ FP Middle 778 0.54 $5.10 $36,370 9:1
1 Split Run
Control 1000+ THC Back 632 0.44 $2.35 $29,540 20:1
Test 1000+ FP ABLN Front 2,023 1.67 $6.62 $94,643 7:1
2 Split Run
Control 1000+ HP ABLN Middle 2,148 1.77 $3.39 $100,490 14:1
Test 500-999 FP ABLN Front 1,353 4.13 $2.74 $63,298 17:1
3 Split Run
Control 500-999 TQP ABLN Front 1,300 3.96 $2.14 $60,815 22:1
4 Keyed Ad Test 1000+ TQPC ABLN Front 449 0.13 $9.20 $20,999 5:1
Test 500-999 TQP ABLN Front 1,588 1.66 $4.91 $74,292 10:1
5 Split Run
Control 500-999 HP ABLN Front 1,267 1.32 $4.29 $59,258 11:1
Test 500-999 TQP Middle 967 1.19 $2.32 $45,237 20:1
6 Split Run
Control 500-999 BL Incolumn 619 0.76 $0.06 $28,974 787:1
Test <100-249 TQP ARL Middle 651 1.81 $1.48 $30,468 32:1
7 Split Run
Control <100-249 THC ARL Back 608 1.69 $0.84 $28,441 56:1
8 Keyed Ad Test 1000+ HP ARL Middle 202 0.07 $3.89 $9,458 12:1
Test 1000+ HP ABL Front 569 0.37 $6.24 $26,611 7:1
9 Split Run
Control 1000+ DHC ABL Middle 494 0.32 $3.60 $23,108 13:1
10 Keyed Ad Test 250-499 HP ARL Front 348 0.86 $10.79 $16,269 4:1
Test 250-499 HP ABLN Front 1,701 3.49 $9.02 $79,569 5:1
11 Split Run
Control 250-499 DHC ABLN Back 1,718 3.53 $4.72 $80,364 10:1
12 Keyed Ad Test 1000+ THC ABLN Back 306 0.11 $4.31 $14,298 11:1
13 Keyed Ad Test 1000+ THC ARL Middle 288 0.19 $3.87 $13,476 12:1
14 Keyed Ad Test 500-999 THC ABLN Front 771 0.93 $5.48 $36,042 9:1
15 Keyed Ad Test <100-249 THC ABLN Middle 656 1.86 $3.86 $30,686 12:1
Association of Directory Marketing Page 1 August 2006
PAYS Database Summary for: Customer Value: $165
Conversion Factor: 56.7%
"Mufflers & Exhaust" Profit Margin: 42%
Based on Projected Calls to a Single Location % of Customer by Phone: 95%
Split Run Directory Position
or Keyed Test Distribution In Projected Calls/M Profit
Test # Ad Version (Thousands) Ad Unit Heading Total Calls Population Cost / Call Generated ROI
Test 500-999 DHC ARL Front 835 0.83 $1.54 $39,059 30:1
16 Split Run
Control 500-999 TM Incolumn 863 0.86 $0.61 $40,362 77:1
17 Keyed Ad Test 250-499 DHC BLN Back 1,119 3.13 $1.58 $52,336 30:1
18 Keyed Ad Test <100-249 DHC ABLN Front 265 0.69 $0.82 $12,396 57:1
19 Keyed Ad Test <100-249 DHC ARL Front 310 2.46 $1.31 $14,519 36:1
20 Keyed Ad Test <100-249 DHC ABLN Front 254 1.46 $0.72 $11,881 65:1
21 Keyed Ad Test <100-249 DHC ARL Middle 133 23.39 $2.02 $62,354 23:1
22 Keyed Ad Test <100-249 TQC ABLN Front 561 2.62 $4.79 $26,242 10:1
23 Keyed Ad Test <100-249 TQC ARL Front 215 2.36 $6.91 $10,034 7:1
24 Keyed Ad Test <100-249 TQC ARL Front 113 3.78 $5.67 $5,298 8:1
25 Keyed Ad Test 250-499 DQC ABLN Front 144 0.30 $5.20 $6,736 9:1
26 Keyed Ad Test 1000+ QC ABLN Back 145 0.10 $16.10 $6,783 3:1
27 Keyed Ad Test 500-999 4HSA Incolumn 313 0.28 $1.49 $14,632 31:1
Association of Directory Marketing Page 2 August 2006
PAYS Database Summary for:
"Mufflers & Exhaust"
Based on Projected Calls to a Single Location
KEY:
Keyed Ad Test: A test method where an ad appears in 100% of the directory distribution. Unique phone number(s) appear in the ad. Calls are counted to calculate advertiser sales, profit and
Split Run Test: A test method where two versions of a directory are printed, each representing 50% of the directory distribution, and randomly distributed to insure equal representation of
households in the directory distribution area. In the same heading, one version contains the advertiser’s current ad, and the other version contains the advertiser’s test ad or larger ad. Calls
to each ad are counted using unique phone number(s). Split-run testing is valuable because alternative ads are performing in the same marketplace at the same time.
Projected Total Calls: Call counts are projected to reflect full cost, distribution and 13-month directory life. The 13-month period acknowledges:
a) yellow pages directories are distributed throughout the delivery month; and
b) some old directories continue to be used after new directories are delivered.
Projected data accounts for calls to locations not measured in the test. The projection is based on proportion of measured locations to total locations listed in the ad.
Calls to measured 800 and local numbers are projected separately, then combined. For example, calls to measured 800 numbers are projected to 13 months' directory life. Calls to
measured local number(s) are projected to 13 months' directory life and total number of locations listed in the ad. Then, total projected calls to 800 numbers and total projected calls to local
numbers are added. 800 numbers are not counted as a location, whether measured or not.
Calls/M Pop.(Number of Calls per Thousand Population): Calls/M Pop. per Location indicates how many calls were received for each 1,000 people in a directory area per location in an ad.
It is calculated by taking Projected Calls divided by initial directory population. Calls/M Pop is is an effective response measure since it does not include the cost of an ad, which can vary
across publisher territories.
Cost per Call equals the test ad cost divided by projected total calls. Cost per call can help an advertiser approximate the yellow pages advertising cost per customer. For example, the
advertiser in the first test has a cost per call of $5.36 for a FP and estimates that 56.7% of calls results in a sale. The yellow pages investment would be $9.45 per sales transaction
($5.36/0.567=$9.45).
Profit Generated is based on the number of customers generated by the test ad. The calculation is: (projected total calls to test ad) x (customer conversion factor) x (customer value) x (profit
margin) / (number of locations). It provides a way to look at ad performance, independent of ad cost.
ROI: Is a way to demonstrate to an advertiser the financial impact of yellow pages investment. ROI is typically expressed as a ratio in terms of either profit or sales return. For example, the
advertiser in the first test realized a profit 9 times the cost of the FP display ad.
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Association of Directory Marketing August 2006