Customized Business Bags a Great Marketing Tool

In today’s over-marketed world, brand owners and brand marketers seek ways to rise above the “Marketing Noise”. Promoting a business brand can be a challenge if the business is in a category where the competition is regressive and the differentiation between two brands is quite thin. That is where, promotional items come as a breath of fresh air. Although the concept of using items like T-shirts, bags, and other personal paraphernalia to promote a brand is not a new one.Nevertheless, it is effective every single time. Promotional items make it easy for prospects and clients to say thank you and improve memory recall.

Though, there are various categories of promotional items, bags are a recurring favorite with both brand marketers on one side, and prospects or customers on the other. While there are various reasons, motives, and incentives associated with gifting business bags to prospects, customers, vendors, partners and employees, the three primary reasons for doing so, in the recent past are:

• Projecting your brand identity effectively: It’s interesting that although promotional items are equally popular with both men and women, they are perceived differently by the two genders. It’s been proved through various consumer studies that, to men, the quality of the item is more important, which is why, they are open to wearing a high quality T-shirt that carries a brand logo, the same way they would use any other quality promotional item. Whereas to women, the utility value of the gifts or giveaways is more important. Which is why, a high-quality bag which carries the brand logo clicks well with both men and women. These could be spacious bags that can accommodate laptops, cosmetic kits, toiletry, clothes and the like. Or they could be the smaller Tote bags that are used to carry small purchases which have become a rage off-late.
• Protecting the environment:A study by Clean Air Council has revealed that in just the US alone, as many as 1 billion shopping bags are consumed every year, creating 300,000 tons of landfill waste. The quantum is unimaginable if one were to consider global figures. Tote bags that are fashionably or aesthetically designed makes for a good replacement to the disposable plastic bag. Shoppers can carry their own tote bag every time they shop and their reuse,helps reduce the demand for plastic bags. In some countries, retail companies are encouraged to give discounts to buyers who bring their own shopping bags, while many countries are mandating carrying of one’s own bag. What better way for Brand Marketers to project and promote their brands than to appear as crusaders for a clean, green environment?
• Promoting Health and Fitness: There is an increasing trend towards employers being concerned about the health and fitness of their employees. While on one hand, employers may have their own interests at heart, on the other; it mirrors the increasing health and fitness consciousness in people. With a large proportion of them being diabetic or obese, Americans are exercising like never before. To brand marketers, this is a great opportunity to promote themselves! Which is why; companies are gifting fitness kits to their employees, prospects and partners, which carry their logo, taglines and a brief overview of their offerings. These kits are designed to carry fitness/sports equipment and promote the cause, while promoting the company.

HillView has years of experience in digital printing, and printing on promotional items. We have a wide spectrum of printers and technologies that can emblazon your logo and other imagery on business bags, and help promote your brand the efficaciously and cost effectively.

Promotional Advertising Specialties - Calendars

In the software and device world, calendars may be a trivial feature, but in real life, calendars are anything but trivial. Almost every human being who is literate refers to a calendar at-least once a day for one or more reasons. Which is why, calendars continue to be printed to this day despite the ubiquitousness of calendars on devices.

There is a clear reason for this. Research has shown that, people in general and customers/prospects in particular remember 5% of what they read, 10% of what they hear but an astounding 25% of what they see. On any given day, these facts can be said to be true of software and devices (one sees or uses a plethora of tools, features, and functionalities on a device), as they ultimately do diminish memory recall. But in the physical world, an object that is seen day after day, does have an impact which does enable tremendous memory recall.

It’s for these reasons that marketers and advertisers list calendars as one of the most preferred promotional items. These are not merely opinions or preferences that are subjective. There are enough statistics to corroborate these findings.

In 2011, Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) and Calendar Advertising Council conducted a study in parts to assess the relevance or impact of printed calendars. The findings from the study which covered various facets, was an eye-opener. A comparative analysis was done with the conclusions of similar studies conducted by the Calendar Advertising Council in the past.

Among the people surveyed: (Source: various sources including www.ppai.org)

• Over 78 percent use a printed calendar at home or workplace
• 82 percent said they enjoyed receiving advertising calendars
• 75 percent had a printed calendar in the kitchen
• 37 per cent of respondents had at least one calendar at work
• 63 per cent had between two and nine printed calendars at work
• 1 per cent had more than 10 calendars at work
• 67 percent preferred a wall calendar as against computer and cell phone calendars
• 70 percent and above recalled the advertiser and message on their calendars
• 70 percent said they may do business with the company again
• 48 percent had a more favorable impression of the company that handed out promotional calendars
• 41 percent reportedly referred others to the advertiser
• 37 percent said they looked at a calendar once a day
• 61 percent looked at a calendar between two and more than 10 times per day at home
• 24 percent said they looked at a calendar once a day at work
• 76 percent looked at a calendar between 2 to 10 times, a day at work

Some of the reasons printed calendars are so popular: 

• They are cost-effective to print, easy to distribute, and cheaper to get it out than a newspaper ad or an online banner
• Since the calendar stays in full view all the time, the memory recall is much higher
• People use the spaces provided in dates to note down appointments and notes
• It’s easy to customize the calendars for customer segments
• The calendar can carry useful information and relevant imagery to impress
• People always enjoy receiving gifts and gifting a calendar or two, at the beginning of a new year or just prior to the new year, adds joy to the season

HillView Printing DPM has several decades of expertise in the digital printing industry and have been printing calendars since inception. We understand its importance from a promotional or advertising perspective. We offer standard and custom calendar types, multiple layout formats, with choice of design, imagery, paper, texture, and printing methods. We can also package and ship the calendars to your customers and prospective customers, completing the entire process for you, efficiently and cost-effectively.

Choosing the right imprint process for maximum impact

Promotional products, which are an integral element of marketing and advertising today, have a history of over a hundred years. Calendars and congratulatory letters with only text were printed using a technique called foil stamping and handed out to customers and prospects. With the advent of time, company logos became more colorful and graphic and the need to use them in promotional products brought about the use of techniques like silk screening. 

Today, different technologies and techniques are used to print on promotional material, depending on the type of products involved and the overall goals of the advertising campaign. Some of these techniques are:

Screen Printing: Screen printing is the most cost-effective option and uses premixed inks and a screen to transfer the design onto the product. It is used for printing on bottles, pens, smooth surfaced balls, tote bags, pens and appliances like water coolers. 

Digital Printing: Digital printing also known as CMYK or full-color printing, color burst or 4-color process printing offers a larger range of colors to print logos. This process uses printing machines instead of screens. Digital printing is used for printing colorful stationery like books and notepads, fridge magnets and mouse pads. 

Heat Transfer: This process is an age-old technique that uses heat to press ink onto the product. It is an effective process for printing multi-colored logos and is used for printing tote bags and apparels like t-shirts.

Laser Engraving: A design is loaded onto software in the engraving machine. Then using the laser beam the design is etched on to the product. This technique is ideal for engraving on metal, glass, or wood and is also used on elegant gifts.

 

Debossing/Embossing: This method engages a combination of heat, pressure and a metal screen to imprint the design on the product and is the most preferred method for leather and vinyl products, chocolates and some varieties of thick fabric.

 

Embroidery: The vibrant colors of a logo or design are best reproduced using embroidering machines, and is the ideal option for apparel and hosiery products like shirts, blankets and towels. 

Foil Stamping: Foil stamping is used when a shiny metallic look is required in the design. This is also the best option when the design has to be customized every time, like the name of a person to be added in the design. 

Lithography or Offset printing,: This is the most favored method when large numbers of prints are required on paper based products like calendars, books and posters. 

Laser Printing: The technology used in this process is similar to that of photocopiers and this is the most preferred option for printing on paper and other substrates. Laser printing offers a better color rendering and is a quick and cost-effective process. This method is used for printing posters, pamphlets, newspapers and billboard contents. 

Pad Printing: Pad Printing is used for printing on irregular surfaces. This imprint method uses a silicone based rubber pad, ink and a hard polymer or steel screen to imprint the design on products like golf balls, liqueur glasses, squeegees, key tags and key chains, calculators, technical and musical instruments,  picture frames, etc. 

Color Filled Debossing: In this technique, a silk screen ink or foil is used, to transfer the design onto the product. It is popular for printing on vinyl based products. 

Silk Screening: Is used for printing colorful and complex designs on a variety of fabrics. 

Dye Sublimation: Naturally occurring dyes are sublimated on to intermediary products like plastic cards or printer paper. Using a heat press, the design is transferred from the intermediary product onto products like apparels, ceramic, metals and other materials.

Tips on creating an effective brochure

In an age when increasingly online and mobile marketing play a dominant role, one would expect paper brochures to go the way of the dinosaurs. Surprisingly, the truth is far from it. The personalized touch that comes from handing out a brochure during a conversation with the prospect at your office or at a conference, any day, beats the impersonal touch of an e-brochure.

However, to extract the best from print brochures, here are a few guidelines to follow:

• Shape and Design: Though the more common rectangular brochure, folded once or several times over, is convenient to handle or print, brochures that come in creative shapes and sizes tend to catch the target audiences’ attention and spurs increased brand recall. Some of the largest brands in the world, who consider brand effectiveness more important than cost-effectiveness, print brochures, in unique shapes and formats. Prospects invariably appreciate brochures that exude class, exclusivity, spending power, and the market positioning that comes with being different.

• Imagery & Aesthetics: Stock photos are a booming industry that is sustained with the use of printed brochures. It is no longer necessary to spend on expensive photo-shoots. At a fraction of the cost, one can buy stock photos that are breathtaking and which, convey exactly the message intended. When using stock photos, make sure that the photos blend together with the overall imagery and text used in the brochure.

• Layout: While one can be a little adventurous with the layout, it would be prudent to stick to convention. In general, people do appreciate aesthetics that stand out.However,they also need all of the related information presented in a single location, so as to assimilate the content, easily. 

• Fonts and Colors: Most industries have strict conventions on what kind of colors can be used in a brochure. Traditional sectors like Banking & Finance, Hi-Technology and Medical industries prefer a smaller range of colors, while industries like Retail, Hospitality and Devices like to experiment with brighter and unusual colors. Just ensure the colors are in harmony in order to wow your readers. For best, maximum impact, use optimum amountsof blank spaces, better known as white spaces in design parlance.

• Flow of content: The flow of content should be sequential. Tailor the content to your audiences’ requirement. Present the most important data or details on the cover page and fill in the less important and more intricate data on the inner pages.Remember, people are often on the fly and will scan the first 20% of the content to get a grasp of the subject. So, keep all the best content, and what the reader may be looking for, on the front page.

• Quality of copy: In an impatient and hectic world, the content needs to be short,yet comprehensible and effective.Simultaneously, interesting themes and concepts should be used to present the copy, whileavoiding dull or monotonous content. Remember, a brochure is not there only to convey information about your services or products, but to concurrently persuade and perk, your present and prospective clients’ interest in your products and services. The brochure is your window of opportunity to enlighten your prospects on the benefits of using your products or services.

There are a whole lot of other factors like quality of paper, special effects like embossing and engraving, printing technology – digital or offset printing, which also need to be factored in. When incorporating all of the above points, make sure that you utilize the short interval of time frame, to create that first and last, indelible impression. Don’t forget the golden rule, “compose and create your copy with your customers in mind.”

Printed Apparel: Personalization at its Best

Printed apparel has been a popular tool in the hands of brand marketers in the last three decades. With innovations in digital printing technology such as ‘direct to garment’ or DTG, it has become easier to bulk-produce hundreds of pieces of apparel with very sophisticated imagery, in short spans of time.

Printed apparel also makes it easy to personalize the giveaways, creating segmentation and differentiation in the marketing process. As a result, DTG has become part of the marketing and branding strategy in various industries. Bags, t-shirts and satchels are being emblazoned with the company logo and tagline and given away at events.

However, to effectively integrate printed apparel in your marketing strategy, one must keep in mind various factors.

Research your target audience

Before you rush your preferred designs to the printer, be clear about what your target audience would appreciate. Each industry thinks differently, so it’s important to use colors and create images or messages that resonate with the industry or company. What is funny to one person is frivolous to another, and what is classy to one can be boring to another.

Plan every batch size correctly

Giveaways like printed apparel have a clear target audience and shelf life. Never print large volumes of apparel in order to cut costs or reinforce the same message often. Unlike printed collateral where there is no emotional bonding with the giveaway, when it comes to printed apparel, people take it personally and enjoy variety or surprise.

Learn from the Internet

The Internet is a large online store for printed apparel, and showcases a wide variety of materials, designs, and trends. Ensure your marketing department is well tuned to this, so that you are up to date with the latest in printed apparel.

Don’t overdo your branding

A T-shirt that is cluttered with brand messages and is screaming for attention is a strict no-no. Neither will the prospects use it themselves nor would they circulate it among friends and family, which defeats the purpose. Stay subtle, stay classy and stay respectful of the user when you design printed apparel. This convinces them that you put their feelings ahead of yours, which makes them bond with you better. Isn’t that why you are giving it in the first place?

Be clear about the cost implications

Printed apparel that is used as giveaways or gifts can be an expensive option. In addition to the raw material and printing costs, one must factor packaging, labeling, and shipping costs. So, marketers must be clear as to when, where and how these will be used. Only then can they create maximum impact and justify the costs.

Use the right mix of marketing and sales

Even as you give away the printed apparel to employees and prospective clients, keep your eyes open on methods of monetizing them. For example, they can be given to vendors and used to negotiate prices down. They can be sold for a small price at public events that are sponsored by your organization. And leverage online media, to do all of these. All this will help you offset the costs and improve returns on the marketing investment.

Finally, be patient

Leveraging printed apparel for branding and marketing is a choice, like any other. There are no guarantees or metrics on how much of an impact it can make in your overall marketing strategy. It’s difficult to estimate the incremental sales revenue from each ingredient of marketing. Look at the larger picture, and the long term always, while going in for such methods.

Color Management Tools and Techniques

Color management involves various profiles that are used to characterize the display of color in devices such as digital cameras, monitors, inkjet printers (wide format and standard), and proofers. Color is a complex matter in electronic and computing devices as there are different colorant systems (RGB and CMYK) and colorants. As a result, the color output from one device to another varies. So, color management techniques have emerged in an attempt to compare and match the color among different devices. 

Why is Color Management Required?

The Print industry uses a wide variety of formats, printer types, ink types, media, Raster Image Processors (RIPs), and settings. In such a scenario, Color management is required for various reasons: 

• Consistency: Marketers, graphic designers, and printers must be able to get the correct color every time, across different collateral and different reprints.
• Soft proof: The color output on a monitor need not be the same as what appears in the print output. Both printer and monitor profiles must be factored in the color management workflow.
• Hard proof: Proofs of the final output are generally provided to clients and printed on low cost inkjet printers. Whereas, the actual production printer may present a different color output.
• Calibrating digital photos with digital print: Photographers are often commissioned for marketing campaigns and their photos used in the print in large formats. If the color in the camera output does not match true colors, the large format prints may look bad.
• Use of multiple software: Digital camera outputs may be reprocessed using software tools. At the same time, these tools are used to create new images. Both these images should look consistent and have similar color profiles.

Color Management Procedures

Color management involves various procedures to calibrate a device and these are categorized as follows:

• Configuring devices to optimize the color
• Aligning devices to various color specification standards
• Profiling devices using software programs and color targets
• Color conversion to ensure colors match across devices

Commonly employed tools

Depending on the device whose color output is being analyzed, various devices are used: 

• Emissive colorimeter. A colorimeter is an inexpensive instrument which is required to profile monitors. It uses a system like an edge band filters to separate light out into red, green, and blue components. It then maps these to matching curves based on human vision. Emissive colorimeter is a type of colorimeter which analyzes the light emitted by monitors, as against that reflected from printed material.
• Emissive/reflective spectrophotometer. Since color is a subjective perception and can vary from one human being to another, measuring color objectively requires the use of sophisticated instruments that can measure both emitted and reflected color components from light. In this regard, the spectrophotometer is a better option than a colorimeter as it can read a vast range of wavelengths from 380 to 720 nm.
• Automated color measurements. Previously, manual instruments were used for measuring and calibrating color. But their limitation is that they can read just one color patch at a time which falls short when there are several hundred colors involved. Today, semi-automated instruments like x-scanners are preferred.
• Color profiling software. There are innumerable devices like scanners, printers, monitors, projectors and mobile phones that process color today which use different digital imaging techniques. Color profiling software makes it easy to achieve uniformity of color across devices.

With Digital Printing being applied for various uses like Interior Design, better Color Management tools and techniques make it easy for Marketers and Designers visualize the final output better.

Using Digital Print for Interior Design

One of the effects of the current recession is that it has put pressure on budgets for home or office renovations. Increasingly, designers are being asked to do more with less. This requires designers to think out-of-the-box and try innovative ideas.

If budgets are one reason for innovation, rapidly changing trends and styles in interior design is the other. Retail, commercial and residential property owners are seeking more flexible and adaptable interiors, more personalized and dynamic look for décor, more global and contemporary styles in design.

Each of these sectors has its own reasons for this new thinking.  

• For the commercial sector, the need to engage and motivate employees constantly is a challenge. At the same time, a strong desire to stand out from the competition requires that offices of these companies truly reflect their brand identities. Both these needs can be nicely combined in creative and innovative designs for the workplace which will inspire employees and impress customers.
• In the retail sector, intense competition in offerings and prices are driving brands to look elsewhere for differentiating themselves. The retail outlet space where customers spend significant time becomes the most convenient option for this. Brands are re-designing their outlets with new look and feel to create an awesome shopping experience.
• In the residential sector, new trends such as home entertainment and cross-cultural themes are driving designers to create homes that reflect the owner’s personality and identity.

So how does one find a simple, yet cost-effective way of combining all these needs? Digital printing for décor elements provides the answer.

The use of digital printing in décor is not entirely a new concept. In the 70s, carpets with images on them were printed using this technique. But the print resolution or quality of the image was low. In the last 40 years, there has been enormous progress in this area and today, digitally printed décor can equal or exceed the quality of imagery in printed collateral.

So what are the décor elements that are using digital print, today? From curtains to sofas, cushions to carpets, wall coverings to floor coverings, lampshades to artifacts, every element of décor can benefit from digital print. Tactile textiles, or fabrics that have a particular texture to touch, can be combined with the right imagery to create a great look and feel. This way, using digital print, interior designers can create a new working experience, shopping experience or living experience for offices, shops and homes respectively.

The benefits of using digital print are numerous: 

• Creative, yet cost-effective: Manufacturing new surfaces to have a new look and feel has been the traditional approach, and a costly one. In contrast, digital print can quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively create new designs and themes.
• The ease of using images: Till date, it was not easy to incorporate images in décor unless they conformed to an art form or artistic theme. But the current lot of designers is using realistic images, bright colors, and dramatic themes for a funky looking home or office. Hotels and resorts are using images of the outdoors in confined spaces to retain the resort like ambience.
• Wide range of materials: Digital inkjet printers can print on vinyl, metal, paper, plastic, wood, glass or fabric creating a mind-boggling range of possibilities in how to use digital print in décor.

The benefits of using digital print in décor are innumerable. To printer manufacturers and print service providers, this opens the doors to new business opportunities; while for consumers, this represents a new way of interpreting décor.