Template intervention:

The 9 most common template mistakes and

how to fix them
Garrett Jestice
Head of Marketing | Lucidpress
Who is this session for?
Graphic designers who are sick of wasting time on mundane content
tweaks and edits

Brand managers that want to spend more time building their brands and
less time policing it

Marketing leaders that want to empower their orgs to produce more

effective content that gets real business results
Who is this session NOT for?
Graphic designers looking for tips for producing creative templates for
other designers to use

Brand managers who would never consider empowering employees at

their org to customize templates to produce branded content

Marketing leaders that don't believe more effective content will lead to
tangible business results for their org
CHAT DISCUSSION:

Does your organization have branded

templates for employees to customize?
(Ex. presentations, letterheads,
business cards, sales brochures, etc.)
CHAT DISCUSSION:

What is the biggest challenge your

organization has faced when
creating brand templates?
One of the most important
investments winning marketing
teams make today is in a strong
brand templating program.
Say what? Templates?
Really???
Welcome to the
content economy.
#shifthappens
The demand for content is increasing

72% of organizations are

producing significantly
more content than they
did a year ago.

Source: www.slideshare.net/ mprofs/ b2c-content-marketing-2014-benchmarks-budgets-and-trendsnorth-america

And everyone is now a content creator
 Every single day...
4.4 million new blog posts are
published
It's getting harder 207 million marketing direct mail
for content to break pieces delivered by USPS
through the noise 350 million new photos are
uploaded to Facebook

1 billion hours of YouTube

Sources: videos are watched
techjury.net/ blog/ blogs-published-per-day
facts.usps.com/ marketing-mail-volume/
blog.wishpond.com/ post/ 115675435109/ 40-up-to-date-facebook-facts-and-stats
www.brandwatch.com/ blog/ youtube-stats
 And most content isn't
meeting customer
expectations
60%
of buyers believe that
content vendors provide
is ?useless?111

Source: https:// go.forrester.com/ blogs/ 17-04-24-are_you_using_a_content_marketing_platform/

Winning organizations today create more
effective content that gets real results.

- Improves speed to market

- Builds brand trust
- Closes deals
- Increases market share
To be effective, content must meet the needs of:

Customers Team Brand

In the content economy there will be
winners and losers
The losers The winners
- Limit creators - Empower creators
- Silo teams - Scale expertise
- Create ineffective - Create relevant,
content effective content

Stunted growth Lasting Brands

 BRAND TEMPLATING
\ brand temp-lat-ing\

verb
To empower all brand stakeholders
The solution is with the resources needed to create
on-brand effective content quickly and
Brand templating easily

noun
The solution for thriving in the content
economy
The X
9 10 most common
templating mistakes
organizations make
(and how to fix them)
MISTAKE #1

Not creating templates in the first place

because...
You?re afraid people will screw them up

You think your marketing team should be

the only people creating branded content

It's too much work

Any other reason...

FIX #1

Make brand templating a strategic priority from

the top down
MISTAKE #2

Only creating templates for a single channel or

use case
FIX #2

Make it an organization- wide initiative

MISTAKE #3

Creating generic templates that people don't

really need and won't use
FIX #3

Do research to identify which templates to create

and the styles and components people need
Look at the most requested items
from the past few year

Send out a survey

Shadow your team while they're

creating content
MISTAKE #4

Only sharing templates and not assets

FIX #4

Make both templates AND assets available so

people can customize and stay on- brand
Assets might include:
- Logos
- Colors
- Fonts
- Text styles
- Approved copy
- Approved images
MISTAKE #5

Thinking MS Word and Powerpoint templates

are the only option
FIX #5

Find a platform that specializes in

brand templating
- InDesign import
- Template locking
- Brand asset and image storage
- Data integrations and automation
- Multi-channel distribution options
- Review and approval process
- Real-time collaboration
MISTAKE #6

Not locking down important elements of your

templates
FIX #6

Lock down important

elements to ensure
consistency and compliance

Locking gives non-designers the

guardrails they need to stay on-brand
while customizing content.
MISTAKE #7

Assuming people will find and use your

templates on their own
FIX #7

Internal marketing for your template program

Advertise template program with office
TV ads or table tents in break rooms

Notify teams when new templates are

released (Email, Slack, Teams etc.)

Share short case studies of templates

teams found most valuable (Offer a
monthly gift card drawing for employees)

Link to templates in your creative request

form
MISTAKE #8

Not redirecting new marketing requests back to

the templates
The Cycle of Mediocrity
Time spent
servicing requests

Custom piece Brand templates

seen by others out of date

People want a
custom piece
FIX #8

Educate, educate, educate

Educate employees on when to submit a
creative request and when to use a
template

Educate designers on when and how to

redirect creative requests back to templates

Educate the organization on the positive

impacts from your template program
MISTAKE #9

Only creating ?dumb templates? that don't

leverage the power of automation

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FIX #9

Create ?smart templates? that auto populate

information and images
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Apply to Document
(BONUS) MISTAKE #10

Assuming your work is done after

creating your templates
(BONUS) FIX #10

The most effective brand template programs are

always improving (and never finished)
Ongoing template improvement:
- Updating, improving and retiring old
templates The closest you can
- Creating new templates and assets
- Marketing and promoting your new get to perfection is
templates constant
- Training teams on brand standards, basic improvement.
design principles, and template usage
? Brendan Brazier, Canadian athlete, author, entrepreneur
- Measuring the results and impact of your
templates and sharing with the org
The 10 most common templating mistakes
organizations make
1. Not creating templates in the first place because...
2. Only creating templates for a single channel or use case
3. Creating generic templates that people don't really need and won't use
4. Only sharing templates and not assets
5. Thinking MS Word and Powerpoint templates are the only option
6. Not locking down important elements of your templates
7. Assuming people will find and use your templates on their own
8. Not redirecting new marketing requests back to the templates
9. Only creating ?dumb templates?that don't leverage the power of automation
10. (Bonus) Assuming your work is done after creating your templates
Fixes for the 10 most common templating
mistakes organizations make
1. Make brand templating a strategic priority from the top down
2. Make it an organization-wide initiative
3. Do research to identify which templates to create
4. Make both templates AND assets available
5. Find a platform that specializes in brand templating
6. Lock down important elements to ensure brand consistency and compliance
7. Internal marketing for your template program
8. Educate, educate, educate
9. Create ?smart templates?that auto populate information and images
10. (Bonus) Always be improving your template program
Brand templating gives your team:

Fewer mundane creative requests

More consistency
More effective content
Increased brand trust
Increased market share
One of the most important
investments winning marketing
teams make today is in a strong
brand templating program.
Questions?
Feedback? Learn how Lucidpress can help your
team create more effective content
Garrett Jestice
Head of Marketing, Lucidpress at lucidpress.com/business
linkedin.com/ in/ garrettjestice