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!