Let’s face it, marketing is challenging. Especially when you subscribe to Kitchen Sink Marketing. Kitchen Sink Marketing, to this writer, is the art of pushing everything you have to say about your product, service or company into every piece of marketing you produce.

Is there someone who may see your website and not recognize that they are a potential buyer? Someone who may need one of your peripheral services may see your brochure, so of course all peripheral services along with core competencies needs to be included. And suddenly your marketing communications efforts look like you would sell a kitchen sink if someone wanted to buy it from you.

So if that is the trap some companies seemed destined to fall into, how do they navigate around this risk?

Here are a few tips to help you build a briefing document for any of your external marketing efforts. The briefing document should list the following:

1. Type of communications tool. (Press release, ad, brochure, website, trade show display, etc.)
2. Intended audience. (Be specific.)
3. Key brand message to be communicated. (After the intended audience sees this tool, what do you want them to know or believe about your brand?)
4. Supporting brand messages, pick two. (What are the secondary reasons someone would choose to engage with your brand?)
5. What images will best help tell your story? Executive headshot? Product beauty shot? Experience image? Audience image? Technical drawings? Charts? Graphs? Do you have these images? Will stock images work? Would you prefer originals? What demands must be met for the final project? 2-color? 4-color? Online? Print? Distribution?
6. Deadline information. (Then determine the reasonable number of drafts allowed to hit that deadline with full approvals.)

This isn’t a comprehensive list — yours will need to be customized to your brand and your needs.

Plan your work. Work your plan. It’s good advice – especially if you want to avoid Kitchen Sink Marketing.