Is Your Brand Being Conveyed Appropriately?

After having two discussions about “branding” today, I thought that this blog-entry truly revealed itself to me. “Branding” is the process of establishing a “brand identity”. A “brand identity” is a personality comprised of traits and characteristics that is given to an inanimate object. Typically, one of marketers’ key goals is to establish a brand’s identity through marketing communications. For example, Timberland, an internationally iconic brand, carries a brand that signifies durable, high-quality boots and clothing. Timberland’s brand is also synonymous with social-responsibility and giving back to the community.

Ultimately, whether conscious of it or not, we convey brand identities as well. Twenty-five years ago, Michael Jackson used to convey a brand-identity of a brilliant pop singer and choreographer, a fashion trend-setter, and ultimately, a legendary pop-icon. Nowadays, his brand-identity has strayed significantly. And it is safe to assume that because of the potency of Michael Jackson’s negative-branding, he will never be able to sway his brand to benefit his music career, ever again. This isn't how we remember The King of Pop, is it?
Of course, in every communication that a person or a company makes, they can align or stray from their brand-identity, which after time can cause a broad deviation between intended and actual brand identity.

But does your printer understand your brand identity? Let’s face it, commercial print is a key component of your marketing-mix, and if you are not partnering with a printer who understands your brand identity, then the layout, screening-type, trim-size, paper stock, ink, finishing, and binding decisions, which covers an immense breadth and depth of printing decisions, can significantly affect your brand identity. If you are a publisher, you’re affected even more; print decisions directly affect your final product! Still don’t have a clue what I’m talking about? Here is an example:

“You’re a long-term health and life insurance provider, known for “going the extra mile” for your customers through value-added services. To capture the Baby-Boomer market, a vast generation moving towards retirement, you’d like to send an 8-page brochure outlining value-added services like acupuncture, massage therapy, and fitness education that will enhance your customers’ quality of life.

You decide to print heavy ink coverage on a high-end uncoated sheet that contains significant PCW recycled content (with FSC certification), and you print an overall satin aqueous to protect the ink coverage, while preserving the texture and aesthetic appeal of a premium uncoated stock. The stock suggests a soft, value-focused message; the eco-sustainability of the sheet suggests a concern for environmental and social responsibility; the satin aqueous, although used primarily as a tool in this example, adds a soft-touch to the piece.”

Branding is absolutely crucial to the success of your company, whether you are a marketer or a publisher. If you are not working with a printer who understands your branding decisions, than you may be missing out on print decisions that are in the best interest of your brand identity.

Marketing Execs: The Proof Is In the Numbers!

I just read a great article on the challenges marketing executives face in this recession. The article was based upon the theory that when corporations are looking at ways to downsize upper-management/C-level marketing executives, they primarily look to apportion value of an employee by the quantifiable results that they have established. For COO’s this may be something like: “I introduced lean-manufacturing techniques which resulted in a labor cost reduction of 5%”. For marketing execs, addressing how revenues are a direct correlation to their marketing efforts is a bit more difficult. And let’s face it, although radio, television, and out-of-home advertising are key components of the marketing-mix, the lack of trackability is a hindrance. Additionally, these marketing-mediums leave little room to further target a market.

Again, I’m not disparaging the other mediums; advertising experts claim that a multi-channel marketing effort, or the combination of numerous marketing mediums, is the most effective approach. However, when given the opportunity, commercial print can be a crucial way to track ROI and drive a more targeted message to your customers. Wanna’ know how?

Here are a few ways…

Campaign Type: Version direct-mail to broad demographics
Definition: Gang-run versions of your direct-mail to communicate messages that are relevant to broad demographics (e.g. geography, gender, age-generation, etc).
For Example: Consumers in the northeast make purchase-decisions far differently than those in the southwest, at a bare-minimum, is your direct-mail message relevant to that need?
How To Do It: Sort your target mail list by broad demographic. Print different versions on the same sheet or if necessary, make plate changes.
Trackability: Can track response rates of particular demographics.

Campaign Type: Version direct-mail with project-specific call-to-action response mediums
Definition: Utilize project-specific phone-numbers, URLs, promo codes, etc., to track specific direct-mail pieces.
For Example: You’re excited about a direct-mail concept that your team developed, that you feel is going to drive a 12% response rate. Track it with a phone-number or URL specific to this direct-mailer. Or track various versions of a direct-mail piece with a handful of different phone-numbers.
How To Do It: Create specific mediums that you want to drive responses to. For a variety of mediums (e.g. phone-numbers), utilize black plate changes to maintain low cost.
Trackability: Can track specific direct-mail pieces / designs / versions / etc.

Campaign Type: Targeted inserts
Definition: Magazine or newspaper inserts that are versioned specific to the demographics of the particular newspaper or magazine.
For Example: You’re a women’s bath and body retailer and you’d like to pursue your broad target demographic, which is: women ages 30 – 55. This market is then further divided into smaller key demos: 1.) Women who are stay-at-home moms, 2.) Women who are “white-collar” employees, 3.) Women who are “blue-collar” employees. You version your inserts specific to publications that key to these demographics.
How To Do It: Choose publications that fulfill your key markets. Apportion your versioning requirements to circulation volumes. Use this ratio to gang-run on the same sheet.
Trackability: Can track specific demographics, based upon publications’ proven demographics.

Campaign Type: 1-to-1, four-color versioning (catalogs)
Definition: Utilize consumer-specific information to drive higher response-rates through individualized call-to action. 1-to-1 variable 4-color has shown to create 10 times a higher response than normal response rates!
For Example: You’re a odd-gifts cataloger and you know that Joe Schmoe frequently buys products in “Category G” which is sports memorabilia. On the cover of the catalog, in full-color, it says, “HEY JOE SCHMOE, WE JUST ADDED NEW SPORTS MEMORABILIA ON PAGE 22”.
How To Do It: Work the data in your mail-list to include variables that can be used to call each customer to action and groom the mail list extensively. With some experience pre-press work, the cover is printed via 4-color digital and married to offset printed text. This combination produces most efficient print-cost.
Trackability: Can track increase in ROI and repeat purchases.

Would you like more ideas or specifics on how to accomplish similar concepts? Ask me to consult with you during the concept stages of your next marketing campaign! In this day in age, a good print-partner combines an expertise in marketing and branding and how to excute marketing concepts with an extensive knowledge in print technology and print-production.

Is Print An Economically Viable Marketing Media?

Well, naturally, I’m a little biased on this. As businesses begin to tighten their purse-strings, marketing is one of the foremost areas that companies look to reduce overhead. Oddly, I’ve recently been reading more statistical evidence and having more discussions about the dire importance that print continues to play in the marketing-media-mix.

An article titled "The Future of Print In Marketing Communications", written by PressTek’s Director of Marketing and Communications discusses exactly the role that print has played and will continue to play in the media-mix. Simply put, "print is the igniter for the other media in the integrated marketing campaign". Why do you ask, is this the case, well because:

1.) Print is more sensory that TV, radio, Internet, word-of-mouth, etc.,
2.) Print is there when the consumer needs it…and when it’s there when the consumer doesn’t need it, it is tucked away…or hung on the fridge….or kept on your desk…etc.,
3.) Print is easier for the consumer to be communicated to…consumers receive marketing communications at completely different pace…I may review print (or any marketing communications), at a different pace than someone 50 years my senior.
4.) Print is trust worthy. Internet communications could be coming from any fly-by-night company…or for that matter, some creep looking to swipe your credit-card number.

Here’s a couple of cool facts for you:
-"According to Mintel Comperemedia, a media monitoring service, direct mail offers sent in 2007 to companies' current customers increased 17 percent from 2006." --www.printinthemix.rit.edu
-"A recent Pitney Bowes/International Communications Research study found that 73 percent of consumers prefer to receive product announcements and offers via US mail from companies they do business with." The Future of Print In Marketing Communications
-"Among the various advertising media in 2006, direct mail was the top choice of advertisers followed by newspapers and television." United States Postal Service (2006). Household Diary Study. www.printinthemix.rit.edu

Hey marketers, check out "The Future of Print In Marketing Communications" on www.whattheythink.com.