Door drop leaflets, like any other form of advertising, depend on being noticed. It is vital that they attract people’s attention.
Of course the message they carry is important, but the message will never be read if the leaflet does not stand out from all the other forms of advertising it is competing with.
To achieve this, most door drop leaflets follow the tried and tested method of capturing the prospects attention.
They use bright colours, illustrations and, if their budget allows it, high quality paper.
This rule has served door drop leaflets very well, and should be continued. However there is an exception to this rule, and using bright colours and high quality paper can be put aside if the situation demands it.
An example of this exception to the rule of using full colour printing on door drops came to my attention this month.
The exception to the rule
Here in the United Kingdom we have just held a general election, and for the past few months we have been subjected to relentless electioneering from all the many political parties competing for our votes; and of course most of these political parties have sensibly used door drop leaflets to get their various messages across.
Most of the leaflets I have looked at from the various candidates promoting the benefits to be gained by voting for them have been printed in full colour, with each party featuring their representative or house colour, and I must confess most of them have been very well designed and printed.
However, there was one leaflet that really stood out from all the others, and this leaflet proved that you do not need to print your leaflet in full colour to catch people’s attention.
This particular leaflet was not from a candidate from one of the main political parties, but someone who was standing as an independent, and had no affiliation to any party, and, therefore, no party colour to identify him.
His answer was to use just black ink on plain white paper; but it was used in a very effective way.
The candidate, being an independent, had a very limited budget, but in my opinion he used it very well.
A good message for little money
The leaflet consisted of a single A4 sheet printed in black on both sides of reasonable, but not high quality stock. The sheet had been folded down to a third A4.
A headline with the word “INDEPENDENT” in large bold upper case was printed white out of a solid black box, with the candidates name and sub heading and some copy beneath.
Once the leaflet was opened it had a clear and concise message on both sides. This stark, almost minimal approach, made this leaflet stand out.
Lack of cash should not be a barrier
The moral of this tale is that it is possible to produce an outstanding door drop leaflet on a limited budget.
With some creative thinking at the design stage, even those with a little amount of cash to spend; can have access to a door drop leaflet plan.
