When was the last time you looked at your past print marketing campaign materials? If you’re like most business owners, chances are they’re sitting in a dusty drawer – or, worse, they’ve been tossed in the trash. While clearing things out might seem like a great idea to free up space, you could lose valuable marketing assets.
Archiving your brochures, flyers and other marketing collateral isn’t just about saving pieces of paper. It’s a strategic practice that can protect your brand identity and provide inspiration for future campaigns!
Why are old marketing campaign materials still valuable?
After a campaign has ended, why should you hold on to the marketing materials? Archiving your collateral can elevate your future strategies. Here’s a few ways how:
Providing inspiration: Marketing is cyclical. Trends that were popular years ago often become relevant again, either through nostalgia or by old products or services coming back into favor over time. Your archived materials may provide a welcoming glimpse into the past and can often inspire modern spins on older ideas. For instance, a brochure from 20 years ago may feature now-retro fonts and a playful tone that, with some tweaks, can align with your brand’s current identity – and also fit into nostalgia-focused marketing tactics.- Showcasing evolution: Your past marketing materials tell the story of your business’s growth. They show how much your brand has evolved, whether you’ve refined your service offerings, updated your logo or shifted your brand voice. Comparing your very first flyer printing design to your latest and greatest professionally branded brochure can help you more clearly identify what’s worked and what hasn’t, as well as how your audience has responded to changes over time.
- Maintaining consistency: Ensuring cohesiveness across your marketing collateral is key to building trust and recognition with your target audience. Having easy access to old materials ensures you can cross-reference tone, colors and messaging to stay consistent across your campaigns, even as your team or marketing partners change. Archived materials make it easier to onboard new employees and get external partners up to speed by showing them your history and brand voice.
- Saving Costs: Revisit older marketing materials and you could find reusable assets like photos or illustrations you have already invested in. For instance, a well-designed graphic, compelling copy snippet or infographic from a past campaign could be reused and save you the cost of creating something new entirely from scratch. This helps reduce the time and money spent on your marketing by leveraging what you already have!
Your older marketing materials are more than just pieces of paper or files in a drawer – they’re investments in your business’s identity, creativity and future. Take time to build and maintain an archive, it is a simple, effective way to preserve that investment and protect your company’s history.
Need help creating fresh marketing materials that build on your archive? Allegra is always standing by to help. Contact us today to explore how your past and present marketing efforts can work together toward your future success.
