• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 16, 2003

In a move that would be considered controversial for most major media, the yellow pages industry Monday will launch a Web site to host online auctions of unsold advertising inventory in print and electronic directories. The decision to launch BuyYellow.com follows a test conducted by the Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association in June that yielded positive results.

The site also is unusual because it is rare for a media trade group to take on the role of an advertising sales intermediary. Think of the Magazine Publishers of America hawking ad pages, or the Interactive Advertising Bureau pitching banner ads.

But beginning Monday, online and print directory publications can begin posting inventory on the site, which will begin accepting bids from certified media buyers - known in the trade ad certified marketing representatives, or CMRs - on Thursday.

In fact, BuyYellow.com will offer more than just print and online inventory. The site will enable CMRs to purchase wireless yellow pages listings on PDA and cell phones, media that are expected to be a significant part of the future of the directories business.

That the yellow pages industry would look to utilize the Web to optimize unsold advertising inventory is not surprising. Maria Benoit, market development and support director at YPIMA points out that 15 percent to 30 percent of "premier, specialty and other space" including covers, tabs, tip-ons and other directory inventory, goes unsold.

"They are also looking for additional opportunities to market newer products like Internet advertising or direct-delivery programs," Benoit said of the YPIMA members. "CMRs and agencies have similar needs, seeking new inventory and bundles to increase advertiser buys, reward or acknowledge top clients and find cost-effective ways to introduce new clients and advertisers."

But while YPIMA believes an auction site might be the best way to put buyers and sellers together, the perception on Madison Avenue is that media auctions are a commodities play that diminishes the underlying value of media.