Americans Return to the Yellow Pages for Rental Item Needs.

"Rental Service" Yellow Pages Heading Referenced 54 Million Times Per Year

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. -- Whether planning a party, steam cleaning carpets or clearing trees, it's no surprise that consumers and businesses turn to the Yellow Pages when they need to rent items for short-term use. In fact, according to the Yellow Pages Association[TM] (YPA[TM]), the "Rental Service" Yellow Pages heading ranks 42ndout of more than 4,000 headings and generates more than 54 million references annually (1).

"The rental market is nearly a $33 billion industry that has grown from $18.5 billion in 1998," said Ken Hughes, vice president of communications of the American Rental Association. "This represents a compound annual growth rate of 7.4 percent."

When consumers or businesses reference the "Rental Service" Yellow Pages heading, they most frequently need heavy construction equipment (32 percent), lawn and garden tools (22 percent), party-related items (15 percent) and power tools (8 percent) (1).

Yellow Pages advertising has proven to be a powerful and effective medium for rental stores, as 90 percent of "Rental Service" look-ups result in a transaction (1). Additionally, active shoppers search the Yellow Pages for rental information two times more than any other advertising medium (2).

"Historically, rental stores have relied on print and Internet Yellow Pages to help generate business because of the medium's high return on investment - $6 of profit for every $1 spent on Yellow Pages advertising (3)," said Larry Small, director of research of YPA. "On average, these businesses can expect their Yellow Pages display advertisement to deliver more than $107,000 in revenue annually (1)."

For more information on specific Yellow Pages headings, please visit the Yellow Pages Association Web site at http://www.ypassociation.org.

(1) -- 2006 Knowledge Networks/SRI

(2) -- TNS 2006 Media Impact Study

(3) -- 2006 CRM Associates

*The top 12 most frequently referenced headings are: Restaurants, Physicians-Surgeons, Automobile Parts, Automobile Repairing-Service, Pizza, Attorneys-Lawyers, Automobile Dealers, Dentists, Hospitals, Plumbing Contractors, Beauty Salons and Insurance.

About The Yellow Pages Association

Originally founded in 1975 as the National Yellow Pages Service Association (NYPSA), the Yellow Pages Association (YPA) is the trade organization of a print and digital media industry valued at more than $26 billion worldwide ($14 billion in the U.S.). Association members include Yellow Pages publishers, who produce products that account for almost 90 percent of the Yellow Pages revenue generated in the U.S. and Canada. Members also include the industry's international, national and local sales forces, certified marketing representatives (CMRs) and associate members, a group of industry stakeholders that include Yellow Pages advertisers, vendors and suppliers. The Association has members in 29 countries.

Neg Norton is president of the Association. Katherine J. Harless, president and CEO of Idearc Inc., is the Board Chair. YPA board member companies include AT&T Advertising and Publishing, R.H. Donnelley, Yellow Pages Group, Ambassador Publications, the Association of Directory Marketing, DataNational/Volt Directory Systems, Marquette Group, RR Donnelley and Wahlstrom Group.

The Yellow Pages medium provides a powerful return on investment for advertisers and can serve as the cornerstone of an integrated advertising media mix. For more information, please visit the YPA Web site at www.ypassociation.org or call [phone]. To learn more about Yellow Pages advertising, visit www.buyyellow.com. For a Who's Who of Internet Yellow Pages and search engines, visit www.localsearchguide.org.