Minnesota Printing and Direct Mail Experts
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Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Marketing Tips and Tricks: Printing is More Effective Than Ever!
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, offers these tips and tricks for marketing:
Question: How can you use your marketing dollars and efforts most effectively?
Answer: The most successful marketing campaigns dovetail a well-branded, clearly-messaged, on-line marketing effort, advertising campaign and a similarly branded and messaged, printed campaign.
Just like everything else in life, it is all about balance. And right now there is a huge opportunity for you because marketing is out of balance. With so much emphasis placed on internet marketing, other forms of marketing are being neglected…which gives you a greater chance to get noticed. These are some ideas to round out your printed marketing communications:
- Direct Mail: Have you gone to your mailbox at work or at home to see how much less mail there is these days? A great way to get noticed, simply because of the lack of competition. And what better way to steer people to your website than through direct mail? BTW — did you know that Google recently did a big direct mail campaign about how to better use “Ad Words”? Yes, that’s right…Google. And yes, that’s right…about an internet product. In their research, they determined that print was a better way to communicate with their customers and that it rounded out the information available on their website or that they had previously communicated via email. One other thing…people still prefer to read a piece that has been printed on paper rahter than verbiage on a screen.
- Hand-outs: One of the advantages to brochures, sell-sheets, fliers, etc., is that they are tactile…people actually hold them in their hand, which gives you the opportunity to do something that will engage them. It is more personal than the internet or other traditional means of advertising. Plus, hopefully they hang on to it for future reference, unlike the web where you have an average of 8 seconds to make an impression before they move on to the next site. If your prospects are businesses, an effective way to create information that they will hang on to is still a folder that they can slip into their drawer…ooo, then follow up with additional info periodically as a way to stay useful and top-of-mind with your prospects.
- Leave behinds: This is a tool we use all the time: We create as many useful, attractive, promotional pieces as we can think of, with the hopes that folks will leave one of the items that they find particularly useful on their desk to stay top-of-mind…wouldn’t want them to have to look up our phone number, would we?! Some of the items we use are: notepads, post-its, magnets, coasters
- Take-aways: Just like a hand-outs and leave-behinds, but more suited for trade shows. One trick we advise is that if you print a sell sheet for a trade show, print it slightly over-sized (9×12??) and print it on card-stock. That way if someone is walking around filling a bag full of info, when they reach in to pull out that info it will be your piece that hits their hand first.
If you’d like to brain-storm about your identity, branding, and/or marketing efforts, we would love to do so. There is not much we find more satisfying than working with businesses on the verge of blasting out into the marketplace.
BONUS: NO CHARGE FOR THIS CONSULTATION!
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Marketing Tips and Tricks
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, offers these tips and tricks for marketing:
I have been so frustrated by the hype and confusion about marketing lately! Information is everywhere and everyone’s got their opinion and advice about what a business NEEDS to do. To help cut through the noise, listed below is a simple list of various tools in most marketer’s toolboxes and a few hints on how to design your unique plan:
TOOLS:
- Direct Sales (OK, I know there is debate if sales is part of marketing or a separate function, but for our discussion here I am going to consider it part of marketing because it is part of the “customer-getting” process)
- Traditional Advertising (I’m talking publications, radio, TV, etc.)
- Online Marketing and Networking (A good, search-engine-optimized website, social media, etc.)
- Targeted Mailings (Always effective, but extra effective now because there’s not as much stuff landing in your prospects’ mailboxes)
- Client Events (Do you ever invite your clients to your office for special events? It is a great way to have repeated contact with them and to thank them for their loyalty. A great enticement is food. My husband is a Champion BBQ Competitor, so guess what we serve at our events? We are also in the midst of planning some training events.)
- Community Service (Do you leverage your donations by building community relationships? Yes, it feels good to do good, and that is generally good enough. But in these challenging times you gotta use every tool you can to promote your business.)
- Passive Marketing (Does the signage on your building get noticed?)
- Traditional Networking (Do you belong to the BBB, BNI, or your local chamber?)
- Public Relations (A good PR person knows how to spin things to get create buzz.)
- Press Releases (Simple for even the smallest of businesses.)
STEPS:
- FIRST – BRANDING: it’s easier than you think! Your design doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should be memorable and stand out from the rest. And then repeat it over and over and over…in every bit of communication you do. We call it the “purple cow” technique. If everything you communicate with has a purple cow on it, pretty soon anything that has a purple cow on it will make people think of you.
- SECOND – PLAN: again, pretty easy! From the list above and any other marketing tools you can think of, decide on YOUR unique path to getting traction the fastest way possible.
- THIRD – IMPLEMENT: Here’s where it starts to pay off! Start with the top 3 things you think will be effective and just jump right in. It won’t be long until you figure out if it is the right path or not. From personal experience, I can tell you that “buzz” and a few sales were created right away, but it has taken about 6 months to finally get into a groove that is successful and sustainable.
- DON’T GET MIRED DOWN IN THE DETAILS! Attack it with the “Ready, Fire, Aim” method. If you wait until every single detail is perfect – you’ll end up with a perfect marketing plan that no-one will ever see because you will have gone out of business in the mean-time. There is no such thing as perfect – just let your marketing reflect who you are, what your company is about and RELAX…it’s all a work in progress.
If you’d like to brain-storm about your identity, branding, and/or marketing efforts, we would love to do so. There is not much we find more satisfying than working with businesses on the verge of blasting out into the marketplace.
BONUS: NO CHARGE FOR THIS CONSULTATION!
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Examples of Beautifully Printed Design
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, is creating a library of examples of beautifully printed pieces:
A well-designed, well-printed piece is like a piece of art…and should be appreciated for the art it truly is. This area of my blog is dedicated to the appreciation of great printed design. (If you would like to be featured, or if you know of a deserving design or designer, my contact info is below).
This is the 11th posting in the series and is featuring another local twin cities designer. I was lucky enough to meet Cindy Martin (the owner of bSharp Creative) recently. Through our recent conversation and in reviewing her samples, the thing that moved me about bSharp…the thing that sets them apart…is the way they can combine an understated peace with a powerful message. The images they use in their printed samples are beautiful and moving, the design is creative and their skill and affection for well written copy is something Cindy and I talked about right off the bat. Check it out:
http://www.bsharpcreative.com/
After you open their website, go to “Greatest Hits”, then page 4 under “Identity” - Wait a minute…I know that guy! (Super seo guy if you need one – Robert Swedeen, owner of Internetbusinessseo.com.) OK, back on track: go to “Greatest Hits”, then page 3 under “Collateral” – my fave.
If you are interested in discussing the production creativity we bring to the table, in our consultative, can-do approach, please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Examples of Beautifully Printed Design
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, is creating a library of examples of beautifully printed pieces:
A well-designed, well-printed piece is like a piece of art…and should be appreciated for the art it truly is. This area of my blog is dedicated to the appreciation of great printed design. (If you would like to be featured, or if you know of a deserving design or designer, my contact info is below).
This is the 10th posting in the series. You wanna check out some awesome identity work, click on the link below for Justin Bieganik @ Beganik Strategy and Design. This is exactly the kind of design I was thinking about when I started this series in my blog. ..beautiful work that demonstrates the genius of design and production.
http://www.beganik.com/work.html
In this spot in my blog I usually make a note about which of the samples is my favorite…but I can’t pick…all of it is incredible…the kind of stuff I’d just like to pick up, touch, and admire. Great work!
If you are interested in discussing the production creativity we bring to the table, in our consultative, can-do approach, please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Examples of Beautifully Designed Printing
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, is creating a library of examples of beautifully printed pieces:
A well-designed, well-printed piece is like a piece of art…and should be appreciated for the art it truly is. This area of my blog is dedicated to the appreciation of great printed design. (If you would like to be featured, or if you know of a deserving design or designer, my contact info is below).
This is the nineth posting in the series. Brian from Form and Logic is a super creative, yet grounded, local Minneapolis designer and so far is the only designer I have featured on this blog that I have actually done work with. AND he is one of my personal favorites. Brian is one to take every production detail into consideration when designing his pieces for print… and to push the envelope in using techniques that are not common-place. His creativity is balanced by a work ethic that makes him super productive and a logical, step-by-step “let’s plan this thing out and do some testing to ensure success” approach to his work.
This link is to his general website, just click on “Work”, and then click on my favorites: Burns Engineering, USBio Energy, and the WeiseLaw identity package.
His work rocks and the bonus is that he is a super great guy to work with!
If you are interested in discussing the production creativity we bring to the table, in our consultative, can-do approach, please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Examples of Beautifully Designed Printing
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, is creating a library of examples of beautifully printed pieces:
A well-designed, well-printed piece is like a piece of art…and should be appreciated for the art it truly is. This area of my blog is dedicated to the appreciation of great printed design. (If you would like to be featured, or if you know of a deserving design or designer, my contact info is below).
This is the eighth posting in the series. I met James Conklin, a rep for Last Call Studios, at a networking event last week. I couldn’t wait to check out the website for samples of his printed pieces…and it did not disapppoint.
I encourage you to check out the whole site, but my faves are the Harley pieces (I’m sure the printed samples kick butt compared to the on-line representation of that printing):
http://www.lastcallstudios.com/oldsite/collateral/HDposter.html
And the ELCA packaging…awesome use of duotones:
http://www.lastcallstudios.com/oldsite/packaging/elca.html
Very nice stuff, indeed. Thank you, James and Last Call!
If you are interested in discussing the production creativity we bring to the table, in our consultative, can-do approach, please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Examples of Beautifully Designed Printing
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, is creating a library of examples of beautifully printed pieces:
A well-designed, well-printed piece is like a piece of art…and should be appreciated for the art it truly is. This area of my blog is dedicated to the appreciation of great printed design. (If you would like to be featured, or if you know of a deserving design or designer, my contact info is below).
This is the seventh posting in the series. I selected “Oh That Jill” (a local Minneapolis copy-writer) to feature today for several reasons: 1st – I appreciate the art of copy-writing as much as I appreciate the art in design and I like the style she exhibits on her website (check out her “jillosophies”), 2nd – there is an identity piece within her printed samples that ROCKS, and 3rd – her site is pink, and in case you didn’t notice, we at Highlight are all about pink!
Click on the link below, then click on “work”, then “print” to see the identity package I mentioned – it is for Treat and Company.
There were several other ultra-cool designs, but the Treat and Company identity is striking and makes me want to dig deeper to learn about the inspiration behind this particular branding. Alas, I will probably never have the opportunity to talk to the designer, so will just have to be content to appreciate its beauty.
If you are interested in discussing the production creativity we bring to the table, in our consultative, can-do approach, please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Examples of Beautifully Designed Printing
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, is creating a library of examples of beautifully printed pieces:
A well-designed, well-printed piece is like a piece of art…and should be appreciated for the art it truly is. This area of my blog is dedicated to the appreciation of great printed design. (If you would like to be featured, or if you know of a deserving design or designer, my contact info is below).
This is the 6th posting in the series and I am so excited to include them: Rotor Design (another local Minneapolis firm..why have I not heard of them?! Where have I been?!) exhibits exactly the type of creative, beautiful, well-planned, well-executed design that makes me just want to stare at their work in complete appreciation of the genius behind it. I have included a link to their blog AND their website – both are fantastic!
http://www.rotordesign.net/blog/
http://www.rotordesign.net/site/portfolio/print/html/print6.html
My faves are the Spider Wire logo and packaging (self explanatory…check it out!) and the Mock Turtle Identity and Packaging/labeling for the absolute richness of the design. Beautiful!
If you are interested in discussing the production creativity we bring to the table, in our consultative, can-do approach, please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Examples of Beautifully Designed Printing
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, is creating a library of examples of beautifully printed pieces:
A well-designed, well-printed piece is like a piece of art…and should be appreciated for the art it truly is. This area of my blog is dedicated to the appreciation of great printed design. (If you would like to be featured, or if you know of a deserving design or designer, my contact info is below).
This is the fifth posting in the series. I selected Creative Aces (a husband and wife graphic design and photography team in MI) to feature because their website shows examples of beautiful vintage automobile photography and the sales literature they created with that photography.
The automobile industry is a perfect example of where a printed piece beats the snot out of a website in its ability to create a “feeling” in the viewer. Who doesn’t love taking a new car brochure home to dream about the car that one day might be theirs? I imagine sitting on the couch flipping through a brochure that FEELS good enough to make me want to flip through it again and again, and with enough eye candy (beautifully printed mood-shot photography with a creative use of spot varnishes or UV for an ultra-shine) to make me dream of what it will be like owning and driving that spectacular piece of machinery. Those brochures even make driving a mini-van seem sexy! It makes me want to call Creative Aces to get printed samples!
If you are interested in discussing the production creativity we bring to the table, in our consultative, can-do approach, please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
Highlight Printing, Minneapolis, MN: Examples of Beautifully Designed Printing
Highlight Printing, a local printer near downtown Mpls, is creating a library of examples of beautifully printed pieces:
A well-designed, well-printed piece is like a piece of art…and should be appreciated for the art it truly is. This area of my blog is dedicated to the appreciation of great printed design. (If you would like to be featured, or if you know of a deserving design or designer, my contact info is below).
This is the fourth posting in the series and is another great designer from the Minneapolis area:
http://www.thetenthplanet.net/print01.html
My favorites are: Page 3 for the strength of the identity and Page 4, for its use of a lighter color of ink on a medium color of paper – that is a great effect!
If you are interested in discussing the production creativity we bring to the table, in our consultative, can-do approach, please contact us @ 612.522.7600 or through our website @ www.highlightprinting.com. Also, we welcome your comments to this blog.
The author, Lisa Bickford, president of Highlight Printing, is a veteran of the printing industry and a lover of all things printed. Since 1984 she has worked her way up through many areas of the industry before acquiring Highlight Printing in 1996 with her husband Don, who has also been in printing since the early 80’s. The things she continues to find most satisfying are the wonderful business relationships that have developed with clients, vendors, & co-workers, and the energy that is created from challenge resolution. You can email her directly at lisab@highlightprinting.com
This Printing Blog was launched in November, 2008, as a vehicle to share ideas, information, and innovationsTo see other topics within this blog, click HERE.
