Tips on brochure design for display stands

Brochures are proven to be the most powerful means of influencing visitors during their trip. They bring products and services to the attention of visitors in a way no other promotional medium can. However, some brochures are more effective than others, and the difference usually comes down to their design.

Here are some tips from our members:

• Define precisely the customer you are seeking to influence and make sure your brochure is ‘talking’ directly to this targeted group. Perhaps they are couples, or families, activity enthusiasts or visitors of a certain age or with particular interests.
• Use professionals to both design and print your brochures. Good quality design and print reflects best on your product or service – and will repay you through higher conversions.
• Highlight to the top of your brochure what is unique about the offering from your attraction, entertainment, activity, restaurant, lodging, event, transport or other product or service. Do so in a way that attracts the visitor’s attention and arouses their interest.
• Your brochure sits on a display rack along with other brochures, all of them competing in one way or another for the attention of the visitor. Therefore, understand the environment your brochure is sitting into (go and see the racks) and make sure YOUR offering and brochure design will help you stand out relative to the other product and service providers with brochures on display.
• For best visibility in brochure racks, make sure your most important promotional message is positioned to the top one-third of the brochure. In most cases, this is the portion most clearly visible as display racks typically have tiered slots or pockets with the different brochures sitting one in front of the other. Your lead message should, therefore, be a 'call to action' and encourage your targets to pick up your brochure. If they don’t pick it up, there is no possibility of a sale.
• Put your sales message at the top of the back of your brochure too. In this way, if a visitor places it back in the rack the wrong way round, it still conveys your message.
• Make sure your brochure conveys all the information a visitor needs to make their decision to visit you or to buy your product or service. If there are information gaps, it creates uncertainty. Make sure, for instance, you give your opening dates and times (and closing dates) and either precise prices or a price range. Also, reference the payment cards you accept.
• While your information should be comprehensive, make sure and present it in a way that is easy to read. Use short paragraphs with headings to gain the readers attention. Use bullet-points rather than lengthy text. Use captions with your photographs.
• Always highlight your address and the easiest ways to get to you. Give your GPS co-ordinates and include a mini-map of your location; highlight nearby landmarks if this is likely to be helpful in finding you.
• Photographs and illustrations are really important, make sure they are excellent.  More visitors remember what they see than what they read. NEVER use poor photos. Poor photos unsell you!
• Always provide your full contact details, including a phone number, email address, and website. Consider using a QR Code linking to a point on your website that helps inform and sell. No matter how much information you feature in your brochure, visitors may have other queries for you to answer.
• Consider using coupons, offers, or competitions within your brochure. It’s an incentive, and it can also be a means of tracking how well the brochure is performing.
• Make sure you use a good quality paper and of the right weight. The wrong paper weight and grain can result in the brochures sagging on the display stands. This looks bad and also prevents visitors seeing your message.
• Make sure and print adequate supplies. There are economies of scale in printing, so overestimate your requirements rather than underestimate. The members of Visitor International are Professional Brochure Distributors, and they can help you determine the quantity of your brochures they would expect to use on a seasonal or annual basis. Because shorter print runs are more expensive per brochure, the main reason to consider opting for smaller print quantities is if you intend to change your message from time to time, for example on a seasonal basis.
• If possible, keep the brochures to a standard size and avoid elaborate folds or producing brochures that are too thick. Besides being more expensive, the thicker the brochure the fewer will fit in a display slot on the rack – meaning they will be depleted sooner. They are also more difficult for the visitor to carry and handle.
• Discuss the best way to pack your brochures with your professional brochure distributor. They can advise on optimal box size and weight and how the brochures should be packed to protect them, to minimize waste and to ensure efficient distribution.

Always use Professional Brochure Distributors. Our members are experts in providing visitor information and can help deliver you increased business.