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GRAPHIC ADVISOR

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ISSUE TWENTY NINE

REFRESHING IDEAS Save Money, Get Better Results Refresh Your Brand and Revitalize Your Business Finish Your Projects with Flair!

MARKETING ADVISOR

Your logo here

ISSUE TWENTY NINE

REFRESHING IDEAS Save Money, Get Better Results Refresh Your Brand and Revitalize Your Business Finish Your Projects with Flair!

Y

Don’t waste money, market smarter!

When we think about “marketing smarter,” we often think about spending more money. But what if you could market smarter and save money at the same time? Especially when it comes to direct mail, there are many cost-saving measures that can save you money and boost your results, too.

ou may have heard that the mailing list

The agency later found out

is 40% of a campaign’s success. That’s the

that this was standard operating

old adage, but it might actually be more.

procedure for this company. Turns

One creative director tells us the story of a client

out, it hadn’t cleaned its mailing

with more than one million inactive addresses in

lists in five years.

its customer list. The agency determined that only

On average, the United States Postal Service says that

30,000 of these addresses were worth mailing. The

30% of mailing addresses are out of date. NCOA and

client mailed 300,000 instead. The results? The 30,000

CASS systems are designed to help with that.

returned a 1.5% response. The other 270,000 returned

• CASS (Change of Address Support System)

a .001% response.

certification checks the addresses in your list

What an incredible waste! Can you imagine

to ensure that they are valid addresses in the

printing 270,000 mailers destined straight for the garbage? Mailing more doesn’t necessarily return you better results!

This might sound like an outrageous tale, but it is more common than you might think.

Another marketer—a Fortune 100 company—was told that nearly 30% of its addresses would be undeliverable.

USPS system.

• NCOA checks the addresses against a National Change of Address list to ensure that your targets are not living somewhere else, and if they are, the address is corrected automatically.

These are simple steps that are inexpensive and take

Did the company immediately strip its mailing list of

relatively little extra time. Not only can they save you

those useless addresses? Unbelievably, it did not! Even

big money on print and postage, but they can return

though it could have taken the simple step of running

you better results because you start out with a current,

its list through the National Change of Address (NCOA)

viable mailing list. This is a small investment that can

and Change of Address (CASS) verifications, it didn’t

reap great returns!

bother. It printed and mailed to everyone in its list.

More than 35% bounced, resulting in over $3,000 worth of wasted postage.

When was the last time you cleaned up your mailing list?

photos ©dreamstime.com

Don't throw your money away. Mailing more doesn’t necessarily return you better results.

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Refresh Your Brand and Revitalize Your Business

ne option is to completely

messaging. Then they determined what

rebrand the company, but

still had value and should be retained

this has a number of risks.

and what should be refreshed to make

A dramatic rebrand could erase your

the brand representative of who they

history in the mind of the consumer as

are today and where they are going. The

well as any positive brand equity built

companies maintained the integrity of

up over the years. Plus, it could strain

the existing logo, making modifications

your budget as you revise not only

that are definitely noticeable but not too

your corporate stationery, but also your

drastic. You might notice subtle changes

storefront, vehicle graphics, signage,

in the width of a font; the sizing, scaling

marketing collateral, sales kits, website,

and placement of images; the shade of a

packaging, and other elements of your

color; or the tagline.

public identity. For companies with

So how do you know if it’s the right

multiple locations and complex sales and

time for your company to refresh?

distribution channels, this imposes an

If you’re anticipating a change in

even greater barrier.

management, introducing a new product or service, celebrating a significant

Your company’s visual brand identity is a shorthand to who you are and the promises you make

An alternative to a full brand redesign is

business anniversary, or undergoing a

a brand refresh. With slight revisions to

merger with another company, it makes

your branding elements and positioning,

sense to consider a refresh. In the

you can . . .

absence of any major event, consider a

stands for and what sets you apart.

• Preserve your brand’s existing equity • Infuse new energy into your offerings • Ensure your company stands out in a

When your brand has been around for

• Expand the company’s reach to new

to your customers and stakeholders.

It’s a reflection of what your company

dynamic marketplace

customers and create buzz among existing customers

a while, however, you may no longer be getting the results you need. This

• Reduce the sales cycle • Phase in changes as your budget

happens regardless of size or industry

allows

and may be brought on by aggressive or the consumer’s perception that since

Consider the major companies that have recently undertaken a brand refresh. Chiquita, Coca-Cola,

your brand looks dated your offerings

and Starbucks, for example, already had

must be dated too.

very strong and recognizable logos that

competition, changes in the industry,

resonated positively with their customers,

refresh every 3 to 5 years as part of your strategic planning process. A brand refresh should never be implemented simply because you’re tired of the existing brand.

Refreshing a brand is a strategic business decision with explicit business goals.

Ensuring that you are marketing your brand effectively and credibly is critical to both attracting and retaining a growing base of satisfied customers. A brand

Follow the lead of major companies. Maintain the integrity of your existing brand, making modifications that are noticeable but not too drastic.

refresh will give your company that added flash that enables you to more effectively compete with other companies vying for the same market space without alienating or confusing your current customers.

so why would they change? First, they photos ©dreamstime.com

evaluated their visual identity and

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Are you leaving opportunity on the table? There are many inexpensive finishing techniques that can set your projects apart. Use them to make people want to pick up the piece. Create a lasting brand image. Really make a powerful first impression.

Finish Your Projects with Flair!

F

or example, instead of tucking

highlight the logo or add gloss to photos.

Thermography. Produces an engraving-

product cards into a traditional

A new technique called strike-through

like effect using powder and ink. The

envelope, why not try a folded

coating allows you to create the look

powder is added to the ink printed on the

die-cut self-mailer instead? In a plain

of spot coating with an inline process

paper, then the printed piece is heated

white envelope, your open house

without the expense of additional plates

and the powder/ink mixture dries to

invitation might easily be overlooked.

and blankets.

form a raised effect. Use it on invitations,

But send a die-cut mailer in the shape

business cards, and letterhead. Combine

of an automobile or piece of sporting

Embossing. Embossing uses heat and

it with a die-cut to invite people to an

equipment and you are pretty much

pressure to create a raised impression

open house or booth at your trade show.

guaranteed it will get opened. Or want to

on the paper. (Think “notarizing.”) People

make photos really pop? Try spot varnish

tend to associate embossing with high-

over the photos with a dull varnish

value documents, so you might want to

everywhere else. Suddenly, the photos

use this technique to convey the idea

leap off the page!

of quality and permanence. Emboss on

Here are some great finishing techniques that can really make a difference.

plain paper (blind embossing) or combine it with ink, images, or foil for an extraspecial effect.

UV coating. A high-gloss, very protective finish that creates a lot of

Foil stamping. The process of applying

pop and durability.

decorative foil to the paper to create

Adding these little effects can make your piece really stand out and be remembered. They make recipients say “Wow!” They make them want to pick up the piece and interact with it. It doesn’t cost that much more to have an impact. Let us help you get creative!

brilliant metallic effects not possible

Soft-touch aqueous coating. A fast-

with ink. Foil stamping can be combined

drying, water-based coating that has

with embossing to create a more striking

a soft, velvety feel that people notice

three-dimensional image. Try embossing

immediately. You’ll see them saying, “Oh,

on book and report covers, branded

wow!” and turning the piece over and

documents, even logos.

over because it’s so pleasant to the touch.

Use it to draw customers into a clothing

Die-cutting. Use die-cuts to create

catalog, coffee table book, or children’s

unusual shapes, windows, and crazy fold-

book. Anything where physical touch

outs. Instead of sending the same old,

increases the appeal.

same old mailer, create jagged edges,

photos ©dreamstime.com

peep doors, accordion-style pulls. Give

Spot coating. Coat or varnish only to specific areas of the piece. You might

them something that really stands out.

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MARKETING ADVISOR

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GRAPHIC ADVISOR

MAILING INFO HERE

Printer Name Phasellus porttitor elit In hac habitasse platea Donec tempor nonummy

de? eed a QR co at N : O P F E D QR CO ications h Commun c a e R t a re Call G 5 978-332-555

About Us

About This Issue

One or two small paragraphs about you

Programs used:

Computers used:

and your company. One or two small

InDesign CS Illustrator CS Photoshop CS

iMac

paragraphs about you and your company. One or two small paragraphs about

Paper used:

What kind of press did you use to print this issue?

What paper did you use to print this issue?

Bindery used:

Ink used:

What kind of bindery did you use to print this issue?

you and your company. One or two small paragraphs about you and your company. One or two small paragraphs about you and your company. One or two small paragraphs about you and your company. One or two small paragraphs about you and your company.

Press used:

What kind of ink did you use to print this issue?

Coating used:

What kind of coating did you use to print this issue?

1:1 printing is green? Absolutely.

Here are three reasons why: 1 Targeting means you send out fewer pieces of mail—saving trees, chemicals and fossil fuels.

2 A cleaner database means that your recipients deliver fewer pieces right to the trashcan.

3 Digital production has many green benefits, including no plates, no chemicals and no spray powders.

Let’s look at three examples of how 1:1 printing can transform the “greenness” of your campaign.

Personalized booklets:

1:1 direct mail: In a static, untargeted

Say you are a small college, printing four-color catalogs to mail to prospective students. Each catalog is 252 pages, covering the full range of disciplines and extra-curricular activities. Only 25% of the material is relevant to the prospective student, who never reads the other 75%.

Especially if your catalogs are coated, those pages are destined for the landfill.

mail campaign, you might send out 15,000 postcards to a generic mail list. With 1:1 personalization, you are likely to select only a percentage of that list. This might be the top 10% of your customers, customers who are most likely to purchase certain products, or customers who, based on defined triggers (such as an upcoming expiration on an auto lease), are likely to be in the market for a new purchase.

What happens when you personalize these catalogs instead?

Now, instead of printing 252 pages, you print 64 pages.

Not only does this increase the relevance— and the effectiveness—of the booklets, but you’ve just reduced your consumption of paper, ink and chemicals by 75%.

When you think about personalization, do you think about lower cost per lead, higher per order values and increased ROI? You should. But you should also get excited about how 1:1 printing helps you go green.

Then there are the ripple effects. You have eliminated the energy used to produce those unread pages, the gas used to distribute them and all of the other associated raw materials, fossil fuels and associated energy costs along the way.

Now, instead of mailing 15,000 pieces, you might mail only 1,500. Or you might send only a few hundred at a time. Not only are these offers more targeted and relevant, but you’ve just reduced your printing and mailing volume by 90%—a huge slash in your carbon footprint.

Database cleansing: Even if you still choose to mail to your entire list, you can experience powerful “green” benefits by simply doing a basic consolidation and cleanse on that list. You might have many duplicates, misspelled names and undeliverable addresses. One cataloger recently slashed its print volumes by 50% simply by cleaning up its list!

It pays to be green. Not only should you consider green alternatives simply because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s good business too. Consumers want to do business with companies that are good stewards of the environment.

So double marketing dip— personalize it!

photos ©dreamstime.com

Sending irrelevant information makes unnecessary waste!

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