Templates make the channel marketing world go ‘round.

Because without them, affiliates can easily go rogue.

And ads that break the mold come with major risks for your brand.

But with pre-approved ad templates, you can ensure your local partners launch campaigns using compliant images, messaging, and formatting that accurately represent your brand.

Here’s everything you need to know about using templates in your local marketing.

What is a template?

Ad templates are brand-provided resources that offer a pre-structured framework for creating marketing assets. These digital blueprints are arranged into editable regions where text and artwork can be inserted while adhering to pre-determined size parameters.

Here’s an example of what a digital ad template looks like:

Templates are designed to be highly configurable, allowing local partners to easily customize headlines, images, and copy to their specific locations.

There are 3 primary parts of an ad template:

• Creative layout: Editable regions for image and text customization.
• Functional attributes: Pre-programmed workflow that determines template functionality, including attributes like character counts, required fields, and font size.
• Metadata: Fields that describe a template so that it’s discoverable online, such as keywords, title, and description.

Use cases for ad templates

Ad templates can be used to create promotional materials for any campaign — from product launches to special events to annual sales.

Though these templates are housed online, users can leverage them to build both digital and physical marketing assets, such as:

• Ceiling dangers
• Menus
• Skim boards
• Light boxes
• Flyers and brochures
• A-frames
• Blade, pennant, and sail flags
• Decals
• Digital ads
• Shelf talkers
• Totems
• Yard signs
• Banners
• Pallet and pole wraps
• Floor graphics and mats
• Window clings
• Posters
• Case sleeves and tuckers
• Postcards and direct mail

What are the benefits of ad templates?

Ad templates are a no-brainer for brands with local affiliates. Think insurance agents, bev-alc reps, franchisees, etc. Relying on local partners to promote your products has many upsides — but it also comes with risks. But with templates in tow, you can feel confident that every local ad is a marketing win.

Here are the 3 biggest advantages of using ad templates in your local marketing.

1. Quality

Have you ever seen a locally made ad that looks… well… locally made? Let’s face it — most affiliates aren’t well-versed in ad creation, resulting in low-quality promotional materials that look less-than-stellar. But with ad templates, you can trust that all partner marketing assets look visually appealing.

By configuring the template layout, establishing rules, implementing messaging, and providing artwork, you can ensure every local ad exudes quality and professionalism.

2. Compliance

Every brand understands the importance of marketing compliance. Every logo, graphic, font, and color needs to align with your brand guidelines, or risk conveying a confusing, clunky, or inconsistent image. Not to mention, the copy must communicate the right message while written in the proper voice. And depending on your industry, you may have legal compliance considerations to adhere to.

Ad templates allow you to establish guardrails that prevent affiliates from going outside the limits of your branding standards — in other words, they only allow partners to implement creative elements that adhere to compliance standards.

3. Efficiency

Ad templates aren’t just beneficial for brands — they’re also useful for affiliates. Instead of creating ads from scratch, templates save partners time and effort by providing them with a ready-to-go layout they can easily customize in minutes. This streamlined process results in greater marketing efficiency for your partners!

Tips for building ad templates

When building ad templates for your local partners, there are a few tips you should keep in mind to ensure your affiliates are equipped to dole out campaigns that move the needle:

• Ensure consistency: All campaign materials should be consistent in look, feel, and functionality.
• Consider your audience: When designing your templates, you should consider your target customer as well as your local partners.
• Include CTAs: All calls-to-action should be strong and clear to drive conversions.
• Localize templates: Reserve about one-third of the design for your affiliates’ location information to encourage local sales.
• Provide options: Be sure to provide a wide array of text and image options for partners to choose from.
• Keep creative current: Double-check to make sure all marketing materials are current and up-to-date.
• Leverage usage data: If possible, review your templates’ usage history to prioritize those with the highest usage.
• Organize by campaign: Separate templates by campaign to keep like topics grouped together.

Want to learn more about template-building? See how easy creating marketing templates can be.

Easily build ad templates for your partners

Ad templates should be a key component of every channel marketer’s toolbox — and BrandMuscle makes creating high-quality, brand-compliant templates easy. Learn more about how to build marketing templates with BrandMuscle, or book a demo to see it in action.