What are marketing assets?

You have an established brand strategy and foundational elements, including a style guide and core messages, to guide your marketing efforts. Now it’s time to create the marketing assets needed to sell your products and services, garner support from donors and funders, and achieve your goals. 

Marketing assets are the print and digital pieces your business shares with your target audiences to educate them about your products and services, as well as your organization and mission. 

Why are marketing assets important? 

Your marketing assets might be the first time an audience learns about your business. Ensuring your assets contain your core messages, reflect the visual identity established by your brand, and include relevant calls to action is vital. 

Investing in the development of a few strong, core marketing assets will ultimately save you and your team time as you connect with new audiences, as well as deliver a strong, reputable first impression of your business. 

What assets do you need?

Your marketing asset needs will vary based on your target audiences, goals, and industry. Start out by selecting a few that will best serve your goals and audiences — ones that you can use again and again. Over time, you can add to your inventory of assets as you discover new needs or seek to reach new audiences. 

What should you start with? Answer these key questions: 

• Who am I trying to reach?
• Where and how will I reach them?
• What information do they need to know?
• How do they like to consume information (visually, written, short form, etc.)?

Based on the answers to these questions, the marketing assets that best serve your social enterprise might include a flyer for local customers, a 30-second video for social media, a powerpoint presentation about your organization for institutional funders, or a two-pager for corporate clients.

Here are some common categories of marketing assets to consider:

• Print Pieces
  • Flyers
  • Brochures
  • One-Pagers
  • Annual Report 
  • Postcards
  • Business Cards
  • Letterhead
• Digital Pieces
  • Website
  • Blog Posts 
  • Deck / Presentation 
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Annual Report (digital version or a PDF uploaded to your website) 

What should be included? 

The types of marketing assets you choose to create for your social enterprise will determine how much content can be included in the piece, but no matter what you are creating, be sure to include:

• At least one core message. You don’t need to include them all, and for a short piece like a brochure, you might only be able to fit one. Choose the message(s) that best suit the format and the audience for the piece and incorporate them into the headline and copy. 
• Your visual brand elements. This might be the first impression your brand will make on your audience. So ensure your logo, brand colors, and fonts are used on every market asset. This will lead to consistency and a professional appearance. Once you’ve created your core marketing assets, put them all together — do they look like a cohesive package?
• A call to action. What do you want the audience for this piece to do? Ensure that your pieces contain a next step — that could be to visit your website, donate, contact you for a quote, or visit your store. 

Getting It Done

Resources to Create Marketing Assets In-House

• Canva: This online design platform offers free memberships for nonprofits that allow up to 10 individual users. For-profit enterprises can purchase individual premium subscriptions or opt to use their free tier. Canva offers thousands of templates for flyers, postcards, presentations, infographics, and more. You can also add your brand guidelines so that team members are staying consistent with your fonts, colors, and logo. 
• Animoto and Wideo: These digital platforms provide templates, editing tools, and b-roll footage to help you quickly create videos for your business. 

Outside Resources to Consider

• A designer or design agency can help your business create your core marketing assets for a high-quality, professional look. They can also create templates that your team can use to create future assets. 

Additional Reading & Resources

• Annual Report Checklist (Classy)
• Canva for Business Trainings & Resources 
• Canva Design School (Free Trainings) 
• Canva Blog-Focused on Design, Marketing, Branding, Nonprofits
• Inclusive Design Checklist (Automattic Design)

About Christiano Comms

Sarah Christiano is an experienced marketing and communications professional committed to using the power of storytelling for positive social change. From digital marketing strategy and execution to content creation and copywriting, Sarah partners with her clients to propel their missions forward through strong and strategic communications.