How many times have you taken your car to the garage and the mechanic has sucked on his teeth and said "ooh it'll cost you", when in reality you could get a better deal if you knew a bit more about cars.

Knowledge is power - this briefing paper will help you get the best out of your printing budget, in time for producing your next brochure or leaflet.

First things first; make sure you know who your customers are. Take a look at the sales literature or websites for the Nissan Micra and Ford Focus. Both are excellent – but aimed at completely different markets. Remember it isn’t about what you like but what your guests or visitors like. You may be a fan of swirly fonts and historic lettering, but if your customer is a young family, they may appreciate more modern crisp fonts, or light-hearted, free-lowing text. If your font suggests your product is too antique or too vibrant then you might put off your potential customers.

In advertising, an A.I.D.A. formula is sometimes used:

Get Attention; Create Interest and provide information; Generate Desire that leads to Action.

GETTING ATTENTION
Whose attention do you want to grab?
Only you know who your audience is - your guests and visitors - and by understanding them you can recognise the other brands that attract them. Start to make a collection of literature aimed at your audience or market

Associated Products for them might be:
mobile phones, night clubs, clothes shops, garden centres, cars.
Ask yourself realistically whether you are inviting: twenty something single-sex parties; retired professional couples who are well heeled, and spending their children's inheritance; the business traveller; or single parents and their children?

Once you have collected the other material, put it to one side, you will need it later.

Size matters
Most pieces of print, which stand alone, are generally termed brochures. Standard paper sizes like ISO A4 are today widely used all over the world. (See back of this Paper for a guide)

They are generally used in the following ways:
Essentially, the aim is the same – to condense a message about your tourism business that is intended to inform, arouse interest and, of course, lead to a sale.

Folds (for diagrams – please see PDF or Publisher version of this document)
Most leaflets and printed material with the exception of flyers are folded – each fold creates a panel One fold creates two panels.

Two folds (z fold) creates three panels (The three on one side and the three on the reverse creates a two-side three-panel brochure or leaflet)

Two fold (gatefold) creates three panels.

Three fold creates eight panels (Four on one side would be a one-side, four-panel leaflet, and might be folded double gatefold - the first and last panels are folded into the middle and then the last fold is in the middle)

CREATE INTEREST & PROVIDE INFORMATION
The purpose of your brochure is to create interest & provide information. Ask yourself "what is its purpose?" Will it be going out to people who have booked; as literature at a Tourist Information Centre; to people who might be persuaded to book or visit; to people who have just arrived at your attraction or as a "thank you" for your stay, or purchase, and to encourage repeat visits?

The way you present your information will create interest. The first panel – your front cover - should draw the readers' interest. There may not be any information on it, apart from your establishment’s name. It has to make people stop and pick it up, probably when displayed in a rack, with your competitors'. Is your first panel good enough to do that?

The second panel is usually text based and serves to build interest, and set the scene, so don’t have too much detail – just have a few unique selling points to intrigue and draw the reader in further.

Panels three and four can provide more detailed information, but be honest. Don’t over-sell yourself, and remember who your audience is. Think about the important features you can offer and the language you use. Do you want funky and modern or austere and reserved? Take a look at these examples:

Myhotel Chelsea:
http://www.myhotels.co.uk
"Welcome to myhotel Chelsea – where Brideshead Revisited meets Sex in the City; where the theme of a bohemian country house meets contemporary glamour."

The Old Parsonage Hotel – Tunbridge Wells
http://theoldparsonagehotel.co.uk
"The Old Parsonage is a magnificently restored Georgian country house set in a beautifully picturesque village, and offering top quality Bed & Breakfast accommodation. The grand reception rooms of the house are furnished with antiques, and there is a large sunny Conservatory overlooking a secluded garden."

These pieces of text are aimed at different audiences but equally convey the right message about their property. Even their names imply something about the experience the guest can expect.

Your final panel should be left clear and clean, with essential information such as address, telephone, email and web site. A map is also important, letting your guest know more about the area, where you are and what else there is to do locally. To sell your hotel or attraction you have to show that the whole area has attractions nearby.

Think now about the way you present the information. If your leaflet is on thin paper, with smudgy ink and tippexed corrections – what does that say about your product… that it leaves your hands dirty, is flimsy and out of date?

Imagine you are in the supermarket and you want to buy a cake; one cake box is ripped, the other is fine, neither cake has been damaged – which would you buy? Of course, you go for the nicely presented one.

That's what will happen to your leaflet in the Tourist Information Centre or in the Holiday Planner / Bedroom Browser. It will become easily damaged and ignored if you don’t invest in materials that reflect the quality of your business.

More than words…?
The message you convey creates desire. Imagine a deserted white sandy beach, a glistening red TVR, a refreshing ice-cold pint of Stella. These images or messages all create desire: to go on holiday; buy a new car; drink a cold lager on a hot day. The quality of the image and the message are essential. Sometimes a picture or some text and a brief slogan or catch phrase is enough. Think about these for a moment...

The cream of Manchester...
The future’s bright...
Vorsprung durch technic
Soft, Strong and Very Long

You know what the product is – even if their slogan is written in German – and you know the message of taste, quality, or reliability which the slogan summarises.

Type size
Type style and size can significantly affect the appearance of your brochure. Serif typefaces have letters that have little cross-strokes at the ends and sans serif typefaces don’t

These are the two primary type styles, with innumerable variations. Serif is generally considered easier to read; partly because it is the type style most of us learned to read. Sans serif makes good headlines, subheadings, or other attention-getters. Type size of the text should never be less than 10 point (type size is measured in "points") and should be larger for emphasis and readability. This is especially important if you are catering for elderly visitors.

Paper
Paper and ink are both important and the best way to make the right impression. Weight and texture can affect cost. The weight (thickness) of paper is measured in grams per square metre or gsm’s. Ask a printer for some free samples or pop into Office World, Partners or WH Smiths and have a look - and a feel. The weight of your paper may give weight to your claims. Flimsy paper implies other flimsiness.

Printing One, Two and Four Colour?
The fewer colours you use, the less the printing will cost. Remember that the colour includes all shades of the colour - from navy blue to skyblue, scarlet to rose pink, and excellent effects can be achieved using lighter and darker shades of a single colour against a contrasting paper colour. In many cases one colour print will serve your purpose. Bear in mind that if you chose crazy colours your images might end up looking like something from the psychedelic '70s.

Graphics
They say a picture says 1000 words – get out those other leaflets and look at the images. What do they say to you – quality, homely, safe, happy, exciting, fun, peaceful? Turn the sound down on the TV next time the adverts are on and jot down the emotions and words triggered – the messages conveyed through the pictures alone. Get someone you trust to do the same with the images that you use or want to use. They don’t have to be photos, try line drawings. Ask at the local school or college if anyone could do you a drawing or a new logo for a modest fee – you could make it a competition!
Ask at the Tourist Board or Tourist Information Centre to see if they have a photo library you could use, to encourage people to visit the area.

Maps
You might think your establishment is easy to find, but if it is dark, and you have been travelling for three hours the last thing you want to do is 'faff' about searching around a new area. By definition, the new customers you have struggled hard to attract, do not know where you are!

A map can also help encourage people to stay with you, particularly if you show your business’s location to points of interest – seafront, locally known mountains, lakes, museums, or conference venues.

Offering a lift from a railway station can draw guests who travel by train, and both railway stations and bus stations and stops can act as great landmarks, but also are excellent for people who are travelling by public transport, either to get to you or to use when travelling around your area.

Get someone to check your map and directions, to make sure you really mean a left-hand turn, and it really is the third exit off the roundabout!

The personal touch
In many cases a personalised letter from the business owner will add impact. Plus, in the letter you can focus on welcoming the customer and identifying what there is to do in the area, thus making your establishment even more appealing. Of course you can save time by using a template, so you don't need to completely re-write the letter each time. The letter should give a clear invitation to call or email you – ACTION!

Getting it to the Printer
Once you have written your text and your graphics are sorted, make sure you can make time to meet with your printer to discuss your order. Take the examples of brochures and leaflets you liked and some you didn't like. You're not using these to copy, but rather to give your printer an idea of the finished product you want to achieve. Write down features you like and don't like and your reasons for likes and dislikes. Ask your printer to suggest ways to get similar effects AND to lower your cost. Printers have different capabilities, depending on their equipment and services.

Although, in theory, you may simply take your text (copy) to your printer for your brochure or poster, preparing a rough layout, panel by panel, is a safer way to go. The rough idea can be anything from a simple pencil sketch layout to a word processor/computer graphic piece. This rough draft can prevent misunderstandings between you and your printer on the brochure layout.

Remember, you might make savings by buying in bulk. But if your brochure has a limited shelf life, and you end up with 5,000 of your 10,000 leaflets stating your old ’phone number (check if BT plans to change the code) or your old email address (because you changed your service provider) the lower cost per item is wasted!

Always ask to see a copy of your literature before you sign it off – this should be a proof check, to make sure the colours, numbers, folds, names and spelling are correct.

Work out what it is you want and the impression you want to create. Above all check what others think of your brochure – after all – it is them you have to impress!

GLOSSARY
Understanding the following terms will help in your discussions with your printer

Bleed - inked area of photo that runs off sides of paper (can increase costs).
Body copy - main text.
Box - special section of text placed inside lines or box.
Camera ready - material in final form for the printer to copy.
Flush right or left - lines that begin at right or left margin (flush left is normal copy, with right margin uneven, or ragged.
Font - typeface and point size.
Leading - space between lines of type (pronounced led-ing).
Point - indicates font size.
Proof - final copy for your approval before printing. (normally, if you make changes here, you'll pay extra; check carefully for printer's errors).
Reverse type - reversing normal type (light letters on a dark background).
Sans Serif - type styles with no strokes on end (This line is typed in sans serif).
Screens - dot formation used to create diagrams and photographs with tones.
Serifs - small cross-stroke on end of letters (often considered easier to read) (This line is typed in serif).

About the author
Tara Sewell is a member of the Learning Tourism Project at Lancaster University. Her knowledge of printing and brochure design comes from working within Tourism Services at Lancaster City Council, in the marketing team and within the Group Media Department as a copywriter for The Grand Vacation Company. To contact Tara for advice on printing or creating effective copy, or for general information about any aspect of the Learning Tourism project, please email her at T.Sewell@lancaster.ac.uk