ISSUE TWENTY TWO

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Created sales literature that sells?

Thought about print’s role in the digital revolution?

Discovered the elegant font that came with your computer?

Don’t Miss the Boat

Ask yourself if you have...

MARKETINGADVISOR

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Sales literature stands in for you when you’re

not around, carrying your brand identity and

reputation to the marketplace. Eye-catching

design grabs attention, but a provocative headline

and compelling text convinces the reader to

consider what you have to say. It’s a personal

interaction as the prospect holds, feels, and re-reads

your message. If you cut corners on printing or

circulate out-of-date information, your prospects

might subconsciously conclude that you produce

cheap, outdated products too.

Tie each printed piece to a goal in your strategic

marketing plan. Is the objective to drive new sales,

cross-sell to existing customers or communicate better

with your stakeholders? The appropriate format will

naturally follow—a postcard, a circular, a product

data sheet, a package insert, a newsletter. The layout

must work not only aesthetically, but also from the

perspective of creating a positive perception that is

consistent with your company’s image. Combinations

of different elements—paper types, colors,

repetition—can produce powerful subliminal effects

so it is important that you work with a professional

designer. Another consideration is portability. An

oversized piece might gain attention, but what will

make someone pick up your piece and take it with

them and then pass it along to others?

Communicate at lightning speed

about who you are, what you are

offering, what is in it for the reader

and what action the reader should take.

It’s tempting to overload your documents

with every capability and feature you have

to offer and to address every question

before the reader asks, but this approach

will overwhelm and disengage someone

who is just learning about you. As you

move through the sales process you can

introduce more complex printed collateral

for your sophisticated, high-probability

clients, including specifications,

statistics and comparative

performance data. At this

stage, the content should

be intriguing enough and

the call to action should

be persuasive enough to

inspire the reader to initiate

a purchase.

Successful print marketing

campaigns begin with a plan, a budget

and an understanding that sales collateral isn’t

going to close the sale by itself. What it will do is

provide outstanding sales support, reinforcing your

message and staying behind to inform and persuade

your prospect.4

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> Print is “real.” Paper and ink are reassuring, especially in difficult economic times. It says

your company is credible and trustworthy. You are planning to be around

for the long-term and you cared enough about your message to spend time

and money putting it in writing.

> Print is focused. Prospects can read your information when and where they choose…and without

temptation to click on the next flashy message that pops up.

It’s not surprising that print has held its place as the leading communications medium for centuries. Here are just a few reasons why.

> Print is durable. It simply stays around longer. Your desk might be cluttered, but you can still dig out a printed piece,

use it for comparisons and share it with others. Print collateral maintains a physical connection with your

customers even after they’ve powered down their computers.

carry your brand identity and reputation to the

marketplace

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What makes electronic media

so captivating is that it presents a real-

time marketing environment. Print adds a

dimension to this experience that is warm,

inviting and readers can’t ignore because

they are literally holding your message in

their hands. No need to boot up or power

down. Overlooking the role of print can

prove fatal to a marketing campaign.

If your objective is to inform, teach,

persuade or entertain, print marketing is

a must.

Print remains relevant in the integrated

marketing communications mix for

many reasons. Despite the ubiquity of

the Internet, many people just don’t go

online. Certain demographics simply

prefer print collateral over digital options.

Consumers use a variety of sources to

gather information about a product or

service, but research shows that they seek

print when it’s time to buy. Having words

and images in a touchable format provides

reassurance that bit-and-byte media can’t

match. Web technologies provide quick

answers, but the responses are often

contradictory. Print shows that you found

your message to be important enough to

commit it to paper and you stand behind

what you’re saying. If you’ve abandoned

print in favor of e-media, you’re missing

out on big sales numbers.

Digital marketing techniques work best

when you introduce them in coordination

with print. You could post a banner ad

and hope those who find it among the

100 million other Web sites click through

to yours. But think how much more

powerful it would be to use direct mail to

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Print’s Role in the Digital Revolution

Print adds dimension.

Readers are literally holding your message in their hands.

A touchable format

provides reassurance

that bit-and-byte media

can't match.

Readers want to touch your message thanks to a new generation of papers, inks and varnishes.Technology is cool. It opens up a whole new world of marketing

opportunities—email blasts, pURLs, PDA pushdowns, RSS feeds, tweets.

But what happens to your message when the BlackBerry battery is

drained, or your format isn’t compatible with your prospect’s device?

drive targeted prospects to a personalized

Web site, after which they receive a follow-

up “thank you” card with a special offer.

By combining print and digital, you produce

an educational, engaging experience that

speaks more directly and pertinently to your

target audience.

Just as you keep up with the latest

technology, commit the time to educate

yourself about advances in the printing

industry. You can create dazzling special

effects that make readers want to touch

and feel your message thanks to a new

generation of papers, inks, varnishes and

coatings. It’s a tangible dimension that

electronic media can’t impart. And throw

away what you think you know about

direct mail. The new direct mail uses

technology to deliver customized messages

that can link to a corresponding Web

component. It’s all much less complicated

and less costly than you might think.

Companies that utilize the full spectrum

of marketing channels realize exponential

increases in brand identity, prospects,

sales and ROI, but this requires an

upfront investment in sound strategic

planning. You might replace one static

message with many targeted variations

delivered through multiple channels, all

of which have to be consistent. Those

who successfully bridge the digital and

print marketing environments deliver a

result that is greater than the sum of the

individual marketing elements.

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�alligraphy, defined as “the art of

beautiful handwriting” (from the Greek

kallos—“beauty”—and graphein—“to

write”), is nearly as old as writing itself,

but it was only after the advent of printing

that elaborate script lettering, distinct from

everyday handwriting, began to appear.

The word calligraphy itself didn’t enter the

English language until 1613. But while

calligraphy was revered as an art, in general

use, it began to decline as writing became

increasingly mechanical and typewritten.

�n the late 19th century, calligraphy

saw a revival, primarily as a reaction

against the mechanization of writing.

English author and artist William Morris

was one of the chief influences on the

renewed interest in calligraphy, and soon

he had legions of followers, such as

Stanley Morison, William Addison Dwiggins

and Frederic Goudy. These students of

calligraphy—who examined the structure

and beauty of letters—became designers

of typefaces, revolutionizing type design,

which had until then been predominantly

the purview of engineers and technicians.

�ne of these calligraphic artists and

type designers was Hermann Zapf (b.

1918). Zapf designed some of the most

famous typefaces, such as Palatino and

Optima. Zapf was a typographic pioneer

and an early proponent of computerized

typography. He had been interested in

a calligraphic typeface since the 1940s,

but hot-metal type was ill suited to the

delicate reproduction of fine strokes and

swashes. But with digital typography, it

might be possible.

�n the early 1980s, Zapf worked with

David Siegel, a recent Stanford graduate,

who had an interest in creating a typeface

based on Zapf’s own calligraphy. So

Zapf and Siegel—using sketches of

alphabets Zapf had made in 1944—began

developing the software to create such

a typeface. Alas, before they had made

much progress, Siegel’s girlfriend left him,

leaving him listless and despondent, and

he quit the project.

�he calligraphy project thus

languished until Zapf mustered up the

courage to present it to Linotype, who

were enthusiastic, and helped Zapf

complete it. The result was four alphabets

complemented by various ornaments,

flourishes and dingbats. Linotype released

Zapfino in 1998.

�pple includes a version of Zapfino

in OS X to showcase the Mac’s advanced

typographic capabilities. The Apple version

of Zapfino comprises 1,400 individual

glyphs, and features larger letters than the

commercial Linotype version. Zapfino has

continued to evolve, with new versions—

such as Zapfino Extra—appearing in the

years since.

� hether it’s the OS X version or

any of Linotype’s packages (http://www.

linotype.com/1175/zapfino-family.html),

Zapfino is an elegant script—and creative

experimentation can add a touch of class

to any design project.

� s always, be sure to supply exact

copies of the fonts you use—whether it’s

Zapfino or any other font—to us. Subtle

differences can reflow text and cause

layout errors. Consult with us if you have

any questions about font usage.

If you’re like most professional graphic designers, you’re hesitant to

use any font (or, more correctly, typeface) that comes preinstalled on

your computer. However, if you use Mac OS X and are looking for an

elegant calligraphic font, there’s one that’s worth a second look. After

all, it has been literally decades in the making.

An ElEgAnt Script Font

courtESy oF DigitAl tEchnology

Open up your glyphs palette to find unique characters like

these in Zapfino.

MARKETINGADVISOR

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We can illustrate the power of

psychographics by using data

reported in a recent article

from Media Post. The report describes

key differences in life attitudes between

younger and older generations.

According to the research, older adults

are less likely to report concerns about such

things as age-related medical and financial

challenges as younger adults. At the same

time, older adults report experiencing fewer

of the benefits of aging that younger adults

expect to enjoy some day, such as spending

more time with family or having more

leisure time. They also tend to be positive

about their lives, with the plurality (45%)

believing that life has turned out “better

than expected.”

Psychographics are a powerful

way to add another layer of

relevance to any demographic

or other targeting you might

already be doing. Top this off

with name or other person-

alization, and you will speak

even more powerfully—and

effectively—to each person in

your database.

Media Post Research Brief, “Generation Gap in Expectations and Morality,” July 8, 2009.

Want better results from your direct mail campaigns?

Try adding psychographics.

What are psychographics? Just as

demographics describe what your

customers look like (age, gender,

ethnicity, income), psychographics

describe how your customers think and

behave. This gives you another way

to segment or personalize your direct

mail to make it more relevant.

Try psychographics

............................ Want Better Results?

How could you use such information to tweak your message?

If you sell insurance, for example,

the natural inclination might be

to assume older adults are more

concerned about their ability to pay

for medical care or maintain financial

security when, in fact, you might have

better success by focusing on giving

them the financial flexibility to travel or

re-engineer careers later in life.

If you are a financial planning

firm, you might target younger

adults with the message “plan for

the future,” while targeting older

adults (especially those in higher

income brackets) with the message,

“you’ve done a great job planning your

life so far, let us help you continue to

make great decisions!”

Of course, there will be variation within

every demographic group, and there are

nearly infinite attitudes, preferences and

behaviors from which you can choose.

How do you know which psychographic

characteristics to use?

This is where testing comes in.

Break your lists into multiple segments,

or use control groups to test one

message against the other. Test multiple

messages to emphasize different

psychographic characteristics. See which

aspects are the most likely to gain the

biggest response from your list, in your

marketplace, with your product. Test

and refine your results over time.

According to the research, older adults are less likely to report concerns about such things as age-related medical and financial challenges as younger adults.