When you design your calendars, always remember that you have to balance between aesthetically pleasing elements and communicative advertising elements. There are times when the two seem opposed, but finding a good balance is the best way to achieve your marketing goals.



Advertising too aggressively will make you look like an over eager salesman, while advertising too little may make your calendar a waste of money. Here are some ways to balance money making and aesthetics:

1.Market the product and not the brand. It comes later on. The most important thing for you to do is to create an awareness of how your product can be used in your clients’ day to day life. You can depict this by simply showing beautiful pictures of models using the items.

oLook at the example of the Milk advertisement series where popular models donned on a milk mustache. It does not advertise any particular brand of milk, but it simply talks about the benefits of milk. The advertisement is a joint project of milk advertisers who simply want to increase the demand for milk believing it will trickle down to improve their brand’s bottom line in the long run.

oOn the other hand, it may be too risky for you to have your clients running to the competition. What you can do is include coupons at the end of the calendar which they can use for discounts or trial samples. If you have a good product, you have a good chance of getting them as repeat clients.

2.Make an appeal and drive them to curiosity. Avert direct reference to your products, but rather, talk about the entire industry you belong to. You may give your clients a walk through the development in the technology that made your products possible.

•Your clients are already predisposed to your services (they wouldn’t get the calendar if they’ve never been to your shop) this is just a way to getting them hook line and sinker. Show prototypes of your products and show them the improvements you have since then.

•It should always be informative and interesting. But leave enough room for them to do some research and inquiries.

3.Use your calendar as a public service reminder. Your products have an underlying philosophy for being made and manufactured. If it’s a laundry detergent, it advocates health and cleanliness if it’s a decorative item then it promotes happiness and well being, etc.

•Find out what your service is about at this level. Let your clients know your rationale for going into the business to begin with. Develop on this concept and think of the ideal world your products want to achieve.

•Make the calendar a print resource that educates your clients to the importance of your advocacy. Include statistics and numbers to make your claims credible. Try to donate a certain portion of your profit to a foundation forwarding that advocacy.

Make your calendars resonate humaneness. We all know about the bottom line businesses are so concerned about, but at the end of the day the business that knows the human heart best is the one that wins their business.