Catalog and Publication Outlook: A Cautious New Year

There was some positive news for directory publishers in 2009, as revenues began to stabilize. While there were declines in the printed directory arena, there were gains associated with a variety of Internet offerings.

"Direct mail has emerged as a significant new revenue stream opportunity for directory publishers. They are also focusing more resources on sales training and many are migrating to a new business model of 'pay for performance,' " explains Todd Omvig, executive vice president of sales at World-
color. "Publishers are also finding that they can optimize sales by bundling their print, Internet and mobile offerings to deliver more leads and customers to their advertisers—with print remaining at the core of the bundled offering."