In a move that stunned Florida hoteliers Walt Disney World has stopped distributing its pamphlets through restaurants and hotels. The hotels were surprised Disney abandoned a marketing practice that had been a standard for decades. As reported in the St. Petersburg Times, "Several studies confirm most Florida visitors now use the Internet to plan their trip." I believe there are two factors driving organizations to adopt a similar strategy. First is the high cost of printed brochures including the labor to distribute them. The second is the shift by businesses and consumers to seek information from the Internet more than any other source. Where are qualified prospects learning about your business? If you're not sure, just ask. Survey your existing clients to learn where they go when they need information. I suspect you'll find the Internet appears near the top of their list. Not only are they going to the web, they are starting their research much earlier in the purchase process. Comparison shopping and the quest for deals and discounts is especially popular in the consumer market. Not everyone is abandoning traditional direct marketing. In fact, I'm now seeing savvy business owners using postcards and other mailers to create successful online marketing campaigns. All you need is a postcard that poses a question with a web link to the valuable answer. Postcard marketing has become an effective way to provide prospects with a written invitation to a specific landing page on your site. Once prospects accept your invitation, you have plenty of space to provide your valuable marketing information, all for the price of a postcard stamp. I think I'll head down to the beach resorts on St. Pete Beach to grab a handful of Walt Disney World brochures. I'm betting they are going to become collector items. If your marketing strategy relies heavily on brochures, I think you should consider adding the web to your strategy before your marketing materials end up in the local antique store. How has your marketing strategy evolved? Are brochures dead? Use the comment link below to tell me what you think. Jerry