There is an Important Difference between Brand Marketing and Direct Marketing
In general, all direct marketing campaigns should be focused on one thing – obtaining the response you want from your target audience. This response will vary from placing an order for a product or service to making an enquiry to visiting a web site, etc. All of the marketing material that is used to elicit this response should be design with that purpose in mind.
The above photograph of the F1 car is a good example of brand marketing. Here we see that the car has many sponsors whose logo is displayed in various places on the car, some more prominent that others. These companies are spending a great deal of money to have their brand associated with F1 as well as having it seen on TV, in photographs and other media channels. Clearly there is an advantage to them in doing this and that advantage is brand recognition and awareness. The more that people see the brand and associate it with things that they are interested in, the more likely they are to choose it over their competitors.
Many businesses make the mistake of thinking that the people they are trying to connect with will know who they are and will recognise their brand. More importantly they think that this will influence their buying decisions. Unless they have invested heavily in brand promotion then they are making a big mistake.
This can result wasting a huge amount of space in their marketing materials promoting their brand rather than their products or services or the particular offer that they are promoting.
The net result is that direct marketing campaigns that emphasise the brand are far less effective and, consequently, have a far lower response rate than the campaigns that focus on the desired outcome.
You should always keep this in mind when designing your marketing materials. If your brand or company name is prominent and is taking up a large amount of space then STOP and go back to the drawing board because you can use that space for the promotion of your products or services. If your brand appears at all (and there is no rule that says that it should) then ensure that it is small and not taking up valuable space and is not in a prominent position on the materials.
Finally, be careful not to confuse this with contact information. It is important that you make sure that people are able to contact you so ensure that details such as telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, web addresses, etc. are clear.
The best way to check if your marketing materials are fit for purpose is to glance at it for a second or two and then think about what you remember of it. If it is the message that you are promoting, then great. If, however, it is your brand or some other type of less relevant information then start again and focus on the message.
