Brochures, or pamphlets are a key part of many companies' advertising and marketing plans, be the specifically product/service related or promote the company as a whole. Typically, as a wide a distribution as possible is sought, with mail drops and newspaper inserts common. However, like with most marketing campaigns, they are most successful when targeted to individuals or businesses who are most likely to procure the service or purchase the product being promoted. Consequently, the provision of the brochure at the point of sale or in the specific location at which potential purchasers are located (for example tourist attractions displayed at hotels or youth hostels), becomes a key factor in the dissemination of the brochures.

Brochure holders, and their positioning and appearance, are thus a key contributor to the marketing success of any targeted brochure campaign. As campaigns are normally ongoing or updated, the brochure holder should be permanent and durable. Further, owing to the fact that the creator of the brochure must provide for a wide array of retail display constraints (such as limited counter space or wall space) the brochure holder must be versatile. A wide array of brochure holders are available which cover a wide gamut of retail display and retail merchandising situations, such as floor standing carousels, counter stands, flat-packed easily assembled kits for posted campaigns, wall-mounted merchandisers, as well as brochure holders which display a wide range of sizes and quantities of titles.