The COVID-19 pandemic touched each aspect of life in numerous ways. Businesses were quite affected as three quarters of the world had to endure a global lockdown. Moreover, numerous small businesses were adversely affected and had faced challenges which were hard to overcome.

Continuing business as usual became a challenge. How an organization shared information was also questioned. Normal ways of doing trade were not available for that time. Moreover, the process of producing promotional material changed too.

Today in this post, we will have a very good look at how brochure design evolved with time and how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced it. Factors related to how business owners determined new ways for sharing information, the required tones (like reassurance) and shift in purpose of the literature and the like.

In what ways did the COVID-19 pandemic change things for businesses in the marketing avenue?

It did become apparent that the pandemic would last for quite some time. This means that businesses and business owners faced serious implications. In terms of sharing information, business owners and marketing experts had to rethink the way information was going to be shared about businesses with customers.

The pandemic forced everyone indoors and the requirement for both digital and printed materials rose. Keeping this in consideration, a lot of businesses opted for digital brochures instead of physical ones. A lot of companies who shied away from making digital materials began publishing documents in electronic formats.

One of the most common ways of doing so was via animated page-flipping Brochures in PDF format. This malfunctioned in a lot of ways like a typical paper brochure. In this kind of way, any brochure designed during the COVID-19 pandemic only had slight changes. The real change was observed in  content delivery where restoring consumer confidence was key.

In what ways were customers given proper reassurance, if any?

The COVID-19 pandemic had sadly turned the world upside down. Each person was concerned and was also anxious in all aspects of their precious life. The relationships between businesses and customers went sideways as well and many customers and business owners alike were wondering what to do next.

In such a situation, Brochure design acquired a new function. It was aimed at reassuring customers that service will continue as usual, to bring all business to normal as quickly as possible.

Brochures were earlier inclined towards advertising a business’s portfolio (products/services). They later became instrumental through which each business could explain to their customers how the pandemic had impacted operations. 

Each business, brand and company alike found new measures which businesses utilized to make sure both services and orders were being safely fulfilled and no delays were experienced.

There is of course another side to brochures during the pandemic too. A lot of businesses endured monumental losses in terms of revenue and many had to take bailouts from governments to make sure things were running smoothly. At most companies, additional pressure landed on most sales and marketing teams to create content which would help make up for lost revenue.

The success of brochures became more crucial than ever (because a business’s success or fall depended on the brochure doing a great job). With rising engagement being a key deciding factor, designers decided to bring new and creative ways  to present content in a much appealing way. This helped keep readers engaged.

Brochure content during the COVID-19 Pandemic - how was it?

Each business hoped that the pandemic would disappear soon. However, the impact of it could never be ignored as it went past 2020 into 2021. Historically, businesses, brands and companies alike produced brochures that simply talked about the quality of the products/services they offered. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping a brochure like that was never possible and each business had to adapt to certain required changes to keep business running,

When the brochures were put together, mentioning the pandemic was a must. It was evident that each industry was impacted more directly than others. The events and hospitality companies were forced to diversify their businesses to survive. It would be quite impossible to mention such a shift in direction without talking about why it was happening.

It was hence essential for each business to share information regarding changes in their operations. For instance, restaurants began offering takeaway menus, provided outdoor dining services and the like. Safety was quite a concern as each person desired understanding what safety measures were in place.

This is hence the very reason marketing materials like brochures needed to communicate these facts. They were able to help restore confidence among the general public.

Conclusion

These are some of the ways the COVID-19 pandemic was able to influence the way brochures were made. The future somehow holds something bright as the pandemic has left the world. Yet companies can focus on not just improving the design but also consider improving their message as well. 

The constraints of the pandemic have left. Yet this has prepared businesses for the future and has also helped them improve their marketing communications too.