Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales, is the collection of media used to support the sales of a product or service. These sales aids are intended to make the sales effort easier and more effective. The brand of the company usually presents itself by way of its collateral to enhance its brand.
The production of marketing collateral is important in any business' marketing communication plan.
Common examples include:
- Sales brochures and other printed product information (e.g. Z-CARD)
- Visual aids used in sales presentations
- Web content
- Sales scripts
- Demonstration scripts
- Product data sheets
- Product white papers
Marketing collateral differs from advertising in that it is used later in the sales cycle, usually when a prospective purchaser has been identified and sales staff are making contact with them.
Typically these are made to follow the same corporate identity as other corporate publications including:
- Complimentary packing slips
- Business cards
- Letterhead
Physical system for store and manage Marketing media is typically Enterprise content management (ECM). For special application of digital media is using the Digital Asset Management (DAM). Marketing collateral is content type for ECM.