by Jennifer Shelby
Print is dead. Or, at least that’s what we often hear. We also hear digital, automated, or online communications are here to stay. And, that’s true. But, print communications still have a role in the marketing mix, and their value should not be discounted.
Marketing collateral encompasses a wide variety of messaging vehicles. Certainly, digital modes play a part. Printed pieces add a tactile resonance to in-person meetings, stand out from the digital chatter, and visually enforce a company’s brand in a way that can still be effective. Email blasts, e-newsletters, social channels, and other digital means of communicating can do the same, with a different effect and often for a different audience.
Regardless of the chosen format, all marketing collateral should follow the following guidelines for effective brand management.
Know your audience. Ask yourself, “Who are we trying to reach?” “What do our clients and customers care about?” “What is it about our firm that can provide solutions to your client’s challenges?” Identify your differentiators and tailor the language in your materials to fit those needs.
Pick a voice and stick to it. Chances are, your firm offers a myriad of services, and wrangling all of those different industry buzzwords, nuances, and sentiments into a cohesive voice can be challenging. Asking a technical expert to draft language is a great place to start in order to gather raw content. But, it’s important to have a skilled writer recraft the language to address a wider audience in a voice that is consistent across all service areas and supports the culture and personality of the firm. If you read something written by an expert and know exactly who wrote it, take a second look. The voice should be neutral, easily understandable, and similar in tone and style to everything else in your portfolio.
Follow graphical style guidelines. There is a very good chance that if you are writing text for collateral, you already have a branded style in place. If not, back up a few steps and explore the feasibility of establishing a consistent visual brand, which goes hand in hand with your branded content strategy. Assuming this is in place, adhere to the visual hierarchy established during that process. Decide which elements will appear on every piece, be consistent in their placement and treatment, and look at each piece produced to make sure it’s obvious they are all part of the same toolkit.
Follow logical layout. Following a tiered approach, it is likely you’ll have top-level or overview materials that provide broad-reaching information to your audience. Contained within those top levels are likely lower levels in which you will drill down. Visually, the top-level materials will have a different look than the lower levels. They should all incorporate branded visual elements, but should look different enough that it’s quickly obvious to your audience the level of detail they can expect. This helps the reader more easily discern the type of information you are supplying and how your firm can help them solve their concerns. For those of us from the OshKosh era (circa 1972), follow the Garanimals rule. A rhino matches with a rhino. A hippo with a hippo. The idea being that if you pair one consistent piece of marketing materials with another, you’ll ensure the “outfit” is coordinated and well-matched.
Be consistent. This is a common and obvious lesson across all marketing initiatives and is a foundation of branding. Consistency can’t be underscored enough. It leads to reliability, trust, and accountability. It instills your audience with faith that you can do what you say you do, will accomplish their objectives, and take away their worries. Consistency is a calming force in our very fast-paced world and should be conveyed throughout every marketing collateral initiative.
Aim for brand recognition. Brand recognition enforces the above point about consistency. If your audience can identify a piece from your firm immediately upon view or upon hearing a phrase or message, you have achieved brand recognition. Understanding that some pieces need specialized treatment depending upon their content, there should be enough branding elements within your collateral to still convince your readers the piece came from your firm.
If you’re not sure if your marketing collateral measures up, get a check-up. Seek outside assistance to perform a marketing collateral audit, which should include a review of all pieces in your toolkit, make improvement recommendations, and if required, begin a collateral refresh initiative to bring your collateral portfolio back in line with your marketing goals, which should then integrate with your strategic objectives to support your firm’s ROI. A skilled marketing consultant can help you determine your collateral strategy, the benefits of print versus digital, and how to integrate both into your marketing mix in order to have an effective content development, thought leadership, and marketing communications program.
Jennifer Shelby, CSPM, is an account director at Rhino PR in Hamilton, Mass.