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Welcome to the The Marketing Source e-newsletter! Our goal is to provide
you with real-world marketing tips that you can put right to work in
your organization or business. If you have any ideas for articles, please
send them along.
Superstar Marketing Communications - Producing Materials that Show Off
and Pay Off
Your boss just dropped your organization's brochure on your desk and
mumbled under her breath "Do something about this, now!" Okay.
You've known for a while that you needed to update your materials, but
they're not THAT bad, right? Wrong. That outdated brochure with blue
photographs of your top executives and a hard-to-read logo that features
the website you designed and last updated in 1999 needs to be pitched
in the circular file. Is this really how you want your audience to see
your company? No. However, before you hire the graphic designer and pull
out the stops to make the boss happy, read our materials and design "do's
and don'ts" so your materials will look top notch!
The Don'ts - And we aren't making these up - we see them all the time:
The Tightwad Approach: These cost- conscious executives have figured
out how to spend next to nothing on their materials. And it shows. There
is nothing wrong with being cost- conscious or with saving money. But,
no matter how much or how little you spend, your materials should reflect
the tone of your organization. If your company offers cut-rate lawn mowing,
a home designed flyer might be all you need to promote your business.
However, if you're an architect charging thousands of dollars for your
services, you better have a brochure that is drop-dead gorgeous and appropriately
showcases your talent.
The Big Name Approach: Big Namers want to hire the flashy ad agency,
no matter the cost. But, in the words of famous ad man David Ogilvie "It's
not creative unless it sells." If those materials don't deliver
your message in a way to reaches your customers or clients, you have
nothing. Before you hire a hot graphic designer or agency, make sure
they can deliver what you really need. Sometimes it's just as bad to
overspend as it is to underspend.
"I Know What I Want Approach": These well- meaning people
know exactly what they want. Where the type should be. What size the
photo should be. How much copy they can cram into a single page or brochure.
It's great to know what you want, but It's not great when you ignore
the advice of professionals or refuse to consider new ideas. Too often,
the materials created by the "I Know What I Want'ers" are a
jumbled mess. Don't assume that just because you are president of a company
you know how to design a brochure.
The Do's: What you can do to produce solid materials that look great
and deliver results:
1. Know what you should do before you call in a professional designer:
- Know what you like and don't like and have examples.
- Know what role the brochure is going to play in your marketing and
sales. How it will be used, displayed, distributed, mailed.
- Know your audience - how old, young, male, female, what they like
and what they want.
- Take a look at your competition. What are they doing? Is it working?
Why or why not?
- Hire a graphic designer whose work you like and has good references
from people you trust.
- Write or outline the copy points you want to include.
- Provide the designer your existing materials (the old ones), and
talk about what you like and what you don't.
- Give clear, strong direction to the designer or agency about the
ideas and concepts they bring back to you.
2. Know what should be left to the pros:
- Design of a logo. (What is it that makes people think they can actually
design a logo that looks good?)
- Layout of a brochure or ad.
- Writing copy for sales pieces and advertising.
- Taking photographs to be used in printed pieces or ads.
3. Know your budget. If you set your budget range up front, you won't
end up with an idea you love but have no hope of affording.
4. Be consistent: If you put all your materials side by side on a table,
they should all share some common elements. When all your materials look
different, they aren't working hard enough for you. You want customers
and clients to recognize your materials and associate them with you.
5. It's all about the message: Design is critical to great advertising
and communications pieces. Just don't forget that is a means to an end
- that is getting your message across to the customer. That message should
be short, crystal clear, and repeated over and over again. The old adage "less
is more" is still true. You can't include everything you would like
to about your product or service. Pick a few key points and stick to
them.
6. Be smart about production. For most designers and agencies, your
cost is all about their time. You can save your budget if you agree on
expectations at the start of the project. Will the designer bring you
three concepts or five? What if you don't like any of them? How many
rounds of editing are you allowed? Make sure you understand the compensation
arrangement up front. For printers, it's about time and materials. If
you pick a handmade paper from New Zealand or have an odd- size brochure,
you pay more. If you use an in-stock paper that can be machine folded,
you pay less. Rates are always negotiable.
Ask before you start the project what parameters you can set to help
you manage costs.
You can do it. With a little planning, a little thinking and some professional
help, you can put together good-looking materials that get your message
across and get the results you want. Putting anything less in front of
your customers is waste of time and money.
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