Why Partner with P&B? | Partnership Options | P&B Guides | Advertiser FAQ
The Pink and Blue Pages…how smart businesses connect with local families
- It should come as little surprise that a Mom conceived a publication as useful and concise as the Pink and Blue Pages…or that Moms are the inspiration behind its phenomenal growth throughout the Carolinas during the last 5 years.
- Research confirms that women represent the largest market in America.
- Women are the sole or primary decision maker in the vast majority of households accounting for over 80% of all U.S. household expenditures*.
- Moms agree that the Pink and Blue Pages convenient size and unique A-Z format, complimented by more than 50 Mom-friendly guides, helps them to simplify their family's daily spending decisions.
- Moms, and parents in general, turn to the Pink and Blue Pages to find just the right school…the perfect camp…the ideal community in which to live…a great birthday party alternative…the right church…the best physician…a family-friendly restaurant…the ideal next car…bunk beds for the twins…the most appropriate after-school program…the perfect family vacation…that special gift for the Mom-to-be…the reasons are endless!
*STATISTICS FROM TRENDSIGHT.COM
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Why Partner with P&B?
Year-round impact: Unlike a newspaper or magazine, your multiple messages in the twice-annual Pink and Blue Pages do not abruptly disappear at the conclusion of a day, a week or a month!
Custom-designed advertising partnerships: The Pink and Blue Pages works with its clients to develop custom-designed multi-dimensional advertising partnerships.
The 'Mom factor': Pink and Blue cost-effectively connects advertisers with more local Moms…the family member who makes the vast majority of the daily buying decisions…than any other medium. P&B reaches up to 150,000 family households per market.
Geographic targeting with multi-market opportunities: The local nature of the Pink and Blue Pages ensures that advertisers pay only to reach their potential customers. Multi-market discounts are offered to those businesses looking for presence in two or more P&B markets.
Widespread, documented distribution: The Pink and Blue Pages is virtually everywhere in each local market. Distribution through the take-home packs of local preschool and elementary students and inclusion in relocation packages is complimented by extensive distribution in grocery stores as well as in specialty shops, professional offices and churches, restaurants and local attractions.
Unique opportunities: Pink and Blue welcomes the opportunity to assist your business or organization in developing positive synergies with other businesses or organizations with compatible goals.
Outstanding, no-charge ad design: Pink and Blue's team of talented designers bring your message to life at no additional cost.
Ad Agency-Friendly: The Pink and Blue Pages has very positive working relationships with ad agencies of all sizes in all of its markets.
The Pink and Blue team: With years of advertising, publication, design, event-marketing and entrepreneurial experience, your friends at Pink and Blue are always available to help you build your business.
Partnership Opportunities
TELL MORE OF YOUR STORY WITH A CUSTOMIZED MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ADVERTISING PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKS…
The Pink and Blue Pages unique format enables you to take advantage of the combination of bold listings in multiple categories, inclusion in key guides and creative display advertising. No other local advertising alternative gives families a better opportunity to understand the depth of what your business does or what your service offers.
BOLD LISTINGS highlight your company/organization name, address, phone & website under multiple, diverse categories… and refer reader/users to your display ad(s).
GUIDE PLACEMENT brings added attention to your business or service in a manner a reader/user simply cannot overlook.
DISPLAY ADS, ranging from 1/8th page B&W ads to 4-page premium color center spreads, provide limitless options. Many businesses place ads in multiple categories to better connect with their potential customers.
EVENT MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES, often included by Pink and Blue as part of a multi-dimensional marketing partnership, are guaranteed to enhance the overall success of your ad campaign. Planned visits by our on-staff family entertainer extraordinaire plus access to state-of-the-art 'inflatables' are some of the many options available.
P&B Guides
Customized marketing partnerships always work better!
CAN YOUR BUSINESS OR SERVICE AFFORD NOT TO BE INCLUDED IN ONE OR MORE OF THE MOM-INSPIRED GUIDES FEATURED WITHIN THE PINK AND BLUE PAGES?
- After School Program Guide
- Auto Care Guide
- Birthday Guide
- Camp Guide
- Child Care Guide
- Children's Clothing Guide
- Dance Guide
- Date Night Guide
- Day Trip Guide
- Family Worship Guide
- Fitness Guide
- Fun Guide
- Furniture Guide
- Gymnastics Guide
- Health & Wellness Guide
- Home Services Guide
- Kindergarten Guide
- Martial Arts Guide
- Maternity/ Newborn Guide
- Parent/Child Activity Guide
- Parents' Night Out Guide
- Physicians' Guides
- Preschool Guide
- Private School Guide
- Public School Calendars
- Restaurant Guide
- Tutoring Guide
- Vacation Guide
- Volunteering Guide
Advertiser FAQ
1. How often does each local edition come out?
The Pink and Blue Pages is printed semi-annually. As a family resource guide, research shows that our publication would be less effective if printed monthly. This twice-a-year schedule also allows existing advertisers to alter their ad copy from one-edition to the next. In addition, printing twice each year enables new advertisers the opportunity to reach local families without having to wait up to 12 months.
2. Pink and Blue refers to 'developing marketing partnerships'. What exactly does that mean?
As a family resource guide, we have become very adept at helping our advertisers connect their businesses with local families in a variety of ways. Besides being effectively placed in multiple locations within our publication, we offer our advertising partners affordable assistance with all of their event marketing needs. In addition, we are often connecting local, non-competitive businesses so that they each can benefit from one another. Pink and Blue also offers branding services including web & logo design.
3. Why are most advertisers featured in multiple locations throughout the publication?
As a resource guide, it is important that Pink and Blue helps to simplify the decision-making process local families face daily. It is our intention to provide our reader/users as much information and as many options as possible in an easy-to-use format. Hence, advertisers who offer a varied line of products or services are often featured in multiple guides and are listed in multiple categories. Color advertisers always receive an accompanying B&W ad near the appropriate category or categories. By being in multiple locations, advertisers can tell more of their story throughout the publication. As a result, their ad(s) are more effective because they are not 'crammed full' of the information that is now available throughout the publication.
4. Why doesn't Pink and Blue sell from a traditional rate card?
Great question! The Pink and Blue Pages works with its advertisers to develop uniquely tailored marketing partnership options. Listing all potential components with 'a la carte prices' simply would not work because your customized partnership will reflect substantial package discounts. Please be aware that that your P&B rep will be able to provide you with 'pricing baselines' after reviewing your needs and expectations with you.
5. What are the advantages of becoming a 'color' advertiser?
Advertisers who include a premium color ad in their P&B package receive both the bang & sizzle that only color can offer as well as B&W ad presence near their bold listing(s) and guide inclusion. Color advertising options include quarter, half and full page ads as well as cover placement, 2-page 'doubletrucks' and 4-page center spreads. Research confirms that color advertising has an 80% higher retention rate.
6. The Pink and Blue Pages refers to itself as demographically and geographically targeted. Exactly how does that benefit an advertiser?
Our publication does not intend to be 'all things for all people'. The Pink and Blue Pages realizes that as family resource guide, our specific content and our distribution sources should be geared almost entirely to assisting local families with their daily decision-making. Geographically, we have divided some larger markets into multiple editions to ensure that Moms are made aware of the most complete and local information available. For example, most mediums in the Triad target both the Forsyth and Guilford markets as if they were one market. We realize that families want information that they can best take advantage of…hence, we publish and distribute both a local Forsyth and a local Guilford edition. The same is true for Charlotte/ S. Charlotte and Lake Norman/ N. Charlotte.
7. Can I advertise my business or service in multiple markets?
Absolutely! Many of our advertisers take advantage of our multi-market discounts. Some keep the same presence in all markets; others choose to focus more of the marketing dollars in one market with a lesser presence in the other markets that they choose.
8. What is the term of my advertising agreement?
Advertisers can opt for a 12 month, 18 month or 24 month marketing partnership. Experience proves that advertisers in a directory need at least a full year to measure its effectiveness. Otherwise, an advertiser would be approached regarding renewal even before every book containing his/her ad would have even been distributed.
9. Every business is different. How flexible is Pink & Blue?
As a small, locally owned and operated company, we realize that every advertiser and every situation is unique. Hence, in addition to customizing the components in your advertising/ marketing partnership, in many instances we are able to offer payment terms consistent with your budgeting cycle. In addition, some advertisers choose to have a greater presence in the first edition of their contract as compared to their second.
10. As an advertiser, should I be concerned about the effectiveness of a publication that is distributed for free?
Actually, the facts do not warrant that concern at all. The Pink and Blue Pages currently prints and distributes more than 800,000 semi-annual Pink and Blue Pages in 6 thriving Carolina markets. That represents incredible demand, considering that the Pink and Blue Pages began more than 8 years ago by printing and distributing only 30,000 copies once each year in one market, Charleston. Because our format does not include dated articles, our reader/users continue to find and use our publication for one purpose…to connect with our advertisers. We pride ourselves on our unparalleled, documented and widespread distribution achieved through a unique combination of sources including DISTRIBUTECH, the country's recognized premier distribution company. Pink and Blue encourages its advertisers to review each market's documented distribution that details the multitude of distribution sources that our success is built upon and compare it to other mediums currently being used or considered! You will quickly discover that the Pink and Blue Pages connect with more families than any other local publication…no one reaches more Moms!