You know that the right ads can mean the difference between making payroll or closing your doors. Today, every marketing guru tells you to focus on online advertising. After all, its reach is impressive. According to the Pew Research Center, almost 30% of Americans are online "almost constantly." More tellingly, 8 in 10 adults go online at least once a day.

However, print ads have an important advantage over online and cellphone ads.

Paper is "shareable and keepable." In advertising, that's pure gold.

Flyers and brochures reinforce your marketing message because people see them, keep them, and share them. 

Make the Most of Print

There are many effective ways to promote your restaurant with print. What are your marketing goals? Done well, print advertising can bring in new diners and keep your regular diners invested in your brand. According to Modern Restaurant Management, 60% of diners say great food is the main reason for their continued patronage, while 22% say it's great service. Your advertising reminds them of both. It also persuades new diners to check out your restaurant.

Why focus on great food and service? It's how they make people feel. Advertising revives the memories of a delicious lunch, romantic evening, or joyful celebration at your restaurant.

Relevant Ads Highlight Your Restaurant's Value Proposition

Design your flyers, brochures, and posters well and you'll communicate happiness, excitement, comfort, fun, and satisfaction. A visual representation of your restaurant's values can be a means of embedding your brand in the public consciousness. Your ads can focus on something as basic as "good food at great prices." In short, the right ads connect value to your brand.

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Some Basics About Brand Image

Your restaurant is unique in some ways. It may be:

• Community-based.
• Ethnic-based.
• A more casual, "value-for-money" breakfast and lunch establishment.
• A refined dining restaurant with a member of The Court of Master Sommeliers on staff.
• A natural base for Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Z consumers.

Your brand is your "promise" to consumers. Great advertising communicates that promise.

Your logo, design themes, images, and colors are how your diners relate to your brand. Print advertising lets your customers relive their previous experience or imagine the first one.

Create Relevant Ads by Asking the Right Questions

Answer these questions and you have your groundwork set:

• What, specifically, do you want your diners to think, feel, imagine – and do?
• What interests, educates, excites, motivates, and gets your target diners to act?
• Which of these is your top priority? Various types of printed material perform different jobs. However, they all reinforce your message to get optimum results.

Print Advertising Options That Make Your Brand Stand Out

• Flyers are a mobile form of advertising. They can be delivered, picked up, carried around, and shared. They can advertise an event, special offer, BOGO promotion, Happy Hour, or a new menu item. They work to reinforce the message in your brochures.

• Brochures are also mobile. You can leverage multiple photos to suggest menu options. The average American is bogged down with decision-making in every facet of life. Your brochures should make it easy for them to make a decision.

• Posters tend to shout your message loud and clear. So, you want them in prominent areas. An interesting poster can inspire customers to pick up the brochure or flyer. You can use a poster as a huge flyer that reinforces the message of your brand.

• Business cards are a clever advertising tool. The front side contains phone numbers and addresses. However, on the rear, you can print a QR code. The code allows your customers to get a free drink, enter a contest for a free meal, or participate in a special event. Business cards get picked up because you can leave stacks of them in prominent areas. They're often the bait to catch a new diner or reel in the regular diner one visit sooner than they intended. 

How the Right Colors in Print Advertising Enhances Your Brand Image

An attractive layout and the correct use of color, shade, hue, and letter fonts is critical. You can inspire particular emotions through an effective visual communication campaign.

Great design directs the reader's eyes to your restaurant's value proposition. Your logo should inspire instant recognition and your "Call to Action" should be clearly visible, along with your restaurant's phone number or online reservation link.

The colors you choose have massive impact – and so do the shades you use. Color and shade influence mood. So, use color to send an important message and make decision-making easy for your customers.

• Red is "exciting" and can increase interest. However, too much red says "danger."
• Yellow says "happy" and "comfortable." (Think McDonald's Golden Arches).
• White denotes purity.
• Red inspires passion.
• Pink is all about love.
• A little orange says, "Good times are here for you."
• Purple can mean prosperity, mystery, or wisdom.

The Final Word on Color

The right colors can inspire your target audience.

You can use cards, flyers, brochures, and posters in different locations to communicate slightly different messages that reinforce each other, all of which adds up to more business.

Ready to explore how color can enhance your brand image? To find out more, schedule a free design session here. Your success is our priority.

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If you have a project you’d like us to quote for design and/or print, call us at 847.336.6000 or click the button below to send us a message.