Mini Directories March On
One of the more controversial issues in the Yellow Pages business is the subject of companion directories. At last year's Directory Driven Commerce event, Joe Walsh spoke adamantly against the increasing number of mini directories and their impact on the industry. He said the industry faces a companion directory backlash.
While some of these companions are indeed poor replicas of the real thing, particularly when a normal-size phonebook is simply shrunk by about 25 percent, others can be much more pleasing to the end user. The primary way to accomplish this is by avoiding type that is unreadable.
According to eLink, R.H. Donnelley will begin to introduce companion directories in Trumbull, Ohio; Sussex, New Jersey; and Citrus, Florida. My view is that while these are not RHD’s first mini directories, they are the first ones it is building specifically as companions. More are likely to follow, but I was unable to reach anyone who would comment.