For as long as man has been trading they’ve needed a method of promoting - or marketing - their goods. Printed brochures, flyers, pamphlets and catalogues have been a go-to marketing vehicle since print-on-demand became affordable around the 1980s. Since then these brochures have evolved into interactive digital documents, instantly accessible from mobile devices. However, we’ve also seen that over the past 15 years, printed brochures have themselves experienced a renaissance. Hence the question: Are brochures still effective?
Providing information about a company’s products or services, a brochure is a magazine or a small book packed full of beautiful photography and informational text. Derived from the Fench word ‘brocher’, meaning ‘to stitch’, these documents are often glossy and printed in full colour.
Although promotional in outlook, brochures can have different purposes, depending on the business needs. Some are to sell a product. Others introduce a company or look to attract new members or staff. Traditionally, holiday brochures have been used to sell an experience. But brochures are not confined to business settings. They can be used across sectors, and appeal to all generations.
Examples of brochures include:
Product sales brochure
Company profile brochure
Travel brochure
Recruitment brochure
Property brochure
Internal staff engagement brochure
Printed in different shapes and sizes, a brochure can be anything from a couple of pages to over 100. Increasingly, these documents are available in digital formats, be that a pdf, flipbook, or a dedicated microsite.
For products that require less information to promote them, a leaflet or flyer may be more effective. Available as bi-fold or tri-fold, or even Z fold or gatefold, a flyer can communicate all the important information using different sections on a single sheet of paper.
Before we can answer the question ‘are brochures still effective’, we need to look at the bigger question: ‘Why are brochures effective?’.
There are many features of a brochure that make them appealing to an audience.
Firstly, they’re visually appealing. Research has shown that the human brain processes imagery 60,000 times faster than text. Being packed full of inspirational images, brochures can quickly sell a dream. Think of a travel brochure where beautiful photographs of the hotel pool can almost have you tasting the cocktails and feeling the sun on your back. Likewise smiling employees in a recruitment brochure reaffirm your hunch that this office is a fun place to work. Images are impactful, meaning brochures are impactful.
They’re also full of sales copy. Well-written text can back up the feelings conjured up by images. This is effective in product catalogues where the benefits of a product can be listed or described in detail. In company profiles, the narrative can tell the story behind the brand and its purpose. Brochures take the reader on a journey – one that steers them towards a sale or action through emotional connection.
Unlike social media posts, brochures are longer-form content which is intended to be downloaded and kept, especially in their printed form. Research shows that 37% of printed catalogues remain in the home for longer than four weeks. This longevity is one of the key reasons why brochures are effective.
While it’s easy to believe that brochures are outdated in the digital era, that assumption would be wrong. Research by Harvard Business Review has shown that response rates from catalogues have increased by 170% from 2004 to 2018.
Likewise, studies from the Data & Marketing Association have shown that the response rate for catalogues has increased in recent years in part because millennials happen to like catalogues more than other age groups do.
As the amount of mail we receive goes down, so the interaction with that we do receive goes up. In an era of bloated email clients and increased numbers of sponsored ads on social media, direct mail is increasing in popularity. So much so that online-only retailers, such as Wayfair and Amazon, are producing printed brochures.
With the HBR study citing the example of a luxury watch and jewellery ecommerce retailer yielding a direct ROI of 600% as a result of a bi-monthly catalogue campaign, it’s easy to see why brochures are still effective in 2022.
Most people know that a website is essential to market your brand. Those same people, however, often claim print is no longer relevant. That kind of thinking could be a big mistake. A physical ad offers advantages that online still can’t deliver. Print marketing has the advantage of being something your audience can touch and digest at their leisure. It’s also less complicated to design and economical to order. The first place your customers are introduced to your brand and where they will remember it is often through print.
Ask any marketing guru, and they’ll tell you coupling print with digital media proves to be an effective marketing strategy. It’s an approach that will set you apart from the competition. A brochure done well reinforces your company’s online presence and overall branding. A printed piece acts as not only an introduction to your services but also invites a new audience to find you online to explore your business further.
Four Reasons a Brochure is Effective Marketing:
1) Targeted delivery
Not only are brochures easy to use – open the cover, and turn the pages – but they also allow you to focus your message without distraction. Putting a brochure into the hands of your prospects can have more impact depending on the audience and venue. Brochures also give you the ability to control how your messages are viewed – one page at a time to get across the words that are important to you.
2) Creates an impression
There are lots of options when creating your brochure. You can customize not only your message but the overall impact of the design. Because flyers are tactile objects, there is more scope to make a strong impression than through digital media like websites or emails. Size, stock, shape, weight, and finish can be used to create an impact. Different printing techniques like foils and embossing can be incorporated into the design of brochures to take full advantage of their tactile nature.
3)
Flexible Engagement
It is also possible to personalize printed marketing material to use with direct mail. Today’s printing services allow you to personalize pamphlets to speak directly to the recipient. Printed brochures have benefits that cannot be matched by a website or social media page. All your information contained within one package, as opposed to online, requires your audience to engage with the material rather than move from screen to screen. Your images are seen perfectly every time with no horizontal or vertical scrolling that can distract from the overall impression.
4) Cost
The quality of digital printing is continually improving. This revolution in the printing industry means that small quantities of high-quality brochures and leaflets cost less now than ever. And larger quantities can provide a lower price per unit, giving you more options for value now than ever before.
Designing a Brochure for Effective Marketing
You’ll see print marketing in the form of postcards, business cards, and catalogs along with brochures, guidebooks, and simple palm cards. The trend of creating more personalized print marketing is getting stronger and is a great way to create a multiple-pronged campaign strategy. There are many ways to get in front of your target audience with print effectively.
Some Print ideas to consider:
Event Brochure
When you need to catch their eye right when they walk in – a well-designed, well-placed event brochure gives them the information they need right away
Tri-fold Brochure
A 3-fold brochure makes your information easy to layout in a logical way with great-looking images and room for a simple form if required
Mailable Cards
Direct mail can still be a very effective way of catching attention and getting responses
Full-size Brochure or Catalog
Full-size, high-quality print makes a big difference for those times when you need to impress
Palmcard
Concise and easy to display – palm cards give you lots of flexibility and make your branding stand out
Professionalism is Key in Effective Marketing
The factors involved when designing brochures require working with designers who know not only design but printing and print styles too. Tingalls Graphic Design offers a full brochure design service, including copywriting and print management, to provide a start-to-finish service for you. If you want to benefit from our extensive experience in print design, contact us for a complimentary consultation.