Are brochures dead?

The answer may surprise you. And it could cost you.
 
Is the U.S. Postal Service still in business? Aside from the lifeline it’s been tossed by Amazon, you’d think it were. Sidewalk mailboxes are a thing of the past. Post offices have had their hours curtailed and their staffs pared—if they’re even still open. 
 
The one-word reason? Email. 
 
But you knew that. You knew that the advent—indeed, avalanche—of instant, not to mention free, written communication caught the postal system unawares, and they’re still reeling from the onslaught. 
 
So paper mail is dead. Along with printed mailers. Brochures. Leaflets. Paper. Ink. Staples. Glue. 
 
Right? 
 
Not so fast… 
 
Their business isn’t your business
 
A lot of people will jump to these same conclusions, because they’ll base them on the same parallel. The same assumption. 
 
But that assumption is a dangerous one. In short, it’s wrong. 
 
Comparing your marketing outreach to the death throes of the postal service assumes that you, and they, are in the same business. You’re not. You’re in the business of purveying your products and services. They’re in the business of delivering letters. Volumes are down, so they’re suffering. 
 
But your prospects aren’t disappearing. Nor are their intrinsic needs and predilections. That’s the big difference. 
 
You’re not the postal system. So don’t think like them. 
 
Here’s another, and perhaps easier, way to think about it. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer. If you’re a customer of the postal system, you want to send something—like, perhaps, an invoice—as quickly and cheaply as possible. It may well be that you don’t need to send something physical anymore in the age of email, and so you pursue other options. 
 
But if you’re a prospect of your business, then things differ. That prospect wants to learn about you. They want to know what makes you better—or, even better, best. Why should they choose you over competitors? What kind of impression do you make with them?
 
Ta-dah. That’s the answer to the headline of this article. “Are brochures dead?” No effing way. 
 
Tactile sensations
 
We have a client that has put together incredibly sophisticated, beautiful, and expensive print brochures for its prospects. They’re so elegant, so valuable-looking, that virtually no recipient treats them as junk mail. It’s a little like those charities that send you a glassine envelope in the mail, and inside it, you can see that they’ve pasted a nickel there. Have you ever tossed that piece into the trash without opening it? Granted, that’s a different approach, but the goal is identical: You want the prospect to open the piece. 
 
Now that’s a concern of direct mail. It’s not the case with, say, a brochure that you’ll hand out at a trade show, or a leave-behind you’ll bring to a meeting. 
 
Yet there’s a factor that all of the above have in common. It’s their physicality. 
 
At this point, we can trash email to our heart’s content. It can include photos—gee! But you can barely control the very font in which it appears on the recipient’s screen, not to mention the layout. And since it’s an email, it will be no different than any other email in their in-box. 
 
Now switch to that printed piece. What size is it? What’s its form factor? Does it fold out? Does it include a cool little Easter egg inside, such as a gatefold? Does it have pockets for inserts or business cards?
 
And what does it feel like? Is it glossy? Silken? Linen-finished? Have you used spot varnish, so that certain sections artfully reflect the light while others absorb it? Have you employed metallic inks? Foil embossing? How much does the thing weigh? 
 
And what’s it look like? Does it employ an Apple-like indulgence of white space (we wrote an entire article on that topic which you’ll like)? Did you use big photos that bleed right out to the edge, and pull you, viscerally, into the content? Does the copy on one page entice you to turn to the next one—and are you pleasantly surprised when you get there? What fonts did you agonize over and finally choose? 
 
Every single one of those details is immediately apparent to the recipient. It can make or break your brand. 
 
In other words, it was all worth the effort.
 
The payoff
 
Here in the 21st century, awash with email, PDFs, websites, and social media, we at Copel Communications still do a surprising amount of work, every day, that eventually makes its way to a client’s prospect or customer by way of a printing press. Yep. As in “Gutenberg.” 
 
Our are clients ignorant? Are they throwing away their money? Are they failing to capture any ROI on these endeavors? Are they wasting their time, resources, and expense, on us? 
 
Heck no. They keep coming back for more. 
 
Brochures aren’t dead. They, and the power they provide, are simply overlooked, by far too many people. 
 
Need help with that next challenge, whether in print or online? Contact us. We’d love to put our skills and experience to work for you. 

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