Today I’m writing about crafting design around a promotional campaign so that it has real cut through and the elements you need to consider to do this.

It’s always wise to choose an agency that is multi disciplinary and that can bring expertise from a variety of specialised creative skills including art directing photo shoots, commissioning illustrations and crafting new typefaces. Often to cut through the plethora of promotional material in circulation a concept needs to push the boundaries and venture into more adventurous territory. A DL mail out just isn’t going to cut it. A studio skilled in the creation of a range of projects that can launch your ideas to the left-of-centre is always preferable to a mono skilled studio that specializes say just in print.

I want to use a past client project we completed for Rockend to illustrate how a print design piece can be far more engaging than your standard DL mail out. Rockend are suppliers of high-powered, yet easy-to-use, property management software solutions, so when they approached us to design and implement their new promotional campaign, we sought to demonstrate these elements as across a multitude of design channels.

The result was a series of three z-card brochures, packed full of information about Rockend’s products, and able to fit into your pocket. The efficiency of the z-cards’ fold was given added punch with the use of Rockend’s energetic red colour scheme throughout the brochure. The z-card fold is an excellent solution for Rockend’s campaign, both in terms of communication and logistics. Rockend’s potential clients are in the market for sophisticated software that is reliable and efficient, able to handle a wide array of complex services without confusing its users. As these z-card brochures fold out to a 390mm x 540mm double-sided poster, there is ample space to contain the wealth of information Rockend’s clients need for making an informed purchase. On the flip side, having these posters fold neatly into a card that snugly fits into the pockets of Rockend’s representatives is a marketing dream come true. To balance out the high amount of text in the brochure, our graphic designers developed a series of red images that thematically linked to ideas of finance and management. We also seeded direct-to-camera photographs of models demonstrating the relaxed manner with which they can conduct their business through technology, showing a human side to the benefits gained by Rockend’s clients. This campaign is a fantastic example of how to synthesise several different purposes into a clean, attractive solution, which we always aspire to in our work.