By JODI SOKOLOWSKI
Buffalo Law Journal

High demand has forced phone-book publishers to get creative about the advertising space they can allot. From front- and back-cover display slots to "tip on" stickers and ink imprint ads, today's directories are covered with ads - nearly all of them, in the case of Western New York's two directories, placed by law firms.

Many firms say advertising in phone books gets them the biggest bang for their buck.

"Almost all attorneys are represented in some way in the phone book; everybody's doing it," said Dennis Kahn, a partner at Siegel Kelleher & Kahn.

"Consumers don't think of it as advertising," said Greg Garrick, vice president of marketing for the Talking Phone Book. "Where do you go when you're actively looking and willing to buy? You go to the Yellow Pages. You don't wait for the TV or the radio to run an ad."

The challenge is in getting and keeping a premier spot in the phone book, lawyers advertisers say.

Siegel Kelleher & Kahn has the back cover of the Verizon Yellow Pages this year, as it did last year, and this year added a side ink stamp. Cantor Lukasik Dolce Panepinto PC has had the back page of the Talking Phone Book for at least 10 years. Both firms plan to hold onto those spots, for which they retain right of first refusal, indefinitely.

"It's a quick and easy way for people to remember who we are and where we are," said Dan Lukasik, a partner at Cantor Lukasik.

More more more

Phone-book publishers have been adding new ad space throughout the book and in their Yellow Pages. A breakdown of law firms by practice group immediately follows the alphabetical lawyer listings, which are interspersed with "double-truck" two-page ads.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how much farther we can go with it," said Bob Brown, market manager for central and Western New York for Idearc, Verizon Yellow Pages' parent company. "The next direction is the online product. It's a world of opportunity that's just beginning to be tapped."

While the new spaces are selling, the variety and cost of the placements make it difficult for firms to maintain high-profile spots, said Michael Reilly of Reilly Printing & Graphics, who brokers directory advertising for Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys at Law.

Firm principal Jeffrey Freedman said he was the first lawyer in the area to have a display ad in phone books, and later followed those with full-page ads. At the time, he recalled, "My telephone would ring off the hook, but now it's a different story."

When the directory publishers added double-truck pages, Freedman's full-page ads got bumped to later pages. "(The) value of our full-page ad diminished significantly," Reilly said. That forced advertisers to consider cost-cutting steps, such as eliminating color from ads.

Talking Phone Book's Garrick said there is great competition and "urgency" to be as close to the front to the heading as possible.

"People guard their positions zealously," he said. "It speaks to how successful it is."

Kahn said his firm purchases display advertising in almost every one of the practice-area subcategories in the Verizon book. "We've chosen to do that (to be) more of a presence," Kahn said. "It might not be (cost-effective) for all law firms, but it is for us because of the volume of our practice."

However, with all the different ad options and two major phone books in the area, too much advertising may not be worthwhile. "A lot of lawyers spend a lot of money advertising, but they can get lost in the books," Kahn said. "The proof will be in the pudding."

Worth the expense?

Garrick said lawyers get a high return rate on their phone-book investments - $14 for every dollar spent, according to The Talking Phone Book, and $18 for every dollar, according to Verizon Yellow Pages.

Lawyers say those are good odds.

"I don't think it's an easy thing to calculate, but it translates into a lot of things - public awareness about your firm and goodwill in the community.... We think it reflects the kind of practice we have," said Lukasik. His firm's ads declare, "It's time working families had their own law firm."

Directory publishers and lawyers alike predict that lawyer advertising in phone books will remain highly competitive.

"It just seems (lawyers) arrived at the conclusion that (phone books) are a wise place to be," Reilly said. "You have to assume there's results."

 

Phone-book facts

The Yellow Pages Association says the lawyer category is sixth on the list of headings most frequently referenced by directory users, generating nearly 290 million references annually. The top five?
1. Restaurants
2. Physicians and surgeons
3. Auto parts-new and used
4. Auto repair and service
5. Pizza

Nearly four out of 10 consumers rate the Yellow Pages as the most acceptable form of attorney advertising, according to Wiese Research Associates Inc.