The changing face of Sydney

It is official: slacks, blouses and discotheques are out and apprenticeships, property styling and juice bars are in, according to heading changes in the 2009 Yellow Pages®Directory.

Almost every home and business in Sydney is about to receive the 2009 Yellow Pages®Directory and the latest edition provides a fascinating snapshot of changes to our lifestyle, language and the technology we use today.  

The directory shows the needs of Australians have shifted to focus on health and environmental products and services, in addition to our language evolving to a less formal, more colloquial style of English.

Over recent years a large number of headings in the Yellow Pages®Directory have been added, removed or rephrased.

Notable additions to the Yellow Pages®Directory include new headings for Apprenticeships, Property Styling and Juice Bars, along with Environmental Products, Pizzas and Animal and Pet Enclosures.

Moving with the times, it's not surprising headings for Asbestos Products, Crumpet Makers and Calculating Services have been removed, as have Pencil Manufacturers, Island Agents & Merchants and Telex Equipment and Supplies.

In the ever-changing fashion industry, headings such as Blouse Wholesalers & Manufacturers, and Skirts & Slacks Retail are no longer, while headings such as Fashion Accessories continue to grow as more and more people accessorise for the right look.

More common products and services have also received a much needed language makeover. These include dropping the word Discotheques and replacing with Nightclubs, changing Handyman's Equipment to the more politically correct Hardware Retail and replacing Hunters & Trappers with the more civilised Pest Control (see table below for more examples of changes to headings).

Connecting Australian buyers and sellers for more than 80 years now, the Yellow Pages® print directory is used by people in Sydney more than 3.4 million times each month[1], with nine out of 10 searches resulting in contact with a business and of those, seven out of 10 resulting in a purchase[2].

YellowTM Group Marketing Manager, Stephen Harvy said through its role supporting small businesses and helping to drive economic activity in Sydney, the Yellow Pages® print directory provides a unique chronicle of tastes, trends and economic activity.

"We're extremely proud of the role the Yellow Pages directory plays in society, helping to connect buyers with hundreds of thousands of small businesses across Australia. It continues to be a much loved one-stop-shop for just about anything people in Sydney need," he said.

"The Yellow Pages® print directory provides great insights into what's popular with shoppers and how local businesses are adapting to meet their needs. For example, with people's growing environmental awareness, we've seen an influx of businesses offering environmental products and services such as tanks and tank equipment and solar energy equipment."

"New and emerging lifestyle related headings are also providing a good guide to how people are spending their leisure time. For example, one of our fastest growing headings in terms of the number of business listings is Surfing Instruction. This year, we've also added a number of headings under Clubs, such as Parachuting, Rock Climbing and Go-Karting," Mr Harvy said.

This year, the Yellow Pages®Directory includes new features to help make finding local businesses even easier. A new section called 'Your Sydney' highlights public transport routes within the CBD, a map showing the location of city attractions, as well as a section of inner-city street maps of Sydney from UBD.

Together with the 2009 Sydney YellowTMDirectory, Sydneysiders will this year receive a mini-edition called the YellowTMIn the CarTM Directory. A small, glovebox size, the YellowTMIn the CarTM Directory is a portable directory for people to use when out and about or to keep in a handy location such as the car or the workshop.

"The trials of the YellowTMIn the CarTM Directory we've conducted with consumers and advertisers over the past three years have been very successful. People love the format and the convenience so this year we are delivering it to homes and business together with the 2009 Sydney Yellow Pages®Directory," Mr Harvy said.

With the delivery of this year's YellowTM directories, Mr Harvy encouraged people to recycle their old directories by putting them in their regular kerbside recycling service.

"Last year people in Sydney recycled an incredible 81% of their directories and re-used another 16%. This meant that only 3% ended up going to landfill which is a world-class result. Now the challenge is to raise the bar again and recycle or re-use even more old directories," Mr Harvy said.

The fibre content of paper used within YellowTM (Metro, Regional and Local) and White Pages® directories contains an average of 45% recycled paper fibre and 27% recycled timber mill waste.  The fibre content of carton board used for YellowTM (Metro, Regional and Local) and White Pages® directory covers, tabs and bookmarks contains an average of 29% recycled paper fibre and 40% recycled timber mill waste.

For more information about what can be recycled in your local area visit the www.recyclingnearyou.com.au website - bought to Australians via a partnership between Sensis and Planet Ark.

-ends-

New headings - 2007 & 2008 include:

• Electrical Testing & Tagging
• Environmental Products
• Surfing Instruction
• Pizzas
• Underground Service Locators
• Juice Bars
• Mosaics
• Animal and Pet Enclosures
• Apprenticeships
• Facilitators
• Gutter Cleaning
• Property Styling
• Foot and Hand Carers
• Clubs - Birdwatching
• Clubs - Collectables and Memorabilia
• Clubs - Four Wheel Drive
• Clubs - Go Karting
• Clubs - Handball
• Clubs - Paddling
• Clubs - Historic Machinery
• Clubs - Parachuting
• Clubs - Rock Climbing
• Clubs - Water Skiing
• Clubs - Wrestling
• Traffic schools

Deleted headings - 2007 & 2008 include:

• Asbestos Products
• Ashes
• Biorhythm Services
• Blouse Wholesalers & Manufacturers
• Bottling Outfits
• Carbon Paper/Ribbons
• Calculating Services
• Chamois Leather
• Commissioners For Affidavits
• Dealers - General & Securities
• Document Exchanges
• Island Agents &/Or Merchants
• Marquetry
• Skirts & Slacks - Wholesalers & Manufacturers
• Skirts & Slacks - Retail
• Textile Fibres
• Videotex Equipment & Supplies

Re-phrased headings - 2007 & 2008 include:

• Nightclubs & Discotheques has changed to Nightclubs
• Finance - Money Market Dealers has changed to Finance - Short Term Loans
• Coal and Coke has changed to Fuel Merchants
• Designers - Interior has changed to Interior Designers
• Hair Ornaments has changed to Fashion Accessories
• Diamond Setters to has changed to Jewellers - Wholesale & Manufacturing
• Medical Practitioners has changed to Doctors - Medical Practitioners
• Glass Tinting & Insulation has changed to Window Tinting
• Porcelain Products has changed to Ceramics - Art & Hobby

Media enquiries:

Red Agency, Emily Bellemore, ph: 03 9670 8350, email: emily.bellemore@redagency.com.au

Sensis, Stephen Ronchi, ph: 8653 7828, mob: 0417 138 649, email: Stephen.Ronchi@sensis.com.au

® & TM Registered trademark and trademark Telstra Corporation Limited (ABN 33 051 775 556)

[1] Roy Morgan Single Source Australia: monthly average July 2006-June 2007.

[2] Independent research of people aged 18-64 conducted by TNS in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, October 2006-March 2007 & July 2007-September 2007.