And the Winners Are …

Here is the press release detailing the winners of this year’s Yellow Pages Association Industry Excellence Awards. This year’s crop includes many very well-deserved honors, and we congratulate all the winners. It’s fair to say that the list of winners provides a useful digest of innovative ideas making the rounds in this industry today.

We do note the low representation of international (non-North American) and independent publishers among the winners. What we don’t know is the degree to which this reflects their lack of participation in the awards process. Just like any contest, you have to enter to win. It is also possible that these constituencies entered in sufficient numbers but their submissions did not measure up. You also have to deserve to win.

Whatever the reasons, these awards could probably use an infusion of diversity, both geographically and in terms of company size, in order to more truly reflect this industry.