Integrated Marketing Campaign

So what is an integrated marketing campaign?

It is marketing that combines the use of old fashioned printing with the use of the internet to target a specific audience, create a specific response and achieve a pre-planned result.

Take the recent integrated marketing campaign we did for Hillside Veterinary Hospital in Charles Town, WV as an example.

Starting with a brain-storming session, we reviewed our customer's marketing history together with their goals and created an integrated plan to use the following:

Website Creation

Hillside Veterinary Hospital was interested in creating a website anyway, so that became our first focus. Because we were in on the ground floor, we were able to create a cat and a dog 'mascot' that would be featured on the website as well as on printed material for the entire campaign. We shopped the specific elements to be included in the website (number of pages, format, functionality, support features, price options) with Hillside.

In-House Marketing

We created two Welcome posters, one featuring our cat mascot and one the dog for Hillside's respective waiting rooms. We also used the mascots to create stand-up counter signs to announce the new website when customers came in.

Direct Mail Offer

We were able to create a very targeted list finding all the cat, dog or 'other' pet owners in a specific geographic area and combine that with Hillside's current customer list to create a mailing list of just under 2500 names. We created a postcard inviting participation in a contest to win an Ipad. We used a QR code as well as directing people to the website/landing page to enter the drawing.

On-line Response Page

To enter the contest, participants had to go to a landing page, which was also linked to the website, to fill out their 'entry' form. This allowed us to collect contact info and details about their pets.

Customized follow-up Mailing

All responses were entered in a data base and contestants were mailed a Thank You follow up postcard with an additional offer for a free exam for their pet and a reminder to visit the website to find out who won. The winner was announced on the website on the given date.

Captured information for future use

The information collected can now become the basis of a new prospect list and additional promotions/ offers.

Goals achieved:

*A well-conceived and functional website (customer's can buy pet meds on-line, print and fill-out forms before coming in to the Hospital, and see new information about upcoming rabies clinics, etc.)

*Drive traffic to new website

*Increase existing customer appointments

*Bring in new clients

*Collect email and other contact info from new prospective clients

To see the new website go to www.hillsideveterinaryhospital.com

To explore mailing lists, QR codes, promotional products or request a quote,

go to www.sirspeedy.com/martinsburg

Post Card Mailing-How Easy is That?!

Post cards can be easy and fun. Find a photo to represent your message, decide on what you want to “punch” or promote, and viola! Send the photo and text message, your return address and logo art to your graphic artist or your printer's graphics department and let them set up your post card to your specs. There are several sizes that can be used, from 4.25 x 5.5 (economical) to 8.5 x 11 (huge). There are advantages and disadvantages to all sizes, but large does not necessarily mean better. The right message to the right audience will make the difference, no matter what the size of the piece.

If you are doing a blanket mailing, Rural Routes might be the way to go. With Rural Routes, you must call the post office the day of the mailing and get that day's count for the route. There will probably be several routes within each zip code. The numbers change from day to day, and you must have the exact number of cards to match the count in whatever route you are mailing to that day. It is good to get an idea ahead of time of the different routes and their counts, so you can be sure you have enough cards to cover whatever routes you decide to mail to. Just keep in mind that you can't mail to part of a route.

Example: RR 1 – 609, RR 2- 529, RR 3- 205, RR 4- 890 = 2,233 total. So you would need to order 3000 postcards and have leftovers, or mail to only some of the routes.

Keep in mind that whatever the cost of creating and printing the post card, you still have to pay the postage.

Getting a rural route mailing ready for the post office is not that hard- all you need to do is to have an exact count in separate postal trays for each route, with the correct label on the tray.

For a targeted mailing, a mailing list can be obtained, sometimes tailer-made for your demographic. Or you can use your customer list. The key here is the pre-sorting, a service that can save enough postage to more than cover the cost of the service, which usually includes addressing directly onto the piece, barcoding, CASS sorting, etc. All the extras the post office rewards with lower postal rates. 

The Latest News in Printing

For Immediate Release

Editorial Contact:

Susan Benjamin

304-876-8488

susan@thegreatvoice.com

PRINTING FRANCHISE OFFERS EXPERTISE IN MARKETING

with QUICK RESPONSE CODES

MARTINSBURG, WV, December 13, 2010. Today, Sir Speedy Printing unveiled an on-line

tool that allows small businesses to interact instantly with consumers, no matter where they

are. The Quick Reference Code, or QRC, is a bar-code in the shape of a small square. It can

be created and printed on anything from a Christmas card to a post card to a real-estate sign.

Mobile tagging blends traditional print media with online media. Smart phones can now scan QR

codes and link to pricing, coupons, video, or web sites instantly. Sir Speedy, an internationally

franchised printing and marketing company, is the first in the Martinsburg area to realize the

potential of this new technology and offer small businesses help in its application.

“For instance, if you are driving around looking at real-estate, you could go up to the sign in

the yard, scan the QRC with your smart phone and get a virtual tour of the house and all it’s

stats. Just point the camera on your phone at a QRC, click, and you have access to information,

coupons, contests; the possibilities are limitless,” said Roberta Chromey, owner of Sir Speedy

Printing.

QRC readers can be downloaded for free onto most smart phones and may soon come already

installed. Sir Speedy offers help engaging and utilizing this amazing new technological tool

which heralds a new age in marketing potential for local businesses.

“This is the hottest thing to come down the pike since texting,” exclaimed Chromey,

“Everyone is going to be doing it!”

About Sir Speedy Sir Speedy Printing, located at 1351 Edwin Miller Boulevard in Old Court

House Square shopping center in Martinsburg, WV, has been on the cutting edge of print media

technology since opening their doors in 1995. Roberta and Jack Chromey are long time residents

of Charles Town but decided to locate their business in Martinsburg because of the larger

business presence there. Jack Chromey has a 35 year history in publishing and graphics; Roberta

Chromey with public relations.

Sir Speedy provides printing and marketing services designed to help small to medium

businesses in the tri-state area. Products and services include traditional printing, copying, bulk

mail services, and value added offerings such as marketing consultation, web design, integrated

direct marketing tools, such as the use of QR codes, and promotional products. Sir Speedy helps

companies meet their marketing objectives from lead generation, to brand management.

Contact: Sir Speedy, 1351 Edwin Miller Blvd., Martinsburg, WV, 25404, 304-267-0703p, 304-

267-0706f, CSR@sirspeedynow.com, www.sirspeedy.com/martinsburg

Try This!

• Download a FREE QR Code Reader

to your Smart Phone

• Open the Application at the top left,  Scan the QRCode

• And Away You Go

Printing Tips / Brochures

Before you start designing a brochure, decide how it is to be used. Are you going to use it as a self mailer? Are you going to mail it inside a business, #10 envelope with other materials? Are you going to leave it in a rack at a hotel or Visitor's Center or the like? 

Is this going to be part of a presentation packet or seminar? In other words, what size does the finished piece need to be?

A typical tri-fold brochure could be 8.5 x 11 folded to 8.5 x 3.666, OR, you could make a simple 8.5 x 3.6 rack card, which would give you “3 Up” on an 8.5 x 11. 

OR- do you need several 8.5 x 11 sheets in a binder, presentation folder, or spiral bound with a clear plastic front and solid back cover? 

If you are working with a folded brochure, such as the 8.5 x 11 tri-fold, organize your material in “panels” - you will have 6. Remember the front panel is essentially your cover. This may be the only thing that anyone looks at- you want to entice them to go inside, but if they don't, you want to be sure the front panel relays the essence of what you are trying to convey. Also remember to leave room on the back panel for addressing, if this is to be a self mailer.

You can also simply collect the information, your logo art, any photos or art you specifically want to use, and give this to the graphic department of your print provider and have them format the brochure for the size you need. It may be easier for them to provide a professional looking piece that will print well on their equipment. Of  course you will be proofing and giving feedback during this process. If you still want to create the brochure yourself, remember to provide a hard copy (if possible) as well as a PDF and the native file – just to be sure the print provider sees what you are seeing. Remember that different programs and different printers can often change color or create “glitches” between your file and the converted file the printer may need to create to produce your piece.

 Lastly, don't forget your print provider may be able to provide mailing services. In which case they probably have a bulk mail indicia (if you don't) that they can print directly onto your piece. Be sure to included this discussion at the initial design stage and be clear what post office the mailing is going out of, so it matches the indicia. 

Tips for Ordering Business Cards, Letterhead & Envelopes

If you are just starting out in business, (or even if you aren't) step back and think of the long-range picture of what you doing. You want your business card, letterhead and envelope to match. That means colors of ink, and for the letterhead and envelope, color and type of paper. 

More and more these days, business cards are going to be full color, which means they will probably be printed on a gloss white paper. Letterhead and envelopes are usually still printed on a white or cream, smooth or textured paper, in one or two ink colors. So how do we get them to match?

When you are working up your logo, think of the color or colors that you want people to associate with your business. The font you use to spell your business name is as much a part of your logo as any symbol you may choose or design. Some logos are simply the color and font style used to print the business name, no fancy design or symbol needed. Consistency is the key. So even though your business card may be full color with a photo or background graphic, your business name and colors are going to be carried over to your letterhead and envelopes. It may also be wise to have a black and white version as well as a color version of your logo. It's the style that needs to stay the same.

The most common and economical quantity to order for business cards is 1000. Most of the cost of cards is in the setup. Once the press is running, a few more sheets of paper cost hardly anything; 500 cards are about $5 less than 1000. 

#10 Business Envelopes come in boxes of 500. Most people order 500 or 1000 envelopes at a time. However, if you really use them a lot, 5 boxes come in a case, so 2500 may be a better deal. 

Letterhead, especially if it's printed with a colored ink, is most affordable in quantities of at least 500 or 1000.

  A Note on 3 or more ink colors for envelopes: More people are asking for full color envelopes and the prices are beginning to come down, but they are still much more costly than full color business cards or letterhead.

Printing Tips- about paper...

How to Order Printing

Paper? OMG!

Besides knowing something about paper size, know:

● Text weight is “regular” paper:

○ 20lb bond is light weight copy paper

○ 24-60lb is good for 2-sided B&W printing

○ 80lb-100lb text is best for color printing

● Card Stock is heavier paper:

○ 67lb Vellum Bristol is good for booklet covers or light weight cards

○ 65lb Vellum Bristol is heavier (don't ask me why)

○ 80-100lb cover is good for postcards or “rack” cards (i.e. 8.5 x 3.666 brochures you put in a “rack” in a hotel or visitor's center)

● White vs Colored Paper:

○ White or cream is always nice for text documents like resumes or booklets.

○ Gloss white is preferable for full color printing-  the paper doesn't “drink” the ink and make it look dull. 

○ On the other hand, Britehue colored paper is great for black ink as it makes it “pop” - an affordable way to do flyers, or simple brochures or posters. Pastel paper is less expensive than Britehue if you just want to print on a colored paper background.

● Textured paper vs smooth paper: 

○ Linen or laid paper (either in text or cover) have traditionally been used for formal presentations and come in varieties of white, cream and ivory.

○ There are other papers with less texture, but that still have “tooth” as opposed to a smooth finish. Some “writing” papers fall into this category, with percentages of cotton or fiber in the weave, and often have a watermark. These are also good for formal letterhead or printed resumes. A felt finish would also be in this category and makes a nice invitation.

○ Textured paper is great for projects that you want to be noticed with touch.

○ Most paper is going to have a smooth finish and is good for anything from reports to booklets, to color copies, brochures, signs, posters, etc.

Your Print Provider will most likely have particular kinds of  paper he likes or would recommend for your job, as that is what runs best on his equipment and he keeps stocked or knows he can order easily. 

Printing Tips

How to Order Printing

about paper...

• ○ Know the paper size you are starting with: 

8.5 x 11 is the regular size that fits in a home or office printer

11 x 17 is twice as big 

8.5 x 14 is Legal size

• oKnow the finished size of your piece (take a blank piece of paper and fold or cut it)

For instance, a newsletter is typically an 11 x 17 folded to 8.5 x 11

If it gets mailed, it's folded again to 5.5 x 8.5.

An invitation is often 5.5 x 8.5 folded to 4.25 x 5.5 (which fits nicely into a small A2 envelope.

Postcards can be anything from 4.25 x 5.5 to 5.5 x 8.5 or larger, but they should not be square- (the post office doesn't like that)

Your Print Provider will want to know the flat size of the piece to be printed as well as the final folded size, if it gets folded.

•  tKnow the quantity – how many do you want to end up with? If asking for a quote, What's the least amount you can use – What is the most ? 

Do Not try to “help” your Print Provider by telling him how many pieces of  paper you want- if you set something up and are getting 4 on a page, unless you are doing the cutting, stick to the number of finished pieces as the quantity to ask for. What the Printer wants to know, is how many of the finished size you want. He will take your file and set it up to run on his equipment, which might mean he's using a larger piece of paper and getting more “up” on a sheet.