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Tag Archive: marketing-materials
In trying to attract more business, my client was interested in creating an ad that she could place at the local golf facilities. The catch here is trying to get men to understand that they too can gain benefits from doing Pilates. Here is what we came up with.
I have done some flash ads in the past and found them to be a great challenge! Now, I have been asked to create a few more. Only small problem is that it has been a few years. So time to pull out the books and brush up on the skills. Let’s hope I remember these like riding my bike! Wish me luck!
See below a flash ad I created a few years ago for Meredith Corp.
I once had a client show me some work I had done that they requested to print on their own. Being a designer, I have developed quite a few relationships with multiple printers in the area and on-line. This client was trying to “cut costs.” A VERY common idea among business owners who don’t really understand the difference in printing qualities.
When she got her letterhead paper printed and shipped to her, she called me right away. The shade of purple that I designed the logo in and the shade they printed in were not even close! One was blue and the other was purple. Then she pulled out the business cards she received. Thankfully they looked much more rich in color and true to what we were desiring, although not to my perfection. The bigger problem for me was the inconsistent branding look that she now had to work with. That is like printing Target’s logo in a lighter shade of red than what we see on EVERY piece of collateral they have. You see that shade of red anywhere and you think of Target! I even see random people wearing that color of shirt and khaki pants at the mall and I assume they just came from working at Target. That specific shade of red symbolizes that store to me. Same goes for UPS’ brown. Always the same shade of brown, never anything different.
The printing company they used is one of those, very common, cheap companies on-line offering so many free items if you just place an order with them. It is so enticing as a new business owner, but I want to caution you! Don’t invest in the designing fees for your marketing materials to only have them come across as very poor once printed. That will only reflect your business to your customer and probably not do you any good, a bad investment.
A double-duty business card can be a good thing or a not-so-good thing. Below are two very specific examples of this.
- The good double-duty business card - Using your business card for more than just telling who you are and what you do. Print a coupon or special offer on the backs of your cards. Include them with invoices to current customers. If you offer a referral incentive, print it on the card.
- The not-so-good double-duty business card – Use your business card to focus on one business, not multiple. Someone whose card indicates they ‘do it all’ might be perceived as the infamous “Jack-of-all- Trades, Master of None.” This is especially true if you use the same business card for two or more different businesses (such as your part-time real estate business and your part-time computer repair business).
If you are trying to break into a specific specialty within the same business (such as newsletter design or Web design), design a separate business card to give to your target market. Depending on your business, you might want to have a fun card and a serious card.
Business cards serve many purposes but their primary purpose is to tell what you do and give the recipient a way to contact you.
At the very least a name and contact method (address or phone number) should go on your business card. As for where to put this information, there are hundreds of possible arrangements, but there are a few commonly accepted guidelines for where to place the most essential information.
Minimum Information for a Business Card
Other information is optional but as a minimum the business card should usually contain:
- Individual’s Name and/or Business Name
- Individual’s Title or some other descriptive text to indicate what the person does if it’s not obvious from the business name
- A way (preferrably multiple ways) to contact the person — could be phone, fax, email, web page, mailing address, street address, etc.
It is not necessary to but a complete listing of services or products on the business card. Keep it to the essentials. Use brochures and personal interviews to disclose the full range of services or products offered.
- Orientation – Horizontal layouts are the most typical, most widely used format for business cards.
- Name – Whether using a horizontal or vertical arrangement, the person’s name or the business name are usually the most prominent text item on the card. It is usually placed in the center or upper half of the card and emphasized with a larger or bolder font.
- Contact – Contact information is usually placed in the lower half of the card (left, right, or centered). The preferred method of contact (such as phone number or email) is often emphasized with a larger size, bolder font, or more prominent placement.