5 tips for creating effective promotional materials for your brand

Want to generate more effective promotional materials for your brand? Well, you can’t continue to do the same old things you’ve always done. It’s time for a fresh approach. And this will require you to reimagine everything from planning to execution. 

5 Tips for Better Promotional Materials

You can have a clever brand name, but it won’t matter. You can have the trendiest little logo on the planet, but it won’t be effective. You can have the best slogan, mission statement, and company culture, but you’ll come up short if your marketing and promotional materials aren’t designed to connect your brand to your target customers with a high degree of efficiency and precision.

Many brands have a tendency to look at promotional materials as an afterthought when they should actually be viewed as integral investments that directly impact sales, conversions, and brand authority.

Unsure of where to start? Here are a few practical tips you can rely on to develop better promotional materials:

1. Get Clear on Your Brand Style

If someone were to place three, four, or five different elements of your brand’s marketing materials side by side, what would you notice?

Would there be a consistent and reliable thread between each, or would there be a sense of independence and disconnect?

Most business owners think they have consistent branding, when they actually have a hodgepodge of different styles. The sooner you recognize where your brand stands, the better it’ll be for your marketing.

Now’s the time to get clear on your brand's style. This includes logos, colors, typography, composition style, copy, composition styles, and any other elements that comprise or influence your visual identity. (This will make the execution of your promotional materials 10-times easier!)

2. Organize All Digital Assets

A lack of organization can hinder your results. So once you’re clear on your brand style, the next step is to organize all digital assets for easy access.

When it comes to designing promotional materials, the last thing you want is to disrupt the creative process to search for files, hex codes, and other digital assets. By having them all stored in a single drive or folder, you can execute with clarity and precision. 

3. Choose the Right Materials

Marketing and promotional materials serve a variety of purposes. If you’re on a tight budget, you’ll need to be intentional with which ones you use. 

While digital marketing materials certainly make up a significant portion of a brand’s investments, don’t forget about print materials. Whether for local advertising, job fairs, event marketing, street flyers, or mailers, the right materials can create targeted influence and move customers to specific actions. 

Be very intentional about the materials and formats you use. If the goal is to educate, eBooks, PDFs, and brochures can be an excellent choice. If the objective is to convert a prospect into a customer, something with more emotional appeal – like a targeted advertisement or compelling promotional offer – would be a better choice. Every situation calls for a unique approach. Make sure you’re aware of which options are available.

4. Select a Good Printing Partner

It’s one thing to design an aesthetically pleasing graphic on software. Printing something beautiful is something else entirely. So don’t underestimate the importance of working with the right printing partner.

A good printing partner, like PrintingCenterUSA, offers fast, convenient, and cost-effective printing that allows brands to move quickly (without compromising on quality). If you don’t have your own in-house printing department (which very few brands do), this is your next best option. 

5. Be Smart With Copy

Most people assume that graphics, color schemes, and layout are the only elements that truly matter with promotional materials. However, we’d discourage you from underestimating the role of copy.

Copy on promotional materials is arguably one of the most challenging yet important aspects of design. Depending on what you’re working with – e.g. a calendar or postcard – you have very limited space. This forces you to eliminate filler and focus on packing maximum punch in a concentrated physical space. 

Putting it All Together

Every brand will have its own unique style. So while the execution will look different in each case, the approach and processes behind successful execution will embody many of the same principles.