Should offline and online design elements be the same?

Here’s another question that came out of our last teleconference call on landing page optimization.

“How important is it to carry over the image you use on the marketing piece over to a landing page. For example if my print flyer has image X used on it, do we need to incorporate that image X on the web landing page that the print piece directs them to.”

Although we haven’t run a specific test on this yet, the qualified answer is Yes.

You’ll see this throughout all marketing campaigns offline. A similar theme and set of images and copy lines will be shared across TV spots, radio, posters, flyers, print, mailings and more.

A common look, feel and message, across all media for any given campaign builds recognition. It means you can “hit” each person multiple times, whether they are reading a magazine, watching TV or driving their car.

The same goes for making a connection between offline awareness and your online ads and landing pages. Use your offline media to build awareness, and then use the same design elements and images to create instant recognition when people come to your web site or receive your e-newsletter.

This isn’t to say that your landing page should be a replica of a poster. It shouldn’t.

The objective of a poster is to create awareness. But the objective of your landing page is to generate an immediate action.

So what you would do is incorporate enough of the poster’s design and message to establish instant recognition, but then develop the headline, copy and images on your web page to drive direct sales.

Each medium has a different purpose, and that purpose needs to be addressed. But the use of a common set of images and design elements does help build a synergy across all the media used.

Finally, as always, be sure to conduct some tests.

You’re trying to achieve a balance between design and function, between a common look across all media, and the performance of your web page. To find the best balance point, you’ll need to test a variety of different versions of your web page.