The Necessity of Collateral
Collateral, or marketing collateral, is a common sight in marketing. This refers to anything that is given out in order to support a brand, product or service. Historically speaking, this was often seen as brochures or flyers. However, with the “death of print,” is collateral still something that businesses and marketers need to worry about?
Absolutely. In fact, collateral is a must.
The first part of unpacking the necessity for good collateral is recognizing that the “death of print” isn’t actually going to happen. While this may refer to the idea of print media, some believe that it also refers to print collateral. This however is not true, as print collateral will likely not go away. There will always be a faction of people that prefer printed things to digital ones, from books to brochures. The second reason that print collateral will not go away is that people keep it. This is incredibly valuable to marketers. When a person holds on to a piece of collateral, they will be reminded of that brand or service and can also transfer that awareness to other customers as a recommendation.
This keepsake mentality should influence your collateral design and implementation. For instance, flyers and larger format print do not keep well if your demographic is men who are wearing suits or sports jackets. In this instance, a smaller slim collateral piece would be ideal in that it will fit well within the inside pocket of a jacket. If your target demographic was middle aged women, a larger flyer that is exceptionally well designed would work better.
Business cards are also something that is a necessary part of business that will never go away. While getting the perfect business card is not as imperative as 2000’s American Psycho makes it out to be, it is still vitally important for your brand as a person and your company. They serve as a representation of you beyond their initial use and remain a consistent way to contact you. Most evident of the continuation of business cards for the foreseeable future is the entire industry dedicated to digitizing business cards. Refusing to skip the middle man and just have digital card, this industry instead bridges the gap between print and digital. This truly demonstrates that this tradition will not be going away anytime soon.
The second type of collateral that is necessary and important is the kind of branded objects that you give away. Often called trade show goods or tchotchke, these are usually an afterthought and poorly designed and implemented. For example, we collect lanyards from marketing conferences from vendors as an example of terrible waste of money and missed opportunity for marketing. These are seen as a waste in that lanyards have absolutely no use in our lives as marketers. We rarely put our keys on them and wear them. They can literally go in the garbage and our lives would not change. One of the best pieces that we have seen is the heroically under-appreciated branded pen. These are things that people use all the time and always have a need for, especially in a business setting. It is not only a good way to keep your present in people’s lives but is also easily transferable.
Collateral may be seen as a necessary evil, but in fact it can be useful both to the person marketing and to the receiver. Keep your audience in mind next time you are designing your collateral, both in design and in object. Then think of the value that you can add to their life as well as the ease of the exchange. Never waste an opportunity to influence and sway your target customer. When your collateral is memorable and useful, you will see a significant return on your investment.
