Brochure or leaflet: how to make the right choice?

When designing marketing materials, it is important to know their properties and benefits, but also to be able to distinguish between all materials. In this case, it's about knowing the difference between a brochure and a flyer, so you know which one is best suited to your needs. Here are some answers.

What are the differences between these two media?

Brochure or flyer: it is not always easy to choose the most appropriate one for a communication campaign, because both are effective ways to promote your product or service, but they have different objectives.

A brochure is a multi-page, bound document that provides an overview of your company, its products and services, and its history. It is usually printed on high quality paper and is intended to be read several times and kept.

A flyer, on the other hand, is a single sheet with one or more folds, which contains information about a specific product or service. It is usually printed on more standard paper and is intended to be read more quickly.

Other key differences between the brochure and the flyer include:

• Flyers are more economical to produce than brochures because they contain fewer pages and do not involve a cover or binding.
• Flyers are quicker to read than brochures because they are compact and brief, while brochures require more attention.
• Brochures are more suitable for branding, while flyers are more suitable for direct marketing, which involves delivering a specific message to a certain target.
• Brochures lend themselves more to the creation of media with images because they can be highlighted more, but also more numerous.

Brochure or leaflet: which medium to choose?

To choose between a brochure and a flyer, it is important to know the advantages of these two media, and the possibilities they offer. Here is a brief summary of the characteristics of the brochure or flyer.

The brochure

The brochure is a communication medium often used as part of an internal communication strategy to to transmit the values of a society or the seminar programbut also as part of an external communication strategy, in order to introduce a company or a commercial offer.

The main advantage of the brochure is its high quality, which allows you to stand out from the competition while conveying a particularly professional image. It can also contain a great deal of information since it can be between 4 and 40 pages long. This is an argument to take into account when you hesitate between a brochure or a leaflet.

Available in many formats, from A3 to A6, the brochure can also be custom-made to fit your needs. It is a communication support particularly adapted to visual contents, because it can include many illustrations which will be visible without being cut by the folds.

The leaflet

After presenting the advantages of brochures, let us tell you more about flyers, to help you choose between brochure or flyer for your next communication campaign.

The first advantage of the flyer, which makes it a quick medium to create and easy to distribute, is its compactness. Indeed, its folded format allows you to write down a large amount of information to share with your prospects without obtaining a heavy and massive support that does not give desire to be read, or that seems boring.

Composed of one or two folds, the leaflet can contain 4 to 6 sides 100% customizable. The configuration of this communication support allows to hierarchize the information but also to keep the reader in suspense by passing the desired message in several steps, which he discovers by unfolding the support.

Thanks to the variety of possibilities concerning the number of folds or the shape given to the leaflet, this medium available in many formats (up to A3) adapts easily to many projects, because it is suitable for any reading direction, and thus allows you to convey the message of your choice easily.

Note: the flyer also has the advantage of being lighter, and therefore more economical when you want to opt for a mailing campaign.

Our tips for using either of these media

You will have understood: the brochure or the leaflet are two very interesting communication supports which each have their advantages. However, this may not help you to decide which one to choose for which use. Here are some tips on when you should choose the brochure or the flyer.

• To highlight a trip or an excursion: in this case, it is preferable to choose a brochure in a fairly large format such as A4, because the photos are the element that will make your customers want to book and they must be highlighted.
• To list the services in your business or the products offered in your restaurant: the brochure or the leaflet can be appropriate here, but the leaflet is more suitable, because it allows you to list the elements in categories (appetizers / dishes / desserts / drinks or body care / facial care for example).
• To create a support for the presentation of an event or a performance: here again, the brochure or the leaflet can be appropriate, however, the brochure will certainly be more useful because it will allow you to add a large number of illustrations but also to indicate precisely the course of the event.
• To present a company or an association to the public: here, it is certainly more interesting to opt for a leaflet, which will help you to present your organization in a succinct way, in order to interest the reader without drowning him under too much information.

In conclusion, the brochure or the leaflet are communication supports which have each their advantages, and which canhelp you to set up an effective communication campaign, it is thus up to you to compare their advantages and their disadvantages and to choose the one which corresponds best to what you seek.

Are you still hesitating between a brochure or a leaflet? Do not hesitate to contact our customer advisors so that we can discuss your project together: we will be able to help you make your choice in any case.