Logging On is So Yesterday

Guest Blogger - Steve Puckett, Prepress Manager

QR codes are so handy that even I (digitally speaking and old timer) start to wonder why they aren’t as common as phone numbers.

Sitting at lunch one day this week I noticed a flier for a local chain restaurant offering a coupon. All I had to do is log on and download it . . . What! Download it? To what? Where? When? Sad thing was I’m sure they had a lot of people put a lot of effort into this campaign. They made it catch my eye, the food looked delicious, prices were appealing and they tried to enter the digital market with a digital coupon, but I had to download something. I have a smart phone and Internet access but I don’t keep a printer in my pocket. Today it’s all about instant gratification, I want something and I want it now. If I want lunch, I want my coupon right now and QR codes can give me that. A QR code could have taken me to the coupon, with a bar code that could be scanned, or a small code that could be entered in at the register and I would feel like I had gotten the best deal at the best time in the best way. The digital age is evolving at light speed and I believe the days of going home and printing off coupons is quickly coming to an end.

Flottman Company is very excited about QR codes so we are blogging, tweeting and marketing QR codes in every way imaginable. We want to incorporate them into future print projects and watch our customers business grow. You should too!

I wish I had thought of that (& how I would have done it if I had)!

This week Nicole, one of our graphic designers and I finally created our "Inspire Library," a binder chock-full of printed projects we've done and projects we wish we'd done. All to help us kick-start the creative process for the next challenge that comes our way.

One piece that I knew was a keeper the minute I saw it in my mailbox was this piece from American Express.




Now the last thing I need is another credit card, but I almost broke down when I saw this offer.

So clever, I wish I had though of that! Almost as soon as that thought crossed my mind, the marketer and printed in me started to think about how I would have done it, if I had thought of it!

The one thing I thought it was screaming for was some personalization! I would have been really impressed if it was my name on that baggage tag, a small addition, but impressive nonetheless, suddenly I am not feeling just like a credit score.

Lets take it a step further what if there were a few variations of this piece. I know the Amex is tied to Delta Skymiles and hence the suitcase. But you know what, I don't fly that much so not a free checked bag isn't that big of a draw for me (though I might fly more if I had Skymiles to use!). I know there are all sorts of great rewards you can get with your Amex points, so what if the mail piece appealed to me and my purchases. I know Amex can find out what purchases I make the most with my credit card, so why not appeal to what I buy the most? For me and probably plenty of other people, a grocery bag or gas pump or shopping bag full of clothes would have appealed to me even more. Yes the creative would be a little different, but there is definitely a creative way to depict all of those. All of sudden it is like Amex is speaking right to me, they know my name, they know what I want and even more importantly they can give me what I want. How can I live without an American Express card?

A beautiful piece I wish I had done and some great inspiration for the next piece I do!

By Narrowing, You Broaden

How very zen: "By narrowing, you broaden." I heard this deep quote this morning at the AMA N. Kentucky B2B Shared Interest Group (SIG). I love SIGs by the way!. The presenter was Carol Bross-McMahon of the CbM Consulting Group and she lead a discussion about "Targeting for Optimal Results."

It was a wonderful discussion about really understanding and targeting the correct prospect. Forget spraying and praying, forget the idea that your target market is anyone in the phone book. The way you are going to connect with people, sell to people and great a successful business relationship is by understanding their business before you even pick up the phone. This usually means spending more time on fewer prospects, but these are the right prospects.

The main point: you really need to examine what it is you are selling/offering/etc. and narrow down until you have the optimal customer (not just because they need whatever you are offering but because they will be good for you too!).

It is hard for people to go small, but often that's what is called for as long as you are going small the smart way. I would always rather a list of a 1,000 contacts who have been carefully considered than a list of 10,000 that have been randomly selected.

Moral of the story - Take the time and narrow!

QR Codes - A New Obsession

I don't know how I lived without . . . yes I am now one of those people, a smart phone user. I finally got an iPhone this past weekend and have been glued to it ever since (I am listening to Pandora, right now). So after a year of researching, discussing, and promoting QR codes, I can finally read them and I must say I am now a devotee.

You know QR codes, those funny looking black and white patterned boxes that seem to be popping up all over the place. Well just download a reader, scan with your phone and bam you are off to wherever the creator wants to take you.

Flottman has been placing QR codes on our newsletter. Snap a pic and it will take you to your sale representative's contact information. A pretty basic use. We generate the QR codes for free at Delivr.

Now that I am a devotee, I am dying to try something little more involved.
For our next direct mail campaign, I plan on linking QR codes to personalized URLs (pURLs). We routinely use pURLs as part of our direct mail pieces. We send out postcards and emails urging the recipient to log on to their personalized website and complete a brief survey. If they do they are entered to win something really cool (an iPad was our last giveaway). The recipient types their pURL into the browser and is taken to a website customized to them. It is as easy as that. Not only is there novelty in the custom website, but it allows us to track who is logging on and submitting information. For our next campaign, I am going to up the ante and tie QR codes to this process. In additional to creating a pURL for each recipient I will generate a unique QR code for each recipient so they can chose how they want to log on. The QR code will make it even easier to participate. If they they choose to use the QR code, it will take them to mobile version of their custom site and I will still know who is logging on.

Don't you love technology? These are only two ways to use QR codes, just think of all the possibilities . . .

Having a Plan

When a task is presented, I am one of those people who can't function until I have at least two lists (okay maybe more than two) outlining everything that needs to happen.

So the task for this week: Ready yourself to create an entire marketing strategy.
End result: Four lists and a plan of action.

After a frenzied morning spent trying to pull together a plant of act for a marketing strategy, I had to share my plan for my plan because I can't lie when all was said and done I felt pretty good about it!

1. Discuss Company
2. Establish Goals
1. Scale
2. Timeline
3. Budget
3. Understand Strategic Elements
1. Branding strategy

i. Frame of reference

ii. Points of parity

iii. Points of difference

iv. Purpose

v. Promise

vi. Proof

vii. Personality

viii. Core identity

ix. Extended identity

x. Brand promise

xi. Positioning statement

xii. Brand personality

2. Marketing strategy

i. Unique selling position

ii. Target market

iii. Benefits of services

iv. Positioning

v. Marketing methods

4. Marketing Strategy Developed & Presented
   
5. Branding Concept Developed & Presented
   
1. Name
2. Logo
3. Brand promise
4. Overall concept for corporate materials
6. Confirm Target Market
7. New Company’s Goals (Short-Term & Long-Term) Confirmed
   
1. Buzz creation
2. Increase awareness
3. Drive trial
4. Educate
5. Improve image
6. Drive loyalty
7. Build credibility
8. Develop Promotional Methods (based on desired results)
9. Develop Marketing Plan (how we are going to get the desired results)
   
10. Implementation of Marketing Strategy

Print v. E-Media 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know

Here's a sneak peak of our upcoming Marketing Advisor article:

Print v. E-Media 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know

Printing usually gets a pretty bad environmental rap. Printing is all about paper and thus all about killing trees and electronic devices don’t use paper so they must be green . . . RIGHT?!

Like everything in life, it just isn’t that simple. Here are some of the facts about e-media and print that Heidi Tolliver-Nigro put forth in a recent issue of Print Solutions.

E-Media

1. 62 trillion spam emails are sent every year. The greenhouse gas emissions from these emails are the same as using 2 billion gallons of gas.

2. The energy used by the average data center would power 25,000 households.

3. Unlike paper, computer components do not lend themselves well to recycling and reuse.

4. In the U.S., a primary driver of deforestation is electrical energy demand and the use of mountaintop coal removal.

5. Data center energy consumption doubled between 2000 & 2006 and could double again by the end of this year.

Print

1. More than half of all paper in the U.S. is recycled.

2. In the U.S., deforestation is not caused by the harvesting of tree fiber.

3. 2.5 billion trees are planted in the U.S. each year and we now have more acres under forest than we did in 1940.

4. The forest industry plants more trees than it harvests.

5. Many print manufacturers and commercial printers are investing in environmentally responsible manufacturing. (See what Flottman is doing at flottmanco.com/responsibly)

This doesn’t that print is the perfect solution and obviously we use plenty of electronics here at Flottman. What it does mean is that BOTH print and e-media have pros and cons when it comes to the sustainability debate and that the real issue is making both even more sustainable.

Thanks for the great articles, Heidi!

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro. "Educate your Customers: Print is Green." Print Solutions. March 2011. Volume 49, Number 3.

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro. "Print vs. Electronic Media: Which Is Greener?" Print Solutions. March 2011. Volume 49, Number 3.

Seeing Green

In honor of Earth Day and Flottman's 90th Anniversary campaign, 90 Years, Plant 900 Trees, we have declared April Green Month.

Here are my top 6 ways to stay green at home and at work.

Home:
1. Reusable shopping bags - I have completely fallen in love with reusable shopping bags. Not only do they cut down on waste, but they also make it easier for me to carry my groceries up to my third floor apartment. Here are the ones I use and love - RuMe

2. No bottled water - All those plastic bottles spell big trouble for the environment and seem rather unnecessary. I have a Brita pitcher, which gives me tasty filtered water that is always nice and cold.

3. Farmer's Markets - There is nothing not to love about a Farmer's Market. You get delicious fruits and veggies, support local agriculture and usually at great prices. Luckily for me there is one in walking distance of my apartment every Sunday and I am sure there is one near you.

Work:
1. Recycle - Simple enough right? We have huge bins for paper recycling, so sometimes I have to remind myself to take waste paper out to the plant. But a little walk around the building won't hurt me!

2. Clean Waste Computer-to-Plate System - Huh? That's the machine that takes the stuff you design on your computer, makes plates of it, so our press can print it. They don't let me make plates (for good reason!) but I love walking by knowing the water waste coming from the machine is drinkable!

Home & Work:
6. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) - You know the spirally ones. Look at all they can do: they can save more than $40 in electricity costs over their lifetime, they use about 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer and they produces about 75% less heat, so it's safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.(energystar.gov) Duke Energy shipped me a whole box for free! (duke-energy.com)