Promotional brochures are a basic communications tool for the travel industry.  They have been for many years and will continue so for the foreseeable future.  Despite this extensive use and the considerable dollars involved, many businesses and organizations are still uncertain about the production and use of such material This uncertainty can be minimized by asking the right questions at the right time.
 
The fact that you are reading this pamphlet probably means that you have decided to produce a brochure.  It should also mean that you have considered all media possibilities and selected a brochure as the way or one of the ways to effectively reach an identified target audience.  If you have not done this analysis, you should do so before continuing.  Brochures are relatively inexpensive and many organizations use them for that reason.  But if they have no effect, the money to produce and distribute them is still wasted.

Having determined that a brochure is a component in your media mix, there are a series of questions you need to answer to guide you into the production process.  Even if you use an advertising agency- which is highly recommended-the answering of these questions will prepare you to work with an agency and should result in a better product.  Your advertising agency should be a valuable source of information for answering these questions.
 

Question I - What kind of tourism environment do I operate in?
 The number and type of attractions and support facilities in a given area determine the area's ability to attract and service a particular group of consumers.  The supply of travel products in your area establishes the tourism environment in which you will work.  An area of many attractions and support facilities is likely to be fairly well known to the public, so the task of selling your particular product is made easier by that familiarity.

An area of few attractions and support facilities is not likely to be well known, and the sales message has to be more inclusive of the area.  Somewhere in this range of familiarity is your area and facility.  The better you locate yourself in this range, the better chance of preparing the right sales message for your brochure.

 Before starting on your own brochure, you need to look at the number and kinds of brochures that originate in your community and the audiences to which they are addressed.  The task of selling your product is made progressively easier as your community is better known as a destination.  Most travel businesses do not operate in isolation; they rely on other travel businesses to supply other products the traveler must have.  The promotion of your travel business should not occur in isolation either if you expect it to be effective.
 

Question 2 - What am I selling and who am I selling it to?
  The questions "What am I selling?" and "who am I selling it to?" are two aspects of the same idea.  Looking at them separately or from these two viewpoints, should help establish a clearer idea of the product involved.  Ultimately, the product is what the consumer buys, not what the seller sells.  The closer these two perceptions agree, the more likely a sale will be made.

  These questions and your responses should be set down in writing.  If you cannot articulate these responses, the chances are high that your intended message will not come across in your brochure.  You need to determine your "point of difference," the quality or feature that is uniquely yours and sets you apart from all other sellers of similar products.  Since brochures are a communications tool, the use of a brochure presumes that you want to communicate something to someone to cause them to do something.  The basic purpose of a brochure is to sell your product.  The three components of a sale are an opening, a message, and a close.  The opening tells who are, the message tells what vou want the reader to buy, and the close asks the reader to make a purchase decision.  Without all three of these components, your brochure is simply informational, not a sales tool.

  You need to specifically identify your target audience.  Is your brochure directed to the individual consumer to influence him to choose your facility or service?  Is it directed to group travel planners or to travel retailers?  Is it directed to meetings planners or convention planners?  Each of these target audiences needs a specific set of information.  One single brochure cannot do an effective job in selling your product to these different groups of consumers.  Unless you select your target audience, your brochure will not speak properly to anyone.

 You need to consider what kind of information your target audience needs to know and wants to know from you.  Put yourself in the reader's place and consider what features and benefits would appeal to you.  Determine why the reader should choose you rather than all the other places available.
 

Question 3 - What action do I want my brochure to cause?
  A brochure is described above as a sales tool, that is, it should cause or help to cause some action on the part of the reader.  You need to specify what that action is.  These actions would include (1) making a purchase, (2) ordering a product, (3) calling or writing for more information, (4) liking your facility better, (5) liking your area better, (6) learning something significant that involves your facility and/or area, (7) choosing your area as a destination for a period of time, et al.

If you are producing a brochure on behalf of one or more attractions or facilities, you need to go through these questions with each one.  Make sure that the objectives and results are compatible so that the total effect of the brochure remains clear.
 

Question 4 - How will my brochure be distributed?
A brochure is meaningless until it gets into the hands of the people vou want to see it.  So your choice of a method of distribution is a basic decision.  Is it to be a rack piece, a handout piece, a pickup piece, a mail response piece, or a combination of these?  If it is a rack piece, what racks will you use?  If it is a handout piece, where will you hand it out?  If it is a pickup piece, where and how will it be displayed?  If it is a mail response piece, you should consider size and mailing weight and whether it will be used with or without a cover letter.

  Answering these questions will help you determine the number of brochures to be printed for your anticipated uses.  It also gives you a chance to evaluate the cost of the brochure (including distribution) with the kind of response you expect from its readers.
 

Question 5 - What criteria should I use in creating my brochure?
 The selection of visual and narrative material for your brochure should be greatly improved by the process of responding to previous questions.  Now you must decide on the style and substance of the message you want to convey.  These are numerous lists of criteria that are valid.  The following list is presented as a good composite of many good ideas.

    1.  Project who and what you are.  You can't be everything to everybody, so don't try to present yourself that way.  You'll wind up projecting nothing meaningful to anybody.

    2.  Put your best foot forward, but be truthful.  Every person you sell that ends up being disappointed with your product will turn other people away from you.

    3.  Look first class.  If your brochure looks shoddy, the person looking at it will assume your product is shoddy too.
 
    4.  Use the best pictures you can lay your hands on.

    5.  To make sure people will pick up your brochure or go beyond the cover, make sure your cover telegraphs boldly your strongest feature - the strongest thing you have to sell.

     6.  Make sure your brochure contains all the information your audience will need to know:  How to get to you, open dates and hours, admissions, your mailing address and telephone number.  If it's a trade piece, make sure you include information about commissions and group rates.

    7.   Finally, be charming.  Nobodv was ever bored into going anywhere - except away. No one is going to ho-hum their way through your brochure.  A little extra warmth, humor, or surprise in it will go a long way toward making yours an effective brochure.

Question 6- What design criteria should I use in producing my brochure?
 
The design of your brochure should convey the message you have determined from the analysis above.  Here is where professional judgment is so helpful.  It should be able to assure you that your message is properly reflected in the design features used for your brochure.
 
Because every brochure is for a unique situation or facility, every one will have a unique set of design criteria.  There are, however, some characteristics common to almost every brochure which are described below.
 
1. The cover.   The impact of the cover will probably determine whether or not your brochure will be read seriously.  The cover should illustrate the key selling point for your facility or area.  It is the sales opener that introduces your message.  If the opener creates a favorable expectation, the message will be received more readily.  If your brochure is a rack piece, then you have only the top three inches or so to create this impact.
 
2.   About photos.  Photos are potentially the best sales tool you can use in brochures, but they  can also be the biggest turnoff.  Whatever you are selling, it is always people who are the beneficiaries.  You cannot convey delight, satisfaction, enjoyment, happiness, and other pleasing emotions without people.  And when you use people as subjects in your photos, be sure to get a signed release to use the photos.  Outdated photos create an image of outdated facilities, so do not use them except for deliberate effect.
 
3. About size. You have two sizes to be concerned about.  One is the size of the printing stock used to print your brochure.  Stock paper sizes are usually less expensive than special sizes, so determine what printer uses as stock paper size.  The second one is the size of the completed brochure, folded down or closed up and ready to distribute.  Rack- pieces and mail pieces using standard envelopes must be the customary 4"x9" in size.  Other pieces can be whatever size you them to be. Your concern here is in convenience of use, ease of storing and keeping, and bulk.

  4. Other tips.  Choose your printer carefully.  A good printer can make all your careful planning pay off.  Make your brochure consistent with your other advertising.    If your brochure is mailed, print something unusual on the envelope to catch attention.  Transparencies and slides give much better results than prints.  Remember that color does not convert to black and white very well.  Use extra care in designing maps.  Remember that most readers will not be familiar with your area.  Develop a brochure that is worth keeping.