Mobile-Optimized Website Makes It Easy to Opt-Out of Phone Directory Delivery From a Smartphone or Tablet

TROY, Mich., Nov. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Yellow Pages publishers today introduced a mobile version of their consumer choice website at www.YellowPagesOptOut.com to provide residents and businesses nationwide with the ability to easily manage the delivery of phone directories directly from their smartphones and web-enabled tablets. Both the mobile and desktop versions of the website, developed by the Local Search Association and the Association of Directory Publishers, offer consumers a single location to select which phone directories they want to receive, or to stop delivery altogether.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131122/DE22543)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110418/NY84627LOGO)

Many consumers rely on print Yellow Pages to make purchases that support local businesses and the local economy, and others prefer to use the increasing number of digital and mobile solutions offered by directory publishers. For those who prefer to only use online tools, Yellow Pages publishers are encouraging consumers to opt-out of directory delivery at their desktops or on-the-go through a few clicks at www.YellowPagesOptOut.com.

"Yellow Pages publishers want to make it as simple and straightforward as possible for those who want to control directory delivery to do so wherever and whenever they choose," said Neg Norton, president of the Local Search Association. "The introduction of a mobile version of www.YellowPagesOptOut.com demonstrates the ongoing commitment of Yellow Pages publishers to enable consumers to manage the directories they receive."

The consumer choice website is made available by Yellow Pages publishers at no cost to residents, businesses and state and local governments. Contact information collected through this secure website is used for the sole purpose of updating publishers' distribution lists and is not used for marketing or sold to third parties.

"Yellow Pages publishers have nothing to gain by delivering unwanted directories," said Norton. "We are fully committed to ensuring that those who choose to opt-out of delivery are able to do so for free and without hesitation that their personal information will be used in ways other than removing them from distribution lists."

Partnerships and Promotions Succeed in Raising Visibility for Consumer Choice
The introduction of the mobile version of www.YellowPagesOptOut.com is the latest effort by Yellow Pages publishers to raise public awareness, education and access to consumers to customize directory delivery to their homes and businesses. Since an updated version of the website launched in 2011, Yellow Pages publishers have undertaken various efforts to raise the site's visibility, including:

• Printing opt-out information, including the website URL, on directory covers;
• Partnering with state officials in Washington, Illinois and Hawaii – as well as city officials in Seattle, Wash., Cleveland, Ohio, Highland Park, Ill., and numerous California municipalities – to promote the site in advance of directory delivery cycles;
• Attending numerous national and statewide conferences for government officials to discuss ways to promote consumer choice in their communities;
• Partnering with environmental groups, such as Keep America Beautiful, to provide opt-out information to their members;
• Developing an opt-out widget for government and environmental organizations to post on their websites.

Publishers' Sustainability Program Delivers Positive Outcomes
Through an integrated sustainability program, Yellow Pages publishers have not only improved delivery choice options for consumers, but also reduced paper usage, improved production and increased recycling rates.

• Yellow Pages publishers have made substantial reductions in paper usage. Paper usage decreased 58 percent between 2007-2012 and is projected to reach more than 60 percent by the end of 2013, driven by changes in directory sizes, more efficient manufacturing, reduction in residential white pages and www.YellowPagesOptOut.com.
• Publishers use paper made largely from leftover woodchips and other byproducts of the lumber industry, and some also included recycled content from newspapers, old directories and other paper-based products. Publishers also print directories with soy-based ink and bound books with vegetable-based adhesives that are environmentally safe.
• Phone books are frequently recycled. The EPA's latest Municipal Solid Waste Facts and Figures (2011) reported that the paper category including newspaper, directories and other mechanical papers maintains a high recycling rate of 72.5 percent.

The consumer choice website, www.YellowPagesOptOut.com, is managed in collaboration with the Association of Directory Publishers.

About the Local Search Association
The Local Search Association (www.localsearchassociation.org) is the largest trade organization of companies focused on print, digital, mobile and social media solutions that help local businesses get found and selected by ready-to-buy consumers.  Association members include U.S. and international directory publishers, search engine marketers, online listings and review sites, digital advertising agencies and mobile search providers. The Association has members in 29 countries.

Read the Local Search Association blog www.localsearchinsider.com and follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/LocalSearchAssn) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/LocalSearchAssn).  To choose which phone directories you receive or stop delivery, visit www.YellowPagesOptOut.com.

About Association of Directory Publishers
The Association of Directory Publishers (ADP) is an international trade association founded in 1898 to promote the establishment and maintenance of the highest standard of quality and service in directory publishing.  It provides to its members with industry-relevant communications, content-rich meetings and conventions, research, legal and legislative support and various other programs and services. 

CONTACT:
David Fishman
FleishmanHillard
david.fishman@fleishman.com
212-453-2115

SOURCE Local Search Association