It happened again. I got another call about a tri-fold brochure. Wasn’t her fault. She told me that her printer recommended it. Darn that printer. He should know better.
Unless you absolutely have to have something to mail in a #10 envelope or need something that fits into an acrylic display next to your register or in your trade show booth, I can’t conceive of any good reason to ever make a tri-fold brochure.
They are unattractive, difficult to design for and confusing for prospects to read.
Recipients don’t know where the start and are bored by the inevitable lists that fit best in that narrow column.
Worst of all, any imagery that does make it inside is usually reduced to the size of a postage stamp or something that looks like a frame out of a cartoon strip.
I questioned whether she had already printed the brochure and then breathed a sigh of relief to find that we still have time to rescue her otherwise good intentions. When we meet last week I’m going to suggest that we look at a postcard. A really big one. Lots of area of imagery and messages. Cheaper to produce. And much more impactful.