The book as a communication and marketing tool

To define corporate literature, we could say that it is the combination of all the material published in support of communication and designed to assist organizational objectives and strategies. Corporate literature entails the design, creation, and publication of real literary works, which frequently take the form of the traditional literature device: the book.

Can writing a book become a marketing and communication strategy?

Of course! Corporate literature systems are intended to provide structure, meaning, and consistency to the company, both internally and externally. As a result, we need to separate the corporate literature into internal and external publications. Let’s learn more:

Internal publications: the brand books

A brand book is an effective tool for visualizing the personality of a company, product, or service. In essence, it is a guidebook that outlines the brand and how it wishes to be seen by the public. We have to consider it as a kind of guideline, important in establishing how the organization should interact with people. It's a very important job because it contributes to making the company image coherent and cohesive on the inside, as well as immediately recognizable in every communication channel from the outside. Structuring a brand book and using it as a communication manual allows a strong identity to be conveyed to the outside world and, in the second stage, allows the possibility of breaking the user-customer barrier.

The brand book falls under the category of internal publications since it talks directly to employees and helps to focus the brand via the coding of tangible images.

How to create a brand book? 

1. Choose a format. Select an appropriate size. A large volume and a hardcover well describes a luxury brand and can be used as a piece of furniture in the company, perhaps placed on a coffee table in the waiting room, to welcome guests. A saddle stitch notebook in A5 format, on the other hand, communicates the idea of a more creative and easy-going brand. It is true, never judge a book by its cover, but the format you select for your company's brand book will immediately reflect the image you want to portray on the exterior.

2. Collect a lot of pictures. Retrieve all of the images that have followed you thus far: inspiring photos, sketches, printed pieces, texts, photographs, motifs, and fabric samples. Starting from this variety of different materials you can visualize the story that led you to build the identity of your brand and the story you create will undoubtedly be authentic.

3. Design and tell. After stacking tons of material, it's time to start telling a story. Your task is to communicate how each piece of the puzzle helped create the value of your brand. Create a storyboard to connect all the materials; you will see that the visual language of your organization will emerge from this process.
    
4. The technical section. A respectabòe brand book, in addition to discussing the company's history and soul, as well as its products or services, is also a regulatory code that clearly and unambiguously defines the company's identity. Logo, colors, typefaces, copywriting, tone of voice, naming, payoff, and everything else that characterizes your business. Aligning on these principles is fundamental both internally, to build cohesion among staff and minimize information dispersion, and externally, because moving cohesively in the sphere of communication provides consumers and users with a solid image that is truthful, identifiable, and reliable.
    
5. Make it real. The weight and feeling of holding a real book in your hands amplifies your brand's perception and increases its visibility. Depending on resources, a brand book can be custom printed, handmade, or created through a print-on-demand publication.

External publications: the monographs.

The company monograph is a tool that is becoming increasingly popular in business communication. According to Professor Mario Magagnino, "the institutional monograph of the company is a document that collects the biography of the company and illustrates its development strategy," and adds, "but as simple as it may seem, in Italy it is little known and little widespread, so much so that the majority of companies ignores it, committing at least two mistakes: giving up an effective marketing tool and, above all, putting at risk the historical memory of the company, the entrepreneur, the workers, and the territory".

This type of publication, in fact, focuses more on the history of a company or a particular product, if you want a tangible example I recommend you to give a look at the project we developed for the Cantiere delle Marche (you can find it here!). Editorial projects can be suggested as a viable and effective promotional strategy. The monograph is an essential component of communication strategies since it allows for the strengthening of brand knowledge through messages borrowed from art, culture, poetry, cinema, and literature while combining the brand with other topics of general interest that affect readers and, thus, customers.

Have you ever heard of these communication and marketing publishing tools? Have you created them for yourself or for your customers? Send us pictures of your brand books and monographs to info@tonidigrigio.it and let us discover your creativity!