January 26, 2016
We’re getting towards the end of January and we all know what that means – everyone is just about ready to quit on their well-thought out and enthusiastic resolutions.
Your local gym – previously packed with new recruits – is starting to decline in numbers again and the Nutribullet, for that juice cleanse, has now been put back in the cupboard. Yet, despite not being able to resist that chocolate biscuit, now is a perfect time to think about how you can change your marketing practices for the year, to ensure you don’t fall victim to the same old, out-dated practices from last year.
Here are five New Year’s resolutions we think marketers should be making this year:
No 1 – Take design seriously. Whether it’s selecting the right typography for a campaign or choosing the best colour palatte for some traditional display advertising, think about this carefully. Our earlier blog on ‘what does your typeface say about you’ talks about the importance of considering type particularly, in all aspects of your marketing – this silent language could have the power to undermine or enhance your brand. As we move into 2016, it’s no longer good enough to just create content, you need to develop a design that supports it effectively too.
No 2 – Get creative with language. Slogans or catchphrases have long been used as a means of creating attention and achieving long-term brand awareness. Today, the role of language is as important as ever. Creative memes, motto prints and posters are all over the internet, so look at how you can best use the most popular ones to support your brand or how you can create your own to help build brand awareness on advertising, marketing campaigns and promotional items you deliver this year.
No 3 – Step back from the digital, just a little bit. We all know that digital and being digitally ‘ready’ will be paramount in 2016 and yet businesses also need to love their customer base and we believe they can do this by taking a leaf from more traditional forms of advertising. Branding is a big deal and promotional products are a great way of helping your brand remain memorable for years. It’s all too quick to delete an email but studies have shown that gifts and branded products leave a positive feeling toward a brand and – when the right products are selected – they are often kept for long periods of time too. This makes them a less expensive option than other advertising methods, offering much more longevity.
No 4 – Push the boundaries. Whatever you do this year to engage with your key audiences, push the boundaries one step further and ask yourself ‘how can we make this better’? For instance, if you’re undertaking a direct mail campaign look at how you can personalise this either digitally with some engaging content or with a creative gift that can either be redeemed, or even something bespoke that has been sent through the post.
No 5 – Get support from your suppliers. As marketers, we know you often find yourselves getting involved in a variety of industries/areas that you might not always be an expert in. We also know that you have to turn around campaigns very quickly, so opting for the ‘tried and tested’ route is sometimes the preferred one. However, the suppliers you use every day are undoubtedly eager to show you their latest product offering and services and can often help develop more creative marketing campaigns by talking you through some of their industry in more detail. Whether that’s your printing company, branded product specialist or design team, take the time this year to get their support and insight and you’ll be amazed by the results.
We wish you all the best of success in 2016!
We work with some of the biggest marketing agencies in the UK and offer expert advice for a variety of bespoke, high quality branded items. Our in-house design team is available to all our clients to ensure you get the very best product for your marketing needs. If you need help branding your next company product, then call us on 01303 720 700 for a quote and to discuss your requirements further.
