Stickers are an incredibly efficient way to brand your company in some of the most unique places possible. We see them everywhere; on automobiles, filing cabinets, windows, machines, helmets, products and more. The goal of the sticker is usually not to elicit an immediate response; rather, it is part of a larger branding effort designed to keep your company at the forefront of customers' minds.

Here are a few tips for creating stickers that, well, stick:

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S.) can be applied to all printed marketing materials, but none is more prevalent than the sticker. Most printed stickers are smaller than other promotions, so you have limited space with which to establish your message through design and copy. Stickers can be as simple as a logo or a line of text — in fact, that's all that's on some of the most effective stickers. Others can mimic business cards, which still contain little information outside of the basic tagline and contact stats. This isn't to say that stickers aren't a powerful medium; only that they are more powerful in simplicity. Make sure your colors easy on the eye and contrast well enough that the sticker can be read from a distance, and that you don't go overboard with graphics. Often, a two-colored sticker is plenty for customers to digest.

Define a purpose

Before you design your sticker, you need to know what size it will be, and before you know what size it will be, you need to know where it will be stuck. Will it go on car bumpers? How about small products? Do you need a large format for a store floor or wall? If you want business people to put your sticker on their filing cabinets, you don't want a huge sticker; conversely, if your sticker will be placed on the floor and you want it to get noticed, you'll need something pretty big.

The cutting edge

You can add immediate impact to your stickers by having them die cut to a complimentary shape, or even by simply applying rounded corners to the traditional rectangle design. When it comes to stickers, as with all printed marketing materials, the shape of your promotion is the first difference customers will notice. Take advantage of this easily applied opportunity to stand out from the competition.

Put them everywhere

... within reason. Stickers are cheap and disposable, so you can blanket the market by branding your company on every product you sell, every correspondence you send and at every face-to-face encounter with customers. You can even enlist the help of a street team to pass your stickers out to everyone at an event or geographic area such as a busy corner in a business district.

Put them in unusual places

Any time we encounter something unexpected, we take notice. Stickers can stick just about anywhere, so you can apply them to restroom stalls, on ceilings above dentist chairs and on the backs of theater seats. Since you're probably the only one to have these requests, you're likely to get cheap advertising space on some of the most prime real estate on the market by being creative with sticker distribution.

Add value

One of the best ways to ensure your sticker won't hit the trash can is to add value with a calendar, sports team schedule or other incentive that will persuade customers to affix your sticker in a prominent and often-viewed area in their home or office. They want to know when the next event, so they'll look at your sticker — and your brand — often, increasing the value of your sticker for the customer and you.

Carefully plan your sticker marketing campaign before you sit down at the drawing table, and you'll get a better response. Ask complementary businesses for ad space in unconventional areas, distribute your stickers everywhere, utilize sharp design and keep it simple for stunning stickers that stick to the surface of your customers' minds.