In the Day of Pinterest and Instagram, These Little Bounders Still Matter…a Lot
Gregg Blanchard /
During my travels last year, I made a point to gather a not-very-glamorous, but important piece of marketing.
I’m talkin’ about brochures.
Not Sexy
Brochures aren’t very sexy. In a world of flashy salesmen with plastic smiles and air-time on the local news, brochures are the shy teenagers in the call center.
Yet, those teenagers, just like brochures, spend a lot of time interacting with the actual customers. And, time and again, my travels always seem to be impacted by these pamphlets.
I use them for directions to resorts and ideas for things to do. When I check into a hotel, these hearty bits of marketing are patiently waiting for me in the lobby. No web connection, smartphone, or salesman required.
The Scope
There are two, big pieces to brochure strategy: design and distribution. Now, distribution arguably is the most critical piece. No matter how great your final product looks, if you can’t efficiently get them in a long list of places and keep them stocked, they won’t do much good.
This week, however, we’re going to focus solely on design. And, specifically, three parts:
- The front cover
- The inside pages
- The back cover
I’ve got examples of about 20+ brochures that I’ve collected, but I’ve narrowed it down to 10 that represent the collection as a whole that I’ll put under the lens.
Because this is a 4-day week for most of us (Monday was Labor Day in the US) that’s all we’ll have time for.
The Goals
Even with the shorter week, the goal is two-fold.
- Look at a bunch of ways to approach brochure design
- Come up with ideas or common patterns that may work well
So, let’s get on it. Tomorrow we’ll start by taking a look at front covers – what looks good, design considerations, etc. – and get the ball rolling.
See you then.