Yellow Pages "Yellow Treehouse"

Yellow say they can help anyone get any job done - they wanted to prove it, to both consumers and advertisers alike. But in proving it they also wanted to change perceptions that Yellow Pages is just a yellow directory book. But that with Yellow online and mobile tools, it is a relevant and modern service, more useful today than it has ever been. So they chose to do an ultimate product demonstration, one that would capture the imaginations and attention of both consumers, advertisers and the media, and make them think differently about Yellow. They decided to challenge someone to build a restaurant in a tree only using Yellow Pages to make it happen. They picked Tracey, an unknown accordion player from 200 applicants, and based her in a redwood forest with Yellow books, a laptop and mobile phone. Over 3 months she worked with more than 65 Yellow listed companies to build a tree house restaurant. They documented the whole event and kept New Zealand updated with TV, outdoor and a website. Tracey even opened the restaurant and more than 2000 people enjoyed the experience of dining there in its first month. Other than proving you can get any job done with Yellow they had these results: They generated an estimated 3.5 million in media coverage. Including being featured in newspapers, on radio talkback, television news and magazine shows, in over 60 international magazines, and on more than 20,000 websites. They attracted 220,000 visitors to our website averaging 5 minutes per visit. They lifted unprompted brand recall up by 37%. Regional directory sales up 6.7% against international trends. Yellow Online usage up 11% at the expense of Google. Yellow Book usage up 9.2%. This campaign was three times more effective than any previous Yellow campaign. And Yellow are now asking “What are they going to do next year.” In fulfilling her challenge, Tracey utilised all of Yellow’s tools. The books, the online search engine, and their mobile phone application. She enlisted the help of more than 65 different Yellow listed companies, including architects, engineers, building project managers, landscapers, engineers, crane operators, furniture hire companies, aborists, electricians, lighting companies, food and beverage suppliers, vineyards and many more. So not only did this demonstrate to Yellow pages users the strength of Yellow as a method of finding help and getting jobs done. It also demonstrated to advertisers the value of being listed in Yellow, particularly in the new online space. Bronze Cannes Lions Promo Winner.

Agency: Colenso BBDO Auckland, New Zealand.