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GRAPHIC ADVISOR

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Heighten Your Knowledge in Three Key Areas

ISSUE TWENTY SIX

Print: The New Opportunity Pushing the Envelope The Color Black

MARKETING ADVISOR

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Heighten Your Knowledge in Three Key Areas

ISSUE TWENTY SIX

Print: The New Opportunity Pushing the Envelope The Color Black

Five good reasons to tap into print opportunities... x Cut through the clutter. Remember

x Print makes sense. You can see and

the days when you opened your mailbox

hear electronic messages at the same time;

and catalogs, brochures, newsletters and

it’s like getting two exposures for the price

postcards tumbled out? Today there is

of one. But what about the other senses?

simply less postal mail, so your printed

Print is the clear winner in the categories

pieces get noticed. Let the competition

of touch, smell, and taste. We like to feel

fight it out in the Inbox; you will have the

special papers and finishes, and cut out

prospect’s attention as he interacts with

things of special interest and save them or

your printed collateral.

pass them along. Smell, which is handled

x Add credibility. In a time of economic uncertainty, print collateral tells the reader that your company plans to be around for the long term. Your message is so important it deserves to be preserved in a physical form rather than simply being posted on the vaporous Internet. The

Print: The New Opportunity

consumer trusts that if you put it in print you’re going to stand by your word. x Stay connected. Customer retention was the reason targeted mailings, such as custom magazines and newsletters, were developed in the first place. More and

Companies have been wooed to invest more dollars in electronic marketing

more, people are tiring of 24/7 electronic connectivity; so make sure the prospect has

by the promise of comparatively low-cost campaigns that can be tracked

your information at his fingertips when he

and measured easily, leading pundits to conclude that print is a dying

unplugs from digital devices. Print never runs out of power.

element of the marketing mix. The truth is that print remains important. We

by the same part of the brain that handles

Print versus e-marketing isn’t an

memories and emotions, has been used to

either/or choice. Much of what we

create a brand impression for years. Who

print is also available electronically.

can pass a scratch-and-sniff insert without

One isn’t wrong and the other right.

scratching and sniffing? And there is no

Some information just needs the

better way to get prospects to taste your

pace of print. Thanks to innovations

product than by mailing a sample to try at

in print technology, it has never

their leisure.

been easier or less expensive to

x You can’t hide from print. The same developers who introduced the electronic

get high-quality printed materials in the hands of your target audience.

platforms that have revolutionized the way we deliver our messages are developing technologies to empower consumers to avoid these same messages. Think TiVo and spam filters. The mail carrier, on the other hand, has to deliver your mail. High quality, creative print pieces will capture your target audience’s interest.

print all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons. It’s just that our relationship with print has changed. The marketer’s challenge is to find a way to

photos ©iStockphoto.com

leverage print to tap into a whole new world of opportunities.

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An

ill-conceived envelope

While it’s important to keep the design cohesive

marketing strategy that fails

with your other printed materials, using the

to motivate the recipient

same envelope design for multiple mailings may

to open it is like mailing money out the door.

work against you. Even a friendly prospect might

Carefully consider every element, including

assume he’s already heard the message inside.

physical dimensions, copy, layout, and design.

Anything outside of the standard #10

Envelope P u shi n g the

rates, whether it’s through variable-data

envelope, either larger or smaller, will set your

messaging, using a legible script font, or actual

piece apart. Make sure the envelope is at least

handwriting. Postage stamps add another

¼” larger than your largest insert. Steer clear

personal touch but may not be practical

of window envelopes unless it’s the only way to

for larger mailings. Studies show that one-

achieve personalization. Smooth, heavier stocks

third of Standard Mail goes directly into the

show off your color designs, while textured

wastebasket. If your piece doesn’t get thrown

stocks, such as linen or laid, offer a high-

away, you’re still in the game.

end feel. Explore the myriad of options now

An envelope has the best chance of getting

available, such as vellum, glassine, and polybag-

opened if it’s delivered on Tuesday, the lightest

type envelopes.

postal delivery day, or on Wednesday, the

Technology has advanced to the point that

second lightest day. Stay away from Mondays,

you can place dynamic messaging on the front,

the heaviest delivery day. Six weeks is a good

back, and even inside of the envelope. It’s a

interval between mailings—you want to stay

money-saver because envelope messaging

fresh in your prospect’s mind without becoming

minimizes postal weight by reducing the insert

a nuisance.

count. Your copy should provoke curiosity, but

The abundance of creative options makes

not give everything away. The goal is to pique

envelopes a versatile vehicle for presenting your

interest so the recipient looks inside, but there

message. Put these precious communication-

should be something­more—new information, a

carriers at the top of the list as you plan your

special offer— as a reward for opening it.

next direct mail campaign.

The envelope should be clean and welldesigned, but that means different things to different marketers. Some, concerned that documents with too much visual flair will be dismissed as “junk mail,” choose plain white envelopes imprinted with the corporate logo to lend credibility and seriousness. The other extreme is the marketer who uses starbursts and call-outs that shout, “Open now!” The best strategy is somewhere in between—a mix of bright colors, interesting textures, vivid imagery photos ©iStockphoto.com

he elop t v e d y ut htfull g u ge. B o a h k t c s a eter call mail p e t l c Mark b e a r r i u ad meas ts of a n d e n n ines its a m f mpo r e o e n c t e e e b d insid l that s and e o r o u t t y e fea the k with s i e t e e l p o er, rep envel t t e e l h t T es d. the b er rea v e n ssed. s ’ o t t i r f i o ss pened orthle o w s t s e i ion, mail g t c e to act r i rd r you e h t e wh

Personalization increases response

and bold messaging to grab attention quickly.

4

T

here are two basic categories of black: plain black and rich black.

hand, the color swatch called “Black” is

Plain black is created solely using

actually a plain black (C=0, M=0, Y=0,

black ink. If you create a color swatch in

Using rich black rather than plain black

slider to 100%, you’ll get plain black. (See

can cause aesthetic or even physical prob-

Figure 1.)

lems during the printing process. Since

required, you run the risk of oversaturating

there is no such “color” as black; it’s what

the paper (and even if you do want a rich

you get when you combine the three

black, you should never make anything

colorants—cyan, magenta, and yellow—at

C=100, M=100, Y=100, K=100). Using

full saturation. If you create a color swatch

rich black and plain black interchangeably

with the C, M, and Y sliders all at 100%

can give your document an inconsistent

(keeping K at 0%), you’ll see that you get

look, especially where typography is con-

black. This is rich black. But if you look

cerned. If you are setting black type and

at Figure 2, you’ll see that it doesn’t look

use a rich black instead of a plain black,

entirely black; it’s more of a very dark gray.

you run the risk of even minor registration

In fact, it’s tonally different than plain black

errors ghosting and blurring your type.

black-and-white, and being unaware of the “shades of black” can lead to printing problems.

black in certain instances. A rich black—

CMY mix.

also called a “warm black”—does have a

also vary in the levels of the constituent

using. Different applications use different

colorants—more cyan and/or magenta

types of black. Here’s an example: drag

tends to boost the “warmness,” while

out a square marquee in Photoshop and

more pure black tends to “cool” it down.

fill it with black by selecting Edit>Fill, and

Aesthetically, you may desire a warmer or

choosing “Black.” If you check the Info

cooler black.

Figure 3. Rich black (left) can be tonally different than plain black (right).

Figure 4. By default, “Black” in Photoshop is a rich black.

So, just as we would never think of the

in Photoshop is actually C=75, M=68,

color “red” or “blue” without some kind

Y=67, K=90 (see Figure 4).

of qualification, so, too, should we never

More importantly, if you type some text

Figure 2. A rich black is created using come combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow.

warmer feel than plain black. Rich blacks

attention to which type of black you are

palette, you’ll see that by default “Black”

photos ©iStockphoto.com

That said, you may want to use a rich

is used, some black ink is added to the

There are practical reasons for paying

Figure 1. A plain black is created using only black ink.

a rich black uses more ink than is really

bination of process colors. In color theory,

(see Figure 3). In practice, when rich black

In the graphic arts, the color “black” isn’t quite so

K=100).

Illustrator or InDesign and set the K (black)

Rich black is created using some com-

The Color Black Can be a Gray Area

In InDesign and Illustrator, on the other

assume that all black is created equal. As

in Photoshop, then select black from the

always, though, it’s worth checking with

extreme corners of the color picker, you’ll

us to see if we have any advice or cautions

get a rich black (see Figure 5).

regarding the use of rich vs. plain black.

Figure 5. In Photoshop’s color picker, even what you might think would be plain black is actually rich.

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T

Type of Offer

Prefer Mail

Prefer Online

hink you’re being more

Personal care

effective by switching from

Food products

traditional to digital media?

Over-the-counter medication

62% 66% 53%

22% 23% 21%

43% 44% 34%

21% 19% 42%

Especially in the 18–34-year-

old demographic? Think again! Two recent

Insurance services

studies suggest that 1:1 printing may be far

Financial services

more effective, even among this coveted

Travel

age group.

Source: “Finding the Right Channel Combination: What Drives Channel Choice,” ICOM (2010)

A recent study titled “Finding the

Think E-Media Beats 1:1 Print?

Right Channel Combination: What Drives

bought Natural Remedies for Headaches

this reason, it earns their trust and respect

Channel Choice” conducted by ICOM, a

also bought Dancing with the Stars Cardio

more than e-media. Consumers appreciate

division of Epsilon Targeting, surveyed over

Workout!”). The result is a high level of

this type of purposeful investment in the

2500 U.S. and 2200 Canadian households.

mistrust and annoyance.

marketer’s relationship with them. It creates

It found that consumers overwhelmingly

By contrast, the intentional, highly

preferred to learn about marketing offers

targeted use of personalization in print is

via print media than online sources.

non-intrusive and the relevance is clear.

Ready, Set, Capitalize!

While we might expect this from

1:1 print also tends to be geared more,

So while you may want to expand your

older consumers, this survey targeted

not to the short-term sale, but to

marketing to include a multichannel

18–34-year-olds. In every category

relationship-building.

approach, don’t make the mistake of replacing print with alternative media.

surveyed, with the exception of travel,

Think Again! (Consumers Love Getting Mail.)

these younger, more tech-savvy consumers

1:1 Print Is More Relevant

overwhelmingly preferred print over online

Could this be in part why traditional

media for marketing communications.

advertising (both print and other media)

perception of print to differentiate yourself

is seen as more relevant than online

as a company that cares about your

1:1 Print Builds Trust

media? In a separate survey of more

customers in a way that consumers often

Why? One reason is trust. According to the

than 1,200 people conducted for ad:tech

perceive online advertisers don’t. Then

survey, 36% of U.S. respondents across all

London by Zussi Research, 69% percent

build on that perception with relevant,

age groups trust the mail more than email.

of respondents saw traditional advertising

personalized communications they’ll

This is up from 29% in 2008. While only

as relevant to them, compared with 45%

remember and respect!

19% said online information “can’t be

for online. Respondents also described

trusted” in 2008, that percentage increased

online marketing as chaotic. This creates a

to 25% this year.

high level of annoyance, even when online

Even personalization cannot overcome this mistrust. While email and online can

photos ©iStockphoto.com

a sense that they are valued.

Instead, personalize it!

Capitalize on consumers’ positive

media is targeted.

Compare this to

be personalized, consumers often complain

print, which consumers

that online advertising is ubiquitous and

perceive as requiring

inescapable. The use of cookies to track

a greater

their behavior can also result in highly

investment by

irrelevant suggestions (“Other people who

the marketer. For

1:1 printing may be far more effective than digital media, even among the coveted 18-34 age group.

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