First impressions count

Talking to a client recently, they asked if I would mind casting my eye over a leaflet their graphic designer had drawn up to advertise their new accountancy business. We love design and really enjoy seeing / assessing from the customers point of view so eagerly agreed.

Above is the front of the poorly designed leaflet

Tiger Marketing’s Feedback: 

Remove the 3 colours as it looks like flags of states in Africa; Ghana / Ethiopia etc. This then leads people to think of a cheap African restaurant – in short it doesn’t shout ‘Accountant’ or even ‘Sport’. As this is what you do and the service you’ll be offering, it is imperative to the get the look / feel correct as first impressions really count.

Another logo has been developed on your leaflet in the form of the 3 words with the three colours – remove this completely as you already have a logo that is great so utilise what you have.

The key is to think about what you want the leaflet to do… as it can only have 1 or maximum 2 uses:

• Telling people who you are
• Telling people what you do
• Letting people know how you can help them
• Telling people to call you today / visit your website / email you

Put the above in order of priority – some points will cross over but its important to push only 1 or 2 points on a leaflet. The messaging has to be clear and concise or no one will read it and it’ll be a waste of money.

There must be a clear ‘call to action’ and at the moment it is ‘Act now’ but you are not telling your potential client how to react.

You have three fonts in your logo (most only have 2) so you need to stick to these 3 fonts for all your materials. This is important as it becomes part of your brand and building brand awareness. (This is a whole other area to explore). Find out the font names and pantone colours that are in your logo as these will need to be given to the printers and designers. I suggest that in literature you use the font that the name of your company is written in, for all of your headers and use the font of your strapline for the rest of the content. Keep the colours of your leaflet to green, white and black as these are your corporate colours that feature in your logo. If you want more colour, you can always use a brightly coloured image.

You need to know what your unique selling points (USP’s) are too. For example:

• Dedicated personal accountant
• Hassle free service
• Reminders of important deadlines
• Great service at affordable prices

We also discussed font size, layout, other types of images and photographs.

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Although this is specific feedback to my client, there are several main points to consider when designing a leaflet – even if it is “just a little leaflet to see spread the word”, don’t sell yourself short. You must consider your message, who your target audience is, how to attract them and what you want them to do off the back of your leaflet.

Remember, first impressions count and your little leaflet could be the start of something big. 

10 rules to follow:

1. It must be obvious what service / product you are advertising just from looking at the leaflet so it attracts your target audience
2. Do your customer research – know what your target audience wants / needs / desires
3. Consider your messaging and what it says about you and your company
4. Double check your spelling and grammar
5. Ensure you know what your unique selling points are – what sets you apart from your competitors? Then shout about it!
6. What is your call to action? What do you want your customer to do off the back of the leaflet?
7. Keep the layout, style, design and language simple, easy to read, concise and clear
   

   Above is an example of a clear, functional, easy to understand leaflet.

8. Be true to your brand – once you have a logo, use it. Keep to your corporate colours and fonts.
9. Make it beautiful, interesting and different – design it so people are intrigued to read it.
10. Remember you have about 3 – 5 seconds to capture someone interest so choose carefully your ‘hook’ then reel them in

At Tiger Marketing we are more than happy to offer our professional, constructive opinion on any design, logo or literature – plus we are also expert de-wafflers!