Posted by Jack Valentine on Fri, Mar 26, 2010 @ 05:09 PM
We freely admit we are biased.
If we were the judges in an Advertising Genre Beauty Pageant, it is safe to say we would vote for the print medium as the most beautiful form year after year.
To our knowledge, there is no such thing as an Advertising Genre Beauty Pageant. But ironically, we happened to recently stumble across all 53 Miss America contestants during a promotional fashion show a week before they competed for the crown.
The contestants were all seated for a traditional "meet-and-greet" with shoppers at a Las Vegas mall. All of them had gorgeous promotional postcards to autograph. But not all of their cards were designed to fully maximize the power of branding and to increase the chances of the beauty queens getting hired for future paid appearances.
Some of the postcards were simply one-sided photos with the contestant's name and home state. Others, such as the Miss Missouri souvenir above, used the back of the card to trumpet the Miss Missouri scholarship organization, the printing sponsors, Tara Osseck's personal charity and phone number contacts for hiring her.
There is no greater way for Miss Missouri to promote her career and the national pageant than with a smile and bat of the eyelashes in person. However, her photo postcard -- this one printed on a thick quality collectible stock -- extends the value of her promotional appearance for weeks, perhaps even months.
A postcard like this one likely winds up on the kitchen refrigerator, greeting everyone that comes into the house. It continually reminds people about visiting her Website or how to contact Miss Missouri to appear at a promotional event.
In short, give people a reason to want to keep your postcard or color brochure (coupons do wonders when you don't have a celebrity autograph to create value) and they will. And you will be on the short-list of phone calls when they need your goods or services.
A fabulous way to beautify your real estate documents or legal paperwork is to dress them up in a snazzy, fashionable presentation folder or accordion folder. Instead of reaching for a drabby manila envelope, your clients will appreciate how neat and organized you've made a potential paperwork mess.
Our document folders might not be as sexy as the swimsuit or evening gown competition, but there is nothing more beautiful than someone staring at your company logo and later calling you or dropping you an email.
And just like the fashion show, our presentation folders come in a variety of dazzling styles and colors!
Posted by Jack Valentine on Mon, Nov 23, 2009 @ 07:30 AM
It almost sounds like a joke: Google is now advertising its advertising.
And here's the punchline... The company is using brochure printing and direct mail, the very advertising medium that the Internet was supposed to make obsolete.
Although there are seemingly countless millions of people wired on-line 24/7, the reality is that even most of them spend more breathing moments off-line than on. Their lives are NOT totally virtual. And that means they make trips to their mailbox and make eye contact with what's inside.
In this printed tri fold brochure, Google is offering an incentive of $75-$100 in free advertising, depending on how early customers sign up. Putting a coupon on a brochure is a savvy move. Even if a prospective client is on the fence, giving them a concrete financial incentive sharply increases the likelihood that your brochure stays out of the trash.
This old-fashioned, color brochure contains Google website addresses to "click on," but of course none of them are hyperlinked. At least for now, technology doesn't exist to wirelessly transmit signals from a piece of paper. Yet, Google is tacitly acknowledging that brochure printing is still a major part of any serious marketing campaign.
Or as we put it in the first question on our home page, "CAN A PIECE OF PAPER CREATE MORE SALES FOR YOU?"
Absolutely. Brochure printing is effective marketing. Brochure printing is effective branding. Brochure printing is effective advertising, a bold call to action.
We certainly don't suggest abandoning the Internet as an advertising medium -- heck, we use it with fantastic results. But go ahead and follow Google's lead. Embrace print, too!
Posted by Chris Higgins on Mon, May 04, 2009 @ 08:25 AM
Brochure printing can be an expensive undertaking but not if you know the secrets to saving money. For brochure printing in small quantities, say 1500 or less, think digital and think savings.
Full color makes your brochure more effective, if you're making the investment in brochure printing think about your objective. Why are you creating this brochure; to promote your brand, to outline benefits of your product or service, to give instructions, to answer questions, to provide information, to create more revenue, to support sales efforts, to market your product or service? An attractive full color brochure can accomplish any of these goals and more, but remember the brochure itself can also say a lot about your company.
Before anyone reads a word of content your brochure sends a strong message. Make sure the message is, we're professional, we care about our brand, we care about the image we present, and we don't cut corners. Digital brochure printing allows you to create a brochure that sends this message at very reasonable cost.
Traditional offset brochure printing requires film and plates for each color. Unless you need a large quantity of brochures the cost of the film and plates can can significantly increase the per unit price of each brochure. With digital printing these costs don't exist allowing you to create a full color professional brochure without spending a bundle.
The next time you're involved in a brochure printing project that doesn't require large volume, remember the digital option and ask about it when requesting quotes. Not every printer has digital equipment so make sure to ask, is their quote based on offset printing or digital printing. If the answer is offset make sure to get a digital quote as well, chances are you'll save a lot of money on a high quality professional brochure.
Posted by Chris Higgins on Sun, Mar 29, 2009 @ 09:02 PM
Brochure printing can be an expensive endeavor particularly if you don't know some of the many ways to keep costs down. Keep the following secrets in mind the next time you're involved in a brochure printing project, or any printing project for that matter.
Work with an independent professional. Don't go to the local printer that produces your other printed products like business cards and stationary, unless you know they have the right equipment for your project. Instead work with an expert that can find the right equipment to produce your specific brochure printing project at the lowest cost.
The right equipment is key. The most important factor in keeping your costs down is producing your brochure on the right equipment. All print shops are interested in keeping their equipment busy, if you ask for a quote they'll give you a quote based on using their presses. They won't tell you that their equipment is not very efficient for the specific brochure printing project you have, or that the guy in the next town has a press that can run the job at twice the speed and lower cost.
An independent distributor or even a print broker doesn't have any equipment to keep busy and has no conflict of interest. They earn their money by matching your brochure printing project with the most efficient equipment that can produce your brochure at the lowest cost. Unless you're a professional print buyer working with an independent expert can provide big returns and ensure you get the quality and service you need at the lowest cost.
Press size is a perfect example of this concept. If your brochure printing project is four color on both sides of each page you want to find a press that can produce as many pages as possible in a single pass. If you have a 12 page brochure and can produce all 12 pages in a single press run the cost will be almost half of producing your brochure printing project on a press that can only produce 6 pages in a single pass. Essentially the job is produced in one press run instead of two.
Have your designer talk to the printer before starting the design. if you're working with a designer make sure they talk to the printer before they come up with the design. Most designers are focused on the creative marketing aspects of your brochure printing project, not the production details. A quick conversation with the production facility can ensure the designer understands the requirements of the production equipment and can create the design around those requirements. Taking this step in advance can save time and money by preventing last minute corrections to meet production requirements.
Page count matters. Understand how the number of pages impacts the production and the price. For example a 12 page 8 1/2 x 11" brochure is created by using three 11 x 17" inch sheets printed on both sides and folded over to create the 12 pages. If you create a 13 page brochure suddenly you have 3 blank pages. Understand this at the design stage and you'll save time and money instead of changing it after the design is well under way.
Pricing on brochure printing can vary within a wide range, understanding the secrets behind the costs can save you both time and money. Watch for our next installment Brochure printing secrets that save money volume 2 for more valuable secrets that will pay dividends on your next project.
Posted by Chris Higgins on Fri, Jan 30, 2009 @ 06:28 AM
If you're looking to save money on a brochure printing project, or any large printing project for that matter it pays to focus on the process. In 2006 Infotrends did a study that concluded for every $1 spent for printing there's as much as $6 spent in the process, therefore you can save a lot more by focusing on the entire process that you can by just focusing on the printing cost. See diagram below.
As you can see there are serious costs involved in the overall project that are often not looked at when asking the question how much will the brochure cost. if you really want to save money make sure you look closely at the following areas.
fulfillment and distribution - Once the brochure is complete where does it go and how do you get it there. Is it being mailed, warehoused, handed out one by one, or sent out in small boxes to numerous locations around the country?
Internal creative - how much time and resources are spent planning the project, are the right people involved, how can you make this process more efficient?
External creative - Are you using an advertising firm or graphic arts firm to do the design, are they charging by the hour or by by the project, have they consulted with the printer to understand the restrictions of the equipment used to produce the job? Have they talked to the printer to ask about possible ways to reduce the printing cost? Can the printer handle some of the layout at a much lower cost than the design firm?
Inventory obsolescence - what is the life of the finished product, should the job be produced in bulk or smaller runs to allow for changes, is traditional offset printing the best way to go or does digital make more sense?
Administrative - How much time is spent dealing with designers, gathering quotes, internal approvals, proofreading, design review, distribution instructions, Etc.
Warehousing - where are the brochures kept, do you have a proper storage facility or will it be outsourced, are you using expensive office space to store boxes of product, if the brochures are in storage do you have an electronic distribution system to easily enter requisitions, can you track where everything went so the cost can be applied properly?
Clearly there is far more cost in the process than the actual printing, according to Infotrends it's a factor of 6-1. If you really want to save money on brochure printing or any other large printing project, focus on the process and not just the printing cost.
Posted by Chris Higgins on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 @ 06:08 PM
Advertising is everywhere but you have to wonder if its effective and for that matter can you even measure the effectiveness?
Companies pay big money to put their name just about anywhere; taxi cabs have electronic billboards with ads scrolling across the roof every 30 seconds, elevators have electronic screens to pitch a product as you travel from the first to the third floor. There's a company, or at least there was, who knows if it's still around, that gives you a free car, the only catch, the entire car is wrapped in a full color printed advertisement. You can't escape, in the bathroom the urinal ad poster is right in front of you as you take care of business. Do we pay attention or have we become immune?
What does it cost to put your name in front of as many people as possible and how do you know if it's worth it? I thought about this recently when a small brochure printing project came across my desk. A PTO group needed 900 twenty four page booklets nothing fancy mostly black and white with color covers just your average low cost brochure. They got a few quotes and were ready to move forward when one of the printing companies made an offer they couldn't refuse. If the printing company could add their logo to the project they would cut the price by 50%. the PTO grabbed it, why not, they just cut their cost in half, I wonder how much value the printing company got for their investment.
It would be one thing if they got a full page ad and the chance to outline all the benefits they offer to a targeted audience, but they just had a small logo printed on the back of a brochure going to an unknown audience. The idea of getting your name in front of as many people as possible must work because everyone seems to do it, but how do you know if you get your money's worth? If 900 people get the booklet how many will actually read it, how many will notice the print company logo, and how many are ever in a position to actually buy print? Do these questions matter or is it just about putting your name in front of as many people as possible and seeing what sticks?