a colour

Green is more than a colour

Ignorance is bliss for some people, fast enough to label the print and paper industry as a big nasty, which is so far from the truth . Sustainability is a serious concern we actively approach as printers, and we are well aware of the resources we use to produce our clients' work . Greenwashing is the myth created by companies to promote an environmentally friendly approach – yet more "Fake News" . But here's the thing: paper is a sustainable, harvested product . For every tree used in paper manufacture, more still are planted, and the paper industry goes a long way to prove this . Paper is a product that can be composted, returning the matter to a carbon-rich source locked in the ground . Our paper recycling heads less than 10 miles away to be repurposed into cardboard tubes . With such a low mileage and carbon footprint, it becomes even more credible . Paper has always been a biologically friendly form of communication and recyclable . So, where's the evidence? The print and paper industries have always aimed to remain truthful about the credibility and accountability of what we do . Take a look at www .twosides . info where the global paper and print industries demonstrate the facts . Here’s what we at HAD-Print do to prevent the nasties of plastic: ✪ Only specify laminates where a product is one designed for long term use ✪ Use recycled plastic biro’s in our studios and offices ✪ Actively specify products which have low environmental impact . The ink we use in our digital presses is 94% compostable, and we have solutions that offer a soy-based ink . Our large format machines use latex ink, a water-based ink, with the pigment carried in latex, a subform of rubber . Ultimately, it is easy to throw stones in a glass house . However, the responsibility to be ecologically aware and responsible citizens rests with everyone . While the advent of digital communications - e-mail, social media and online - might appear to use less physical resources at the point of consumption, digital uses significant power to create, upload, store, re-use, and redistribute, questioning how much the wherefores around digital online content .

ECO-STUFF WE LOVE…

If you haven’t seen some of our social media likes recently, then you’ve missed the fact we absolutely love James Cropper Papers. A British paper mill, it means stock travels fewer miles which helps reduce our carbon footprints. They also have a good track record with their environmental credentials. It might be a premium product, but hand on heart it’s a greener one too.

For the

Funky print… of print

In a similar vein to Dessert Desert Island Discs, we asked Rachel Bentley, the Small Business Marketing Coach, about her five favourite pieces of print . The Christmas Carol by Charles Dicken illustrated by Arthur Rackham is my favourite telling of the famous ghost story in print . My own childhood copy has passed through my hands and embedded itself with my family, who all quote from it (though not me, I can never remember quotes!) I relish an historic tale, so I will add Philippa Gregory’s the Red Queen . It focuses on Margaret Beaufort, the matriarch of the Tudor dynasty . Giving birth to her only son, the future Henry VII, aged just 13

A few highlights some of the print styles we've taken a liking to recently . The joys of Digital Die Cutting seeing this in action in the print studio . But the scope of making a flat object turn into something three dimensional is incredible . From small boxes to wallets, watching the digital die cutter and the items it produces is a magical years old and already a widow but wily, she used every political trick in the book to get her son and grandson on the throne of England . A hugely influential and powerful woman that I did not know of before .

Away from literature, I love the early to mid C20th print tourism advertising posters . I gave a small, framed print of an Art Deco Snowdonia LMS Railway Poster to my late mum and dad . A favourite family destination, stylised but recognisable with the glowering height of Wales’s tallest mountain washed in rays of sunlight, it is typical of the iconic style .

I owned a magazine and edited three other titles, winning two awards for a voluntary editing role for our glossy and professionally produced local parish magazine, Causeway . It closed a couple of years after my tenure ended, having survived thirty plus years

thing, and with some creativity, the scope is huge . Tip: digital die cutting is the entry level, compared to traditional die cutting . Holographic laminate, Funky or trippy? Whichever, it certainly adds an edge! Lamination as a means of protecting a sheet doesn’t have to be boring, and it's great for extending the life of a product too . in print . Like all community ventures, it was a team effort, and success had been years in the making - but perhaps a little bit of strategy, which is my specialism, helped it along the way .

My final choice is the Waddingtons 1930s or 40s edition of Monopoly I used as a kid, which had been my late father’s when he was a boy . That enduring brand, a symphony of classic design - the cards and matching squares, the man hanging onto the bars of the jail and free parking – is so very recognisable . If I had to choose one to save from the waves, Desert Island Discs style, The Christmas Carol would win . I could then spend hours pouring over the Rackham illustrations and imagine them coming to life – and try at last to learn famous quotes to impress my family when reunited! smallbusinessmarketingcoach.net

Duplex Boards, This process bonds two or more sheets of material to create a thicker sheet . The use of more prestigious materials can achieve highly desirable combinations . Equally clever use of shades of a colour can provide an executive pinstripe through the sheet . It is commonly used for business cards, and great for hospitality prints such as menus .

As we say locally, ‘nowt stands still’, and change is absolute. From the “British Boozer” having to redefine itself into a new social place to town centre High Streets rapidly trying to find their place in our society, everything changes.

We have long said it’s not the “what” but the “how”, although we all get stuck in a rut and struggle to think through a small shift to refresh and move forwards . The premise of marketing remains unchanged: getting a message in front of your customer to make a buying decision . Yet the delivery has changed and the tools once confined to their box have now spilled over . To use a quote we recently saw on Linkedin, “Marketing is a humbling profession. Sometimes the idea you’re certain is going to work doesn’t work. Or the idea you know definitely won’t work for some reason does work. Or the thing that used to work stops working. You need to continuously learn, relearn and un-learn.”

It is the case with having a lot of resources; we sometimes forget how to use them effectively . Yes, digital tools have certainly gained ground in the mix . However, with the marketplace flooded with too much of one tool or method, primarily digital, the opportunity to do something different and stand out is now the opportunity . We’ve seen the Lewis Ellis, 'What does it take to get noticed in Manchester' campaign, work and create impact; and our own open house event invitations created a buzz that we didn’t expect in the post . It might seem like we stand as a print service provider, as a lone trombone in the brass band, out of tune, missing the rest of the marketing ensemble . We are aware of the points that scare businesses away from print, and the critical words are Return on Investment . Is this a case that most businesses really don’t know their audience well enough to be direct? Or the simple gratification of massmedia 'Throw it out there and hope it sticks' is the preferred method? If you limit your scope through a “spray and pray” method of online or mass media advertising, yes, it might be cheap, and yes, you might hit some of your audience . But however it is we choose to aim for the right customer, the returns and their journey is a high-value journey . As Gen X marketeers, we were taught the net input reaps the rewards in results . So, is it about time you “mixed it up”? If your confidence is lacking to “mix it up” with print, the evidence is out there to back up your decisions . Here are a few of the hot sources of print marketing know-how; ✪ Marketreach – Royal Mail’s in-house business mail unit, which looks at the trends and uptake on print-based mail marketing . ✪ Joint Industry Committee for Mail delivers industrystandard audience measurement data for advertising mail and door drops . ✪ Print Power Europe, a collection of articles from brilliant pieces of printbased marketing from across

Europe . ✪ Sappi Papers – Yes, a paper manufacturer, but the verified cross-links still make their insights worth reading . So is the Print King dead? Far from it, discretely tucked away on sabbatical, recharging with tactile, physical ideas which challenge any audience ready to go . From all the marketing professionals we talk to, we know that print is a tool people love - including wild proclamations of “Print Sniffers” popping up on our Linkedin content .

Perhaps the economic trading environment is challenging, and budgets might be limiting the foresight to plan and create opportunities . Fortune favours the brave; to shift from where the COVID episode has left us, doing and being different is now the road map forward . The question is, can you, and will you rise to the challenge of being seen for the right reasons?

Long live the… KING!

A different tone of voice…

Has COVID changed the non-verbal communication messages? Are values and ethics now at the heart of what connects people?

At HAD-Print, we’ve always worn our colours on our sleeve . What you see is what you get, and for some people, this is an interesting proposition . From day one, we haven’t been a suit and tie organisation . We are real-world, walk in and see us for what we are types, all about outputs and actions, and attire doesn’t impact what we do .

The advent of COVID changed the world of work, and working from home has made lots of people realise the corporate suited and booted approach is not needed . But has the underlying shift changed how people think? And do the true identities better reflect and develop personal brands in the micro and SME world?

Watching two marketeers develop their branding into apparel is very telling; Hussel and Markadept, respectively . Here at HADPrint, we’ve always used colours that scream 'us'; purple and vivid blues . Coupled with a dress code of hoodies, smart jeans and trainers, it certainly creates a brand identity that reflects what we do .

When designers create brands, much thought goes into the colours that reflect the company values and ethics . Whatever the colours, this should not be limited to a logo; in the process of doing artwork for many corporate brochures, we’ve come across clients using stock imagery and colour schemes that seldom mirror their business .

Attire is one of the non-verbal communication (NVC) signals we all use to make decisions . Back in the days of face to face networking, I always found myself glancing at shoes before making a judgement call on who to approach . Right or wrong, most of us will admit to judging based on presentation and NVC messages . Did COVID also reset the ethics about personal presentation? A pandemic certainly does define what is important about getting the job done . The debate around presentation such as tattoos has also shifted significantly, with up and coming individuals like Lewis Ellis from Hussel (below) certainly publicly putting Lord Sugar in his place .

So is the COVID effect lasting? The necessity of Zoom, Teams and other video call solutions has certainly provided individuals with the opportunity to level to their environment . The tone is now different on ad-hoc occasions when people get together, with Levis and shirts the overwhelming dress standard . The balance between “corporate” messaging and individual branding has a new tone . Delivering business values still reigns as a challenge, but individuality and personality are a thread that rides higher than a decade ago .

Has formality shifted towards functionality?

Have we lost or forgotten physicality?

The senses and the emotions which tie these together are deeply rooted in meaning gained from our past experiences . It is believed that value sets form early on, and we build on these as we progress .

We never stop learning - every day is a school day, as they say . Learning uses three different methods: visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles . The online world taps into visual and auditory, while the world of print edges into the kinesthetic - the touch of the paper, its tactile nature and specialist finishes, the process of flicking through the pages, and our immersion in something with undivided attention .

In 2021, we developed a personal project to unpack this lost forgotten physicality, probably through being bereft during the COVID period of any real person to person engagement . Being Closer is something we all long for, something which delivers on many different levels, whether personal close-ness or the closeness of being able to see the whites of someone's eyes while having a business conversation . Creating “CLOSER” provided us with the opportunity not just in terms of the content and opportunity to explore different ideas, but also in the print, the paper, the binding, the finishing and presentation of the project . We discovered that it was very like “Marmite” - everyone had a viewpoint, which was brilliant, and it certainly wasn't perfect for everyone, but we all are unique . It was great to get different feedback and engagement over the piece . “CLOSER” is a special piece of work to us . It was a brave move for us to reveal some of our creative thinking to the world . We used a select bunch of trusted friends and partners to test the responses we got - something no marketeer should be afraid of doing! Is this the new brave world of honest truth and reality worn as brand values?

Closer unpacked…

Content

Designed to provoke, designed to be inquisitive . The story within CLOSER unpacks the concept we all have missed during the COVID period: connection, engagement, and ultimately, being closer . Imagery

Selected to tell the story, inspire, excite, provide meaning, and connect individuals to moments of meaning . Belly Band

Steers the recipient to a quick YouTube introduction to further spike the engagement into the package .

Paper

Selected for reproduction, texture, differing weights, assisting the story and read-ability of the book . Binding style

A tangible body of work designed to be trusted by its use of a proper spine and a stout cover, all perfectly bound . Format

Deliberately a small handson format - A5 landscape - reinforcing the concept of closeness and intimacy .

Cover

Holographic laminate on the outer combined with dynamic imagery gives exciting added depth . Fold out sections

Shaped outer edges provide interest and intrigue, driving more scope for engagement . Slip Case

The finishing touch creates worthiness, where the reader unpacks the discovery .

It’s a Brand thing

Heather Tiffany from Wilson Design, a key partner with HAD-Print, unpacks the core elements behind strong brand identity .

How you brand yourself is key to how your potential customers identify you. Who are you? What sets you apart from the other suppliers who do what you do? What values do you attach to your business?

These are all important things to remember before you begin marketing, as you need to figure out how you’re going to communicate to your target audience .

Your brand identity is who you are as a business, and your brand personality is how your business acts and promotes itself . You need a clear vision of what that is to talk to potential customers .

Think of Coca Cola .

What’s their brand personality? What’s their brand personality? They feature the idea of ‘sharing a Coke with a friend’ heavily across their marketing and even went as far as to add names and family terms on each bottle . Finding a bottle with ‘Mum’ or even ‘Mam’ written across it was like winning the jackpot . Coca Cola has very much a young, fun-loving brand personality based on being a caring brand that you’d trust with your family and friends .

There are 5 main types of Brand Personalities, which are:

Competence

which also translates as dependable,efficient, responsible, reliable

Sincerity

which also translates as genuine, cheerful, honest, domestic

Brand Personalities

Excitement

which also translates as imaginative, up to date, spirited, daring

Sophistication

which also translates as romantic, charming, glamorous, presentation,

Ruggedness

which also translates as tough, outdoorsy, strong, rugged

To figure out which type your business is, ask yourself questions like: If someone met my business for the very first time, how would I want them to describe it?

How do I promote products and services? In a responsible corporate way, or an exciting, inspired way? Sit down and think about the personality traits you’d attach to your business and how you want yourself to be seen and thought of by potential customers. When you have your brand personality nailed, you can start showing this off through your marketing channels and build customer relationships.

Want to connect with Heather on Linkedin…

Partners for a rounded approach…

We don’t work in silo’s, the culture of keeping everything close is so last decade, it was toxic. So we surround ourselves with wonderful people, who think, do, and work like us, here’s a couple of them…

Wayne Clarke - Clarke Concepts

Deb Gilbert – Quilbert Copy

King of the physical impact, Wayne creates impressive exhibition stands, as an interior/ exhibition stand schemes designer, creating user engagement experiences in customer-facing environments . He’s one of our partners who takes the physical marketing impact to the next level by designing to meet the brief of the customer journey and experience within a given physical space . Seasoned at the major exhibitions or even inhouse showrooms, Wayne delivers solutions to showcase products in the right setting to enhance the customer buying experience . Good project management is key to a project’s success, with strategic planning and reducing stress all part of the process . Wayne is meticulous in keeping close control of your project, ensuring that budget, schedules and key stakeholders are effectively managed during its evolution, resulting in a complete design and build service without the high agency fees .

Clarke Concepts offers clients a full solution delivering your exhibition/ interior project from start to finish, always adhering to their core values: ✪ Focusing on integrity, honesty and a warm approachable culture . ✪ Dedicating ourselves to excellence, by striving to grow personally and professionally . ✪ Committed to creativity, by experimenting, sharing ideas but also sticking to “form follows function” – Louis

Sullivan ✪ Reliability through our professionalism, problem solving solutions, accuracy and build strong long lasting relationships . ✪ Learn, research and adapt to new technology and materials . ✪ Thankful for the blessing and opportunity’s new and existing clients provide .

Discover more at: had-print.co.uk/partners

The pen is mightier than the sword . . . so long as you know how to wield it! Luckily, Deb does, and it’s why we work together whenever some careful copy is required . No matter who the client is or what they do, Deb dives in to find their WHY - and retells their story fittingly to the format, be it in a brochure, a blog, a web piece or post for social media . Word (and Wordle) obsessed, it’s all about making every client stand out and look super shiny . It’s something clients tend to struggle with themselves, and Ms Quilbert makes it seem a doddle .

For the most sumptuous words in all the right places, better call Quilbert!

Does your marketing rely on the “lucky knickers” on the right day?

Grabbing attention isn’t always easy.

Getting the right presence in front of your customers isn’t easy. It's no mean feat pulling off the number of touchpoints often needed to ensure prospects remember you and take action. By using physicality to gain traction, tactile-ness can be a validating point of leverage to help accelerate a customer journey.