I recently went to a tradeshow where the expo hall was filled with interesting vendors introducing new products and services.  The marketing materials often attract your eye… but it was interesting to see who “skimped” on their marketing and branding.  I took a photo of the materials from the trade show below, try to pick out which flyer/handout most jumps out at you (click for larger image):

Flyers collected at Trade show

To me, the one on the most right pops out because of the vibrant use of color and interesting subjects (3 superhero kids).  Second in line is the one on the most left, because I am really into modern art and the postmodern graphic design illustration from the AT&T flyer definitely grabs my attention.

Notably, the least attention-grabbing is IBM’s flyer, which could have been created by a product manager intent on dissemminating the most information possible about their services, instead of a thoughtful marketer.  Why did they think that a black and white flyer printed on copier paper with 1 stock photo inserted would impress anyone?  Just look around – every other vendor uses at least color, if not double sided printing.

IBM's Flyer

I realize that IBM’s in a new world since they sold off their laptop division to Lenovo, but to continue to win business against their rivals they need to re-introduce their brand with a compelling “first impression”.  Using black and white one sided marketing flyers just isn’t going to help you do that.