Collateral refers to the promotional materials supporting sales, spanning both print and digital from brochures to blogs.
With 61% of US ad budgets devoted to digital, marketing collateral has become a high-impact digital asset powering lead generation and conversions.
Yet many businesses fail to realize its full potential across channels.
This comprehensive guide will unpack how to strategically develop integrated, high-converting collateral that drives rapid business growth.
What is Marketing Collateral and Why Does it Matter?
Collateral includes the promotional materials used to communicate your brand story, educate audiences and promote products. Both online and offline collateral serve a range of purposes:
- Raise Awareness – Infographics, videos, banner ads display your brand to new audiences.
- Educate Prospects – Whitepapers, eBooks, and blog posts share expertise.
- Provide Proof – Case studies, reviews and testimonials establish credibility.
- Enable Sales – Datasheets, proposals, and presentations assist buyer decisions.
- Stay Top of Mind – Email newsletters and direct mail touch existing customers.
The right materials for each buyer journey stage help progress visitors into qualified sales leads.
Well-designed collateral also allows consistent branding across channels and assets—strengthening perception.
In today’s digital world, collateral offers unmatched versatility reaching wider audiences across more platforms.
The Growing Value of Marketing Collateral
Collateral represents a vital component of sales and marketing strategy in 2023.
Consider that:
- 75% of B2B buyers use at least 10 pieces of content while researching purchases. Source Diverse collateral tailored to each phase builds confidence in solutions.
– **Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and drives over 3 times as many leads.** [Source](https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics/) Quality collateral pays dividends.
– **Product information is the most influential asset during B2B selection process.** [Source](https://www.demandmetric.com/content/50-stats-content-marketing) Catalogs, datasheets and visual content enable decisions with rich product details and specifications.
– **Video on landing pages lift conversions by over 80%.** [Source](https://WXIWX.com) Interactive collateral moves audiences to act.
Now that we‘ve explored its benefits, let‘s examine popular collateral working today…
Types of Marketing Collateral
Both traditional and digital collateral drive multi-channel strategies, but their application varies by purpose:
Physical/Print Marketing Collateral
Despite digital‘s growth, printed collateral still offers unique tactile engagement.
Business Cards – Simple distributable contact cards open opportunities for follow up discussions.
Postcards – Brand messaging can blanket targeted neighborhoods through direct mail postcards.
Brochures – Professionally designed tri-fold brochures make company capabilities and product visuals portable.
Catalogs – Bound collections of product details remain useful for in-person engagement.
Flyers – Short promotional flyers placed in local venues enable community marketing.
Digital Marketing Collateral
Digital collateral powers most modern multi-channel strategies with versatile formats reaching far more prospects online:
Blogs – In-depth posts on industry topics demonstrate expertise while driving SEO traffic.
eBooks – Lengthy free content exchanges in return for lead contact details.
Case Studies – Stories profiling customer success build credibility through social proof.
Whitepapers – Data-driven reports make persuasive arguments around business issues.
Emails – Regular sales and promo emails to subscribers, spanning nudges to newsletters.
Social Posts – Bite-sized brand and content updates publish free across social platforms.
Visual Marketing Collateral
Visual collateral breaks through the noise to communicate messages clearly and drive sharing across social media:
Presentations – Well-designed slides educate and provide sellers with leave behind collateral.
Infographics – Display engaging data visualizations with minimal text for easy digestion.
Interactive Content – Clickable images, quizzes and model views based in digital experiences boost engagement.
Videos – Motion, music and narrative video content captures viewer interest and emotions.
Images – Photos, illustrations, comics and memes amplify messages across channels.
Integrated Collateral
With fragmented audiences, strategically coordinating collateral improves outcomes:
Websites – Company websites anchor collateral hosting blogs, videos and tools in one discoverable place.
Landing Pages – Dedicated pages aligned to promos/ads host gated offers, contact forms and richer interactive content.
Email Nurtures – Series of themed emails with tailored content/offers guide subscribers to conversions.
Ads – Pay-per-click/social promotions drive visitors to consume collateral hosted on landing pages.
Reviews – Positive customer ratings, reviews and testimonials provide validation at the late buyer stage.
Emerging Marketing Collateral Trends
Rapid innovation continually shapes modern collateral to maximize impact:
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Augmented reality overlays digital visuals onto the real-world environment using mobile cameras. This allows customers to visualize products in their own space.
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Virtual reality transports users into interactive simulated 3D environments through headsets. Companies leverage VR to provide immersive product experiences.
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Smart content dynamically changes displayed information to match individual visitor needs and interests in real time. This personalized approach makes content more relevant and compelling across channels.
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Artificial intelligence tailors suggested content to complement visitor buyer stage and role detected through analytics. This nurtures customers with the right assets when they need them most.
As technology progresses, collateral becomes more visually dynamic while integrating across channels for a unified customer experience. Let‘s dive into creation best practices…
Creating Killer Marketing Collateral
Producing collateral that sells demands strategic coordination. Follow these guidelines to develop assets that trigger engagement and conversions:
Match Materials to Buyer Personas
Not all prospects have the same needs and interests. Define key customer personas then map required information to guide through their distinct journeys from awareness to advocacy. This matrix can inform content types tailored to each profile.
PERSONA | COLLATERAL MAPPING:
| Marketing Manager | Competitor comparisons, case studies |
| Engineer | Technical specifications, architecture overviews |
| C-level Executive | IDG research reports, total cost of ownership models |
| Current Customer | Newsletters, access to support portal |
Plot Collateral Against Buying Journey Stages
Coordinate collateral to provide the right information when audiences need it:
Awareness Stage – Blog posts, videos and infographics make introductions.
Consideration Stage – Detailed comparisons, product documentation and analyst reports assist evaluation.
Decision Stage – Interactive demos, free trials and ROI calculators enable selection.
Always prepare the next asset to advance customers closer to a sale.
STAGE PROGRESSION EXAMPLE:
Blog Post -> Comparison Matrix -> Calculator -> Interactive Demo -> Free Trial -> Price Quote
Maintain Consistent Branding
Brand recognition stems from consistent identity displayed across all assets. This triggers familiarity and trust when consumed.
From typography to logo placement, templates and predefined styles keep collateral on brand. Graphic elements like color schemes, illustration themes and photo filtering provide visual continuity. Extract these elements into brand guidelines.
Emphasize Readability
Scannable content balances text, data and visuals to ease information finding. This ensures key messages get absorbed in content-heavy assets. Optimization tactics include:
- Short sections with frequent headers and spacing between paragraphs
- Numbered lists and bulleted points over blocks of text
- Bolding for focal points
- Contextual graphics like photos and charts
- Simple designs with clear visual hierarchy
Readable page layouts allow quick comprehension for busy audiences across devices.
Prioritize Visual Information
Graphics, data visualizations, infographics, and video better communicate complexity through engaging formats that stick in memory.
Charts simplify numerical comparisons otherwise lost in tables. Flow diagrams demonstrate intricate processes. Infographics artfully transform stats into colorful designs. Videos dramatize scenarios through motion and emotion.
Blending graphical and text explanations ensures balance for visual and reading preferences—strengthening engagement.
Incorporate Interactivity
Digital creates new possibilities for interactive content. This Hands-on experience boosts attention and recall even from passive visitors. Interactive elements that prompt exploration include:
- Image maps – Clickable diagram callouts reveal more details.
- Expandable sections – Additional insights conceal within collapsed boxes.
- Hover functionality – Floating tooltips enrich information scent with support data.
- Calculators – Collect input to provide customized projections.
- Quizzes – Capture leads through choice questions that reveal performance.
- Augmented reality – Digitally overlay products into real environments.
- 3D model views – Enable product inspection from all angles by clicking and dragging.
Moderately intersperse interactives without overloading pages into distracting arcade games. Find the balance through testing.
Streamline Sharing
Readers that voluntarily share compelling collateral multiply distribution more credibly as peer endorsements. Optimize assets for sharing by:
- Enabling highlight copy text selections
- Adding social media share buttons
- Integrating embed code for presentations
- Incentivizing referrals through discounts or gated offers in exchange for shares
Referral incentives in particular encourage wider uncontrolled spread across networks.
Insert Clear Calls-to-Action
Without clear direction, even interested visitors wander away aimlessly. Prominently placed calls-to-action indicate desired next steps, like:
- Requesting contact
- Downloading an offer
- Starting a free trial
- Signing up for a webinar
- Following on social media
- Sharing the content
Monitoring click-through rates on CTAs informs which produce outcomes for further testing and refinement.
Distribute Across Channels
Creating remarkable collateral means little if untapped by audiences. An omnichannel distribution strategy repurposes content for wider reach:
- Share visual assets across social media platforms organically and via paid ads
- Insert gated offers into outbound emails with links to hosted collateral
- Feature infographics, videos and tools on website pages
Repackaging and reposting gets collateral in front of more engaged visitors across venues.
Continuously Optimize Performance
Measure real collateral performance through analytics to double down on what converts:
- Page views and content downloads signal interest
- Email click and read rates show engagement
- Lead quality evaluates nurturing effectiveness
- Sales pipeline impact links collateral to revenue
Regularly prune underperforming pieces based on data to focus resources on constructive assets. Testing improvements to formatting, offers and calls to action further optimizes effects.
Key Takeaways
- Marketing collateral includes the array of physical and digital promotional materials supporting sales processes through every buyer journey stage.
- Matching collateral directly to buyer personas based on their needs and interests ensures relevance and conversion.
- Maintaining brand consistency across all assets including designs establishes familiarity and trust.
- Prioritizing scannable layouts, visuals, interactivity and sharing keeps modern audiences engaged across channels and devices.
- Distributing collateral via an integrated omnichannel strategy expands reach to turn interest into measurable sales pipeline contributions.
For today‘s results-driven marketers, making collateral a core sales accelerator requires insights, creativity and purposeful coordination. Follow these best practices to unlock the complete power of marketing collateral in 2023!
Now dive deeper into supercharging each collateral category using the latest formats and platforms:
