Words of Wisdom (or lack thereof)...

Custom PowerPoint Templates (PowerPoint Backgrounds) The Benefit to You
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The term "PowerPoint" has become synonymous with presentations. One reason for this is PowerPoint's user-friendliness. PowerPoint gives both experienced and first-time users the ability to create presentations. A first-time user can access PowerPoint's built in design templates, place in text and images and have a usable presentation. This makes PowerPoint an amazing tool. PowerPoint's templates, however, while easy to use, they do very little to reinforce your company's agenda. That's where a properly designed custom template is key.

Your presentation should reinforce the company's branding and position. Although your company may use its presentation materials more than once (for various clients, shows, or events) each presentation is a one-time deal. The impression that presentation leave in a client's mind will determine if your company will be a future business partner. Everything about your presentation should emphasize your message.

Leverage Your Presentation's Messaging Capabilities
Does your company or product have a recognizable color(s)? UPS: Brown, IBM: Blue, ING: Orange. Does your product have a recognizable symbol? Coke's bottle, Nike's Swish, Cheetos' Chester Cheetah. What about a tagline? Volkswagen: "Drivers Wanted", Verizon: "Can You Hear Me Now?", Milk Industry: "Got Milk?". Do you have other branded materials that your customer may recognize? Printed Materials, Television ads, a Website. If your company or product includes any or all of these branding initiatives, they should be included in the design or your template, not only on the cover slide, but strategically placed on various slides. A designer can work with you to ensure that your brand receives the appropriate exposure throughout your presentation. If your company does not have recognizable branding, perhaps this is a good time to establish one, and carry it throughout your presentation.

Integrated Messaging Notice the Baush & Lomb logo; how their colors play together; and the subtle, yet present outline of the eye in the background. This custom dynamic cover design creates an intrigue to see what is next. It sets the stage for what is to come, while blending in the current Baush & Lomb marketing agenda.

Decrease Production Times
There is another great benefit to custom templates, production time. Having a designer set up the layout for each slide will ensure that your presentation is designed to meet your needs. A well- designed custom template includes samples of charts, tables, photo treatments, line styles, bullets, and many other common elements that may be used within your presentation. Aside from the benefit of great design, time won't be lost on trying to determine the look and feel of each individual slide. You will get the look you want and your company can concentrate on its core business.

Increase Ease of Slide Distribution
Properly set up templates will ease the distribution of slides throughout the organization. Many slides are standard from presentation to presentation: i.e., "Our Products", "Yearly Goals", and "Organization Charts". Once standard or reoccurring slides are created they can be distributed and inserted into several presentations without the need to spend time and resources reformatting for each template type.

Designed for Your Presentation Style
Within the Presentation industry there are many rules: i.e., K.I.S.S. (Keep it Super Simple), 6x6 (No more than 6 bullets, with 6 words or less per each bullet, per slide), and Font sizes no smaller than 16 pts. Sometimes though, rules must be broken. Perhaps your presentation room call for the bottom 1/3 of the screen to be blocked from time to time by your movement on stage, a custom design will compensate for this. If your message requires a complex diagrams then your custom template should be relatively simple with lots of space to ensure focus on your diagram. A presentation with an abundance of text requires a fair amount of text room, but a visually stimulating template will help to attract attention to your content. If your presentation is a mix there are design solutions for that too. Lastly, the presentation should reflect the tone of the presenter and presenter's company.

Custom Template Checklist
Here is a checklist to assist when having a custom template create.

Is your logo clearly visible? Are your branded colors being utilized? Is your tagline present? Is contact information on each slide? Is copyright/privacy information on each slide? Is your goal for the presentation obvious? Is there a template slide provided for your:   Agenda Bar/Pie Charts Tables Bullets Highlight Boxes (Focus Boxes) Quoted Statements Image treatment Fonts (sizes, colors)

Not all points will be required for all presentations. For example, internal presentations will not have the same requirements as external presentations, and a one-time new business pitch will be different than a commonly used sales presentation. Below are a few additional items you may want to consider.

Is template training required? Does a tracker need to be included to help organize your presentation? Is your template designed for laptop, plasma, projection, web distribution? Does your template require matching printed materials? (CD cover, label, sell sheet) Do you use movies within your presentation? Do you need a movie holder?

The above checklists are not intended as all-inclusive comprehensive lists. The true benefit of a properly designed custom PowerPoint template is its flexibility to be customized to your specific needs. Your presentation represents you to your customers, make sure it presents your message clearly, professionally, and the way YOU want.

View Custom Template Samples, click here.

Want to find out how a custom template will benefit you specifically? Contact VCS for a complimentary consultation.