Nowadays, there are various advertising materials with which you can convince customers of your products. One classic variant is flyers. To ensure that they are convincing, you need to pay attention to everything from the material to the design. Here you can learn about the many advantages of using cardboard for your flyers and how you can implement an attractive design.

Where are advertising materials such as flyers used?

Printed advertising materials such as flyers are indispensable even in the digital age. Handing over a haptic advertising medium to potential customers has a completely unique style that is convincing. There are many opportunities and uses, for example at trade fairs or after a personal meeting with a prospective customer.

The advertising messages contained on the flyers are presented visually and remain in the memory of the recipients for a long time. The flyers contain important contact details and a link to your website. They show the core of your advertising message, they make people want to get to know you and your company better.

Flyers are irreplaceable in marketing

Flyers have long been one of the most popular advertising media. The handy prints are inexpensive to produce and are perfect for targeting audiences. Whether invitations to events, inserts in magazines or promotions for advertising campaigns - flyers are an integral part of marketing communication.

Offline marketing versus online marketing

Printed advertising materials are an offline marketing tool. Most companies operate offline marketing and online marketing in parallel. The figures prove the great importance of both marketing areas: In 2021, the net online volume in Germany increased by around one billion euros to 22.2 billion euros. The offline net volume was 24.1 billion euros, with an increase of 3.1 billion euros.

In marketing, there is no need to decide between offline and online - the right mix is crucial for success.

 

What are the materials for flyers?

The material used for the flyers is an important factor influencing the effect. You make a statement through the choice of material: if you use sustainable materials, you positively strengthen your image. There is a wide range of different materials to choose from:

• Picture printing paper
  
• Recycled paper
• Natural paper
• Cardboard
• Plastic film
• Offset paper.

Exciting effects through refinement

The optional finishing creates additional effects. If a UV coating is applied, the gloss effect is increased. If you want the opposite effect and want to weaken the gloss, a matte dispersion coating is suitable.

You can choose whether you want to finish the entire flyer or set specific accents with partial finishing. A real highlight is the finishing in gold or silver - the surface reflects the light.

The grammage as a quality feature

An important characteristic of the material is the grammage. The term refers to the weight per square meter, i.e. in relation to a paper with side lengths of 1 m and 1m. Papers with a grammage of at least 150 g/m² bear the designation cardboard. If the grammage is more than 600 g/m², then it is cardboard.

The grammage indicates more than just the pure weight. It gives you an impression of the thickness and stability of the flyer. If the material is light, the flyer is thin and less stable. A heavy material - like cardboard - on the other hand, increases stability and has a solid thickness. Durability and longevity are also affected by grammage. A heavy material is more durable and long-lasting.

Advantages of cardboard as a material for promotional products: The high quality

The flyers are characterized by durability and resistance. The recipient receives a lasting positive impression when he receives such a flyer. The feel is firm and stable. The paper is very easy to hold in the hand and does not buckle.

Cardboard is stable and durable

Also consider the presentation of the flyers when you put them in an exhibitor or place them on a counter as a stack: flyers made of cardboard have a high internal stability and the stability derived from it.

They also keep their shape when you present them in a display. If customers take out a flyer, the individual flyers do not stick to each other. The customer gets a positive impression because there are no annoying problems.

The high resistance of cardboard flyers is also an advantage in the further course of their use. The customer pockets the flyer and reads it again at a later time. He contacts your company via the data shown on the flyer.

A sturdy material does not crumple when put in a jacket pocket. All information is still clearly visible even if the flyer is not handled carefully. To increase the protection even further, the finishing of the flyer is an option.

Thick cardboard or thin cardboard?

The material designation cardboard refers to different thicknesses, starting at 150 g/m² and ending at 600 g/m². This means that there is a wide range of different thicknesses. This circumstance offers you the advantage that you can select the ideal thickness for the flyer depending on the respective project.

It does not always make sense to choose the highest possible thickness. You can also achieve a high-quality impression with an elegantly printed cardboard in a thickness of 150 g/m² if you work with finishes.

A weight at the lower end of the scale is advantageous when used as a newspaper insert, as well as when sent by mail. Cardboard offers you this freedom of choice. Consider the cost-benefit factor and the planned use of the flyer when selecting the material.

Advantages of cardboard as a material for promotional products: The sustainability

Cardboard is paper and paper is degradable. In contrast to advertising materials made of plastic, the sustainability of cardboard is very high. You contribute to environmental protection and show this to your potential customers at the same time.

Paper as a sustainable high-tech product

The starting material of paper is wood. This renewable raw material is obtained and processed in an environmentally friendly way. Manufacturers have been perfecting their methods and recycling processes for decades.

Waste paper fibers are reused, which reduces the amount of waste generated. Waste paper fibers can be reused up to seven times. As with any production process, paper manufacturing generates residual materials and residual products. These leftovers are further processed into energy - a sustainable process.

The natural degradation of paper

One (non-sustainable) alternative to cardboard advertising media is the use of plastic. However, since any advertising material will be disposed of sooner or later, it is necessary to compare the time required for degradation: Plastic decays after a period of 100 to 5,000 years - depending on the shape, conditions and other substances contained.

Paper, on the other hand, takes 6 weeks to 5 years to fully degrade. Therefore, paper is sustainable and plastic on the other hand is harmful to the environment.

The recycling of cardboard

The paper industry is considered a pioneer in terms of sustainability. The high recycling rate and the careful use of resources justify this statement.

90 percent of the water consumed in the paper industry is returned to the rivers in a clean state after use. The remaining 10 percent of the water is either stored as residual moisture in the product or escapes as water vapor.

Cardboard is a sustainable and high-quality material for printed promotional materials.

  

Cardboard business cards

Business cards should leave a lasting good first impression. You present business cards to customers and business partners. A stable and durable business card shows your counterpart that you value quality.

Cardboard business cards have the shape of a (bank) card, but are made of a sustainable material. Choose a slightly higher grammage here. A grammage of at least 250 g/m² is ideal.

What should I pay attention to when designing the advertising material?

Flyers should catch the attention of consumers and be informative at the same time. For this purpose, you can use the front and the back of the flyers. Each page should not look too cluttered, otherwise important information will not be noticed by the recipients.

The viewer's eye should be directed specifically to the most important areas of the flyer. Clarity is an important design factor. Readers can grasp a maximum of five statements on a flyer at a glance, which is why there should be no more different important information on one page.

A call to action must not be missing from the flyer. The potential customer has taken in all the information and must now be prompted to buy or contact the company.

Five tips for flyer design

1. The font of the text should be easy to read. Squiggles worsen readability, which can lead to consumers not reading the text.
2. Work with headlines to provide important information there in a compact form and to highlight paragraphs of particular interest to consumers.
3. Pay attention to the optimal positioning of the information. Lead the viewer's eye to the relevant information. The call-to-action is either at the beginning or at the end.
4. Include infographics in the flyer. Infographics increase clarity. People grasp visual elements faster, they understand content better when it is presented in a graphic.
5. Advertising materials are always created with the target group in mind. Whether a flyer achieves the desired effect and is well designed depends largely on the target group. Therefore, get to know your target group and gather crucial information about your customers. Then design the flyer according to the expectations of the target group.

FAQ

1. What is cardboard?

   Cardboard is paper with a grammage of at least 150 g/m².

2. Is cardboard durable as a material for printed advertising materials?
   

   Cardboard has high durability. It is durable and does not crumple quickly.

3. Which sustainable material is suitable for printed promotional materials?
   Cardboard is a particularly strong paper that is sustainable and durable.