Advertising budgets are tight in the current economy. But there’s a silver lining: the chance to break free of the phone book.

Every year, businesses and their advertising agencies have dreaded one sales call more than any other. That’s right – no one is happy to hear that it’s time to meet about the Yellow Pages.

The situation got even worse when this area added a second, then a third phone book.

In my opinion, the Yellow Pages were purchased by many as a defensive measure. You bought an ad because you were afraid NOT to be in the Yellow Pages. One could get a finger cramp just paging through the attorney section. Think the ads work? Who knows, but everybody else was doing it and one might think, “If I stop, I lose my great position – and I’m up to the 14th full page in the section!”

So on to why I think it’s over…

When it comes to looking up a phone number, more people are letting their fingers do the walking on their computer keyboards rather than through the pages of the phone book. With phone books being used less frequently, some of these companies are already making changes. Some are cutting back on the number of books they have to print in to save money and paper, and some are eliminating the white pages all together.

In addition, the Florida Public Service Commission just agreed to give one phone company a two-year trial period during which they will give phone books only to customers who ask for them.

During the two-year trial period, the phone company is to survey customers to see if they have any problems with not automatically receiving the residential phone listings.

A state rule requires these companies to distribute phone books free of charge. However, some argue that the phone books have become obsolete. Not only are more people using the Internet to look up numbers, but more people are using cell phones as their home phones.

Will the various Yellow Pages products survive?

I don’t think so. I suspect these companies are working diligently to find a way to make money off their Internet listings.

This is just one of thousands of changes we are seeing in the world of advertising and communications.

I celebrate this one. Our firm consistently had the smallest listing available under Advertising Agencies, and we did just fine.