New research sponsored by The Kelsey Group indicates that consumer local media preferences are in transition, influenced by demographic factors, including age, income and education. Kelsey Group analysts will present these findings and other new consumer research data at the firm's upcoming conference, Drilling Down on Local: Targeting the On-Demand Marketplace, March 26-28, at The Fairmont San Jose in San Jose, California.

One of the pieces of research to be presented at Drilling Down on Local is from an omnibus study conducted in February. A random sample of 500 teens and 1,000 adults in the U.S. were asked to indicate where they would turn to first” when looking for a business in their area. Print Yellow Pages was, not surprisingly, the No. 1 choice among all consumers surveyed. The one exception was teens, who indicated they would first turn to search engines when looking for local business information.

The top-level findings reflect the continued strength of print directories in the local market. However, a more complex picture emerges once the data are segmented. The younger and more educated and affluent consumers are, the more they tend to utilize online resources at the expense of traditional media:

• All consumers surveyed print Yellow Pages, 61%; search engines, 12%; directory assistance, 12%; online Yellow Pages, 7%
• Annual income over $75,000 print Yellow Pages, 51%; search engines, 27%; online Yellow Pages, 14%; directory assistance, 6%
• Teens search engines, 47%; print Yellow Pages, 28%; directory assistance, 13%; online Yellow Pages, 9%

This research, the U.S. portion of a global omnibus study, reinforces that this is a complicated and evolving marketplace, said Neal Polachek, senior vice president, research and consulting, The Kelsey Group. Consumers have a strong preference for print Yellow Pages. However, for local advertisers targeting certain demographic segments, online media should factor strongly in the promotional mix.

About Drilling Down on Local
This year's Drilling Down on Local conference will cover a range of on-demand related topics, from local search, pay-per-phone-call and Internet Yellow Pages to IPTV, VoIP and wireless platforms.

Gerry Campbell, senior vice president, AOL Search, was recently added as a keynote speaker, joining other keynoters: Eric Chandler, president, Internet Division, Verizon SuperPages.com; Dan Gillmor, blogger, author, and founder and director, The Center for Citizen Media; and Safa Rashtchy, senior research analyst, Internet media and marketing, and managing director, Piper Jaffray.

The agenda features more than 50 speakers from the companies that are shaping the marketplace, including AdMission, Blinkx, Edgeio.com, Google, Hearst Newspapers, Ingenio, Jambo, Jingle Networks, Judy’s Book, Local Matters, Microsoft, Pay-Per-Call/Miva, Spot Runner, Truveo and Yahoo!.

Conference sponsors include Acxiom, AgendiZe, Apptus, eStara, Fast Search & Transfer, Hawthorne Executive Search, Ingenio, Jambo, LiveDeal, Local Matters, LocalEZE, Marchex, PremierGuide, Telcontar, Verizon SuperPages.com, Yahoo! and YellowPages.com. Media sponsors include IPTV Industry and TVover.net. Association partners include Association of Directory Marketing (ADM), Association of Directory Publishers (ADP), Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), San Francisco Chapter of American Marketing Association (SF/AMA), Wireless Communications Alliance (WCA) & WCA/Metro Special Interest Group (MetroSIG), and Yellow Pages Association (YPA). For more information about the conference, contact The Kelsey Group by phone at (609) 921-7200, Ext. 10, or visit http://www.kelseygroup.com/dd2006/.