Yellow® announces trial of 'opt in' system for White Pages® Auckland residential book
Yellow® has today announced that Aucklanders will be able to choose to receive a copy of the White pages® residential book this year, as the company pilots an ‘opt in’ system for the first time.
CEO Chris Armistead said the trial was driven by a change in behaviour and feedback from consumers.
“Our job at Yellow is to move with the times and do whatever we can to help Kiwis find the information they want, wherever, whenever and however they’re searching, be that online, mobile or via a book. Aucklanders are changing - they’re using the White pages® book less and www.whitepages.co.nz more – and we’ve had consumers asking us when we’ll consider an opt in system for the delivery of our residential directories. So, we looked into how we could offer Aucklanders a choice for the White pages® this year.”
Yellow® commissioned research to confirm Aucklanders wanted the chance to ‘opt in’. A Nielsen survey revealed 75%* of Auckland residents agreed there should be a choice to receive the White pages® residential phone books upon request.
Yellow® is under contract to provide White pages® directories to New Zealand homes. This comes from the TSO (Telecommunications Service Obligation), which is an historic agreement between Telecom and the Crown. When Telecom sold Yellow Pages that became an obligation Yellow® owe to Telecom. The ‘opt in’ pilot was agreed with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, who oversee the TSO.
“The way we connect is evolving, and people are changing how they search for information. At the same time, we’re transforming our business to connect New Zealanders in their homes or businesses. We appreciate this is a change for Aucklanders who use White pages®, which is why we’re making sure people who rely on the book, can still get their free copy. It’s about trying to get the balance right as we transform our offering to include print and digital,” said Armistead.
Yellow® expect there to be some environmental benefits from the Auckland ‘opt in’ pilot.
“If 30% of Aucklanders order the White pages® Residential book this year, that will save around 770 tonnes of paper and 32 truck trips from Masterton to Auckland for distribution.”
The results of the Opt In trial will be evaluated with the Ministry and used to inform future deliveries of White pages® directories.
Auckland residents who wish to receive the White pages® residential book will need to order a copy, which will be delivered in June 2013. Normal delivery of the Yellow pages® and White pages® business book will start in March 2013.
TO ORDER THE AUCKLAND WHITE PAGES® RESIDENTIAL BOOK
· Go online to www.ypgbooks.co.nz
· Call toll free on 0800 803 803.
· Write in to "White pages® Book Orders, PO Box 17-157, Greenlane, Auckland 1546.”
*Source: Nielsen CMI Recontact Study – Opting in Testing January 13. Total sample size of 1000 respondents aged 15+ living in Auckland.