The 33 Best Types of Marketing Collateral: The Massive Guide for Better Marketing Material
We provide you with an overview of (almost) all existing marketing collateral and suggest when and how to properly create it.
But first of all, let’s make sure that we’re on the same page.
Marketing Collateral
Marketing collateral describes a compilation of different media types, which is used to help improve the sales of a product or service. In the past, the term “marketing collateral” was mainly associated with brochures[1] that were used to support the sales process.
But today, companies use marketing collateral to inform potential customers about their products or services, so this term now refers to both offline and online media.
The marketing message depends on the type of collateral you’re using. In general, you should concentrate on answering the following questions (among others):
- What makes your product or service unique?
- What are the benefits of using your product or service?
- Why should people use your product or service?
- Why is your product or service better than your competitor’s?
I know you want to have a look at our complete list of marketing collateral. Let’s dive into it. So, sit back and enjoy 😎
You don’t have the time to read the whole guide now? No problem. We’ve got you covered:
How to Manage the Marketing Collateral Creation Process
Before we get a better idea of the key types of marketing collateral out there, let’s take a closer look at how you can manage the creation of that collateral. For most pieces of marketing collateral, there are four steps you’ll want to follow – here’s a closer look.
1. Concept
The marketing team launches the process and works to create a strong “concept”. The concept is essentially the high-level idea behind marketing collateral. It should answer big questions like:
- Why do we need this particular marketing collateral?
- What do we need marketing collateral to communicate to audiences?
- What are the specific goals we have for the marketing collateral?
- How will we structure the marketing collateral to achieve those goals?
- How will the marketing collateral look/sound/feel?
Sometimes, the concept has to be created in cooperation with internal or external stakeholders.
2. Briefing
Now that the concept has been agreed upon, the marketing team needs to turn that abstract concept into an actionable briefing. This creative brief needs to give every stakeholder a clear idea of the project. It should include all the key information so that stakeholders can use it as a guide while working on the project.
Here’s a sample collateral creative brief from Filestage. Feel free to make a copy:[2]
Once the brief has been completed, marketing should share it with the team members responsible for the creation of the collateral. This can be done within Filestage [start your free trial here][3] – the tool makes it simple for project stakeholders to review the brief, request changes, ask for clarification, and agree on the final brief.
With Filestage[4], all of your feedback is clear and transparent – it’s the perfect way to make sure your creative brief is created as quickly and accurately as possible.
3. Review and Approval: Marketing <> Design
Now that your creative professionals have a detailed creative brief in their hands, they’ll be able to work their magic. Once they have a first draft ready they should upload it to Filestage so that all of the necessary stakeholders can leave their feedback.
It is simple to invite internal and external collaborators using Filestage. You can decide to invite reviewers using their email address, for instance, or simply copy a review link that can be shared using your preferred contact method:
Depending on your collateral, you might have multiple review steps. Filestage makes it easy for you to add new steps so that your marketing collaterals are reviewed appropriately and polished to perfection.
4. Optional: Approval by Management
It might sometimes be necessary for high-level stakeholders to review particular marketing collateral. If that’s the case, Filestage[5] makes it easy to invite those stakeholders to review the collateral.
The tool helps you to impress those important stakeholders and save their time. You can collect their valuable feedback in one place and use Filestage’s integrated to-do list to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
You can repeat this process as many times as necessary. Simply create a new review step until you have the final, polished collateral ready.
Types of Marketing Collateral
Online Marketing Collateral
1. Biographies of Founders and Executives
Place biographies of your founders and executives on your website as social proof that informs your visitors about the successes of your founders and executives. That way, they will associate the performance of your company with these leaders’ accomplishments.
When to Use Biographies of Founders and Executives
Did your founders and executives work at popular companies, or are they considered to be leaders in your industry? Perfect. Present this information to your prospects as a warranty for success.
How to Create Biographies of Founders and Executives
If your founders and executives are very busy, just have a look at their LinkedIn profiles, and compose a compelling bio about them. Afterwards, send it to them for approval.
2. Blog Posts
Blog posts[7] are great ways to provide your prospects with a lot of value. Don’t concentrate on selling. Instead, focus on solving problems and helping your prospects. Blog posts are good methods for describing topics in-depth.
When to Use Blog Posts
Blog posts can be used whenever you want to tackle topics that are not directly related to your product or service. They’re great methods for nurturing prospects and getting in touch with them in a non-salesy way.