Like clockwork, this time of year brings in two specific areas of work in our business; communication pieces to help incoming students get acclimated to their new environment and outreach material to drive dollars to the university.

Universities communicate with both students and alumni on an ongoing basis. General communication materials typically are produced this time of year to engage students in the orientation and welcome process.
 

What are the top 5 printed items universities are using in their communication materials?

• Safety Booklets
• Athletics Posters
• Campus Maps
• Welcome Kits
• Coupons

University Development offices are also using print as they implement their outreach campaigns to students and alumni. A dialogue is created that continues throughout the year. joomla_4eloping and mailing variable data letters, invitations to events, postcards and printed requests for information updates are all print vehicles to start the conversation with potential donors. When choosing the most effective way to reach students and alumni, all channels should be considered. Mobile, social and email can be effective. However, it can be easy for students to tune out email and other forms of digital communication so print may be the best approach for newcomers. Print is still the one tangible medium that occupies physical space and as freshman find their new space, and returning students redefine their space, feeling connected to the university becomes ever so important. After all, when was the last time you walked in a dorm room and saw an email decorating the wall?
 

On this topic, I read an article recently that a majority of back to school shoppers preferred print and direct mail for back to school promotions.  Now as a marketer for a print communication company, this statistic didn't necessarily surprise me because we often see an uptick in business during this time of year.  However, what I did find interesting was that it was published in Mobile Marketing Daily, an online resource that covers mobile marketing trends.The conclusion reached by author was that the resilience of print, both in print ads and in direct mail, strongly suggests the importance of cross-platform marketing plans for retailers and in this case “a resounding confirmation of the enduring power of print.”

According the article, when more than 12,000 U.S study participants (all smartphone users with at last one child) were asked which ways they prefer to receive back-to-school promotions, 46.3% said “print ads,” followed by “direct mail” (41.3%) — far ahead of social media (21.2%). This is comforting for print communication companies but it also sheds light on the need for more creative interactions with audiences. If nothing else, it supports the notion that in order to build a strong and personal brand experience for consumers, retailers will need to use an integrated communication strategy that involves multi-channel marketing. Print communications combined with online and social outreach are effective ways in reaching your audience, and not just at back-to-school and Christmas.

To read more about the study above at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207534/print-preferred-back-to-school-shoppers-want-ana.html#ixzz2d6r6Jj43

During the course of our discussion, the owner suggested that perhaps they could print and mail a postcard. The requirements needed to produce this postcard perfectly matched our company’s abilities. This job could have been designed, printed & mailed within a week or two and would have counted to our sales goals for the month. Despite all of this, I did something that I have never done previously and is counter-intuitive to any owner of a printing company. I told the client we could produce the direct mailer for his company, but, in my opinion, his company was not ready to do a mailing and would gain very little from it. I recommended against producing a product that my company is perfectly setup to create.

Before anyone suggests that I should have my head checked, there are very valid reasons that I suggested not to proceed in this manner. Many of these reasons I have discovered during our own in-house marketing process, which can serve as a case study as to the dos and don’ts of any marketing campaign. The primary reason that I did not want this client to proceed with the mailing is that I wanted him to view any campaign we put together as a success for him. Mailing a postcard without going through the process of properly identifying your target, having an integrated website to drive them to and having no integration with any other forms of media would have generated little or no response. The client would have then blamed the mailer and walked away feeling that print is not a suitable form of advertising because it is costly based on the amount of response it had generated.

When done in isolation, the chances are that the result would be as predicted. However, when used as part of an overall campaign, print can be a valuable resource to help drive client response and play a significant role in making a successful campaign. Using a combination of the multiple channels available to reach your client (including print) will yield far greater results in the end.

Photo credit: www.steamfeed.com
 

Print, as with specialty cakes, are a custom made item that are produced by skilled artisans of their craft. While technology and automation have greatly improved the efficiency of how both products can be produced, the quality of the final product still depends on a experienced craftsman to produce it correctly. Good design principles are also a vital component of both products. Without proper design print is simply ink on paper, cake a mix of flour, sugar & water. Both products are often produced under tight deadlines that must be met without fail. Print for events and dated material, cakes for a wedding or birthday. Lastly, both products have lately been under, in my opinion, an unjustified attack from outside groups regarding their products. Print from “environmentalists” and bakery items from the “sugar police”.

Beyond the similarities in our products, I was also struck by the similarity in our stories. Both of us were from second generation Italian-American families whose father, the founder of the company, had died at a young age and other family members stepped forth to fill the void. If anyone knows of any Hollywood producers looking for a reality show based on a printing communications company, they know where to reach me.
 

In our nearly 35 year history we have printed thousands of these signs, an experience that has provided us with a great amount of insight as to what may or may not be important when joomla_4eloping useful and purposeful signage. However, we seldom have the opportunity to gain insight from the end users, the decision makers who are ultimately responsible for overseeing these events so we reached out to some friends for some perspective.

The following three questions were posed to two industry experts, Lindsay, an executive director of a large national nonprofit and Mary, an accomplished meeting manager who is responsible for a large, annual national meeting (4,000 attendees) as well as an international meeting (respectively).  In addition we reached out to one of our favorite designers, Jacey of  Ten Eleven Design, to gain some insight on her perspective.

Question: when you are contemplating a design project how much thought is given to the attendee’s experience / engagement? Meaning, are you thinking about how they will interact with your piece and how much thought is given to creating an attractive piece?  I’m sure equal weight is given to both but what I’m after is the struggle you face, as a designer, in creating an active piece that is also functional yet in many cases disposable.

Jacey (Designer): When designing signage for conferences or events, I always begin with the event space. I gather information on how people will navigate the space, locations of messages and signs, timing of when people will receive information, etc. From there, I can make choices about conceptual design. I don’t really think too much about how temporary the design unless the client specifically wants to reuse the signs or hardware. My motivation is more about creating an experience for people, even if it’s temporary one. I also love exploring opportunities to recycle or upcycle used event materials and hope there is more of a demand for that in the future.  

Question: When considering signage for a meeting what are the two or three most important elements that you think will define success?

Mary (Meeting Manager): Branding, branding, branding. You need your sign clearly branded with discernible graphics related to the meeting and / or the association’s logo or theme. Well branded signs create connections with attendees, make them feel a part of the experience and generate enthusiasm in non-traditional spaces such as escalators, elevators and lounges (fun place).

Lindsay (Executive Director): I look for high quality that can be used again. It’s important to me to be green so I don’t like to have single use signs. I prefer to make an investment on the front-end and to re-use over and over.

Question: Given the nature of today’s ultra-creative and visual environment how loose (fun, free, crazy) can we be with having fun with the creativity of directional or other signage?

Mary: Signage has a clear purpose in the delivery of information – they need to be clear and concise so attendees get the information they need quickly and in a meaningful way. Fun is okay but it’s important not to lose sight of the purpose of the sign.

Lindsay: Fun is fine but I prefer simplicity with minimal text. People are busy so the signage should help attendees feel welcome and communicate necessary information.

Question: How closely do you work with the design team when creating event signage?

Mary: Very closely – I need to be involved from beginning to end to ensure that messaging and design reflect the brand. Branding, branding, branding.

Lindsay: Cost is important. Nonprofits run on tight budgets so while design is good, cost must be factored.

As the team that sits squarely within the nexus of creativity, production and delivery it’s fascinating to learn what’s important to those responsible for ensuring what we produce meets their expectations. In many cases, signage can make or break a meeting or be the difference between a frustrated attendee and one that arrives to their sessions on time. After all, there’s a reason GPS is so popular…we love to know where we’re going and hate it when we can’t find our way.  

A big thank you to our contributing experts!

photo credit: http://www.thinkinc.com/blog/think-attends-forrester-consumer-forum-conference-in-chicago/

It seems that the newly designed bills were printed with too much ink and the lines in the very detailed artwork were hard to distinguish. The new $100 bills will feature 3D images and a chameleon like Liberty Bell, designed with the intent to thwart counterfeiters across the globe.

While much has been made about the commoditization of print, this error brings to attention that there is still a crafts-like aspect to printing and no amount of automation can fully replace the need for experienced, detail oriented press operators to see that the job is printed as designed. As far as the “bad” money, I am sure that there will be no lack of volunteers that would be willing to take it off of the government’s hands. I feel sympathy for the poor employee who will be tasked with destroying $30 million dollars.

Beginning in the mid-1980’s thru the 1990’s the printing industry began to feel the impact of an industry-wide transformation. The invention of the Mac and its impact on image setting, the arrival and widespread use of email, and the emergence of electronic media caused great pause within our community.

As the world celebrated the turn of the century the printing industry continued to scratch its collective head and wonder where the future was headed. Unfortunately it took only a few years until the industry would sustain another blow. The recession of 2008-2009 reduced the number of U.S. printers from 36,508 to 33,565, a drop of 8%, taking nearly 70,000 jobs with it. Production was impacted and the future of print was once again shrouded in cloud of doubt. Simultaneously, the eruption of social media and image-driven social platforms have caused additional pause to the printing industry as the way we communicate and the methods by which communications continue to evolve.

However, the printing industry continues to press on. In the face of all of the challenges faced over the past several years a few truths remain intact…print remains the only form of communication to occupy physical space, print creates a unique and tangible experience, and printers continues to evolve and embrace new technology and design to remain relevant.  Consider for a moment that 76% of businesses state that their ideal marketing mix is a combination of print and digital.

Last week our team created this poster in an effort to embrace our expertise, share our philosophy, demonstrate our pride, pay tribute to our tradition and…well, to keep calm and print on.

To learn more about the origins of the phrase please check out the following post: http://bizeez.com/keep_calm_and_carry_on/

To learn more about the impact of the recession on the printing industry please see: http://www.piasc.org/pdf/business/MovingPastTheGreatRecession.pdf

To learn more about how print is an essential piece in the marketing mix even in the digital age see http://www.printinthemix.org

Some of the best practices in creating a donor appeal campaign includes segmenting the target audience into New Grads, New Grad Renewals and Regular Renewals. The direct mail piece can be versioned for these segments. If an offer is part of the campaign, this too can be versioned among the intended recipients. For instance, more recent grads can receive an offer of an ITunes gift card, while older graduates can be given a premium item of greater value that is reflective of their past giving amounts. This can all be communicated on the direct mail piece. The mailers can be further segmented into age, gender, degree and geographical groups as well. All of this data is usually readily available to an organization.

With the proper segmentation, personalized direct mail can increase acquisition and retention rates and ultimately go a long way towards meeting the fundraising goals of any academic institution.

One thing that an organization may want to try is the introduction of variable data into the newsletter to see if this can breathe life into an underperforming asset. You may have heard the phrase, variable data, but what does it really mean?  Variable data printing is a form of digital printing in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the printing process and using information from a database.  It’s more than adding a name or address, it’s a personalization process that enhances communication. 

The biggest overall use of personalization within member based associations is the ability to vary communications dependent on the primary reason why a member belongs to an association. Members often join associations for reasons that vary from networking, education, government advocacy and/or access to group benefits.  Some other uses are:

• Using personalization in  communications based on a members previous use of association resources
• The use of variable print to increase member interaction at member events (i.e. personalized networking cards, name badges, or event registration forms)
• Using personalized url’s (purl’s) to pre-populate member surveys which will increase participation
• Using variable data when requesting a member’s participation in legislative call to actions and legislative communications (i.e. printing the name and contact information of the appropriate Congressman for the recipient)
• Using variable data when sending out dues renewal information (the previous year’s payment history can be communicated)
• Using personalization to vary printed communications between long time members, reconnecting with past members who have dropped off  and prospective members

Introducing a full variable data newsletter to your entire database may seem overwhelming and, at first glance, more costly than a conventional newsletter.  A suggestion would be to test the introduction of the variable data. One way to do this would be to print half of the newsletters as a static version and the other half as a personalized newsletter.  Adding varying levels of personalization is also a way that one can test the waters of personalization versus response rates. If you feel your organization lacks the necessary data to add personalization to its direct mail efforts, doing a test mailing is one of the best ways to kick start your efforts.

Contact us if you have any stories about how variable data has worked for you or if you are interested in learning more about this personalization process can help your organization.