In such a fast-paced world where multiple communication channels pop up frequently, it’s difficult to find the right product and avenue to successfully market your brand. Do you build it virally online, via print or through digital video content? Or, do you fine-tune your company’s social media strategy in a bid to reach millions of people with hopes that your branded message will intrigue them enough to take action?
As we hear time and time again, an integrated approach combining all these multimedia channels is the only way to succeed in today’s new age media environment. However, the key to effectively communicating your brand and promoting its values to a broad audience – no matter the medium – comes down to the old adage: ‘time is money’.
While budget is an essential factor to consider, marketers need to think creatively within that budget in order to decide what initiative will work best for their brand. Too often eager marketers jump the gun in their haste to take advantage of cheap content marketing initiatives, which lead to scattergun efforts that most likely won’t succeed. The simple fact is that time is money in publishing. If your initiative is being undertaken on the cheap, and it doesn’t work out, the project will invariably end up as wasted money. As Edge’s CEO Eddie Thomas believes: “Bad communications are worse than no communications at all.”
The reason I’m drawing this to your attention is due to a recent post I read on Axon Publishing’s website regarding a small-format, 24-page publication – the Harrods Food Special. Distributed within a Sunday paper, the classy handbag-size publication (produced in-house) featured recipes and gift food items that would appeal to most. The only problem was, at less than six points, the type size was barely legible. I’d hate to think how some of the older folk managed to squint through it.
In the UK, the Royal Mail’s move to change its proportion rules have led to a host of smaller-format publications that fit within the lowest postage band, according to Axon Publishing. In many cases this has enabled creative, mini-size products to appear in the market. However, in the case of Harrods Food Special it shows how turning to cheap solutions and simply reducing a full-size publication pro rata can go horribly wrong.
Marketers need to understand that if print and distribution prices increase, the answer is not to immediately decrease the size, pagination and frequency of your product. Rather, you need to re-evaluate overall what is the best way to achieve your brand’s desired results within the total budget. As a result you will ensure that your audience is placed firmly at the centre of the proposition – and that’s the whole point, right?
Published by Kristy Barratt- Editor at strategic content agency Edge. We help clients achieve their brand and marketing objectives by telling brand stories and using deepening customer relationships using engaging content.