Reduce Your Print Project's Envrionmental Impact: It's Easy and It Will Make You Feel Good

When it comes to commercial printing, a few small steps can go a long way toward minimizing the impact your printed piece has on the environment:

1. Whenever possible, choose papers that are certified for sustainability. Your printer can help you identify options that are right for your project, right for your budget and right for the environment.

2. Go with an aqueous coating instead of one of the traditional UV coatings or laminates. Water-based aqueous coatings provide the same resistance against scratches as other coatings, but without the harmful impact on the environment.

3. Ask for a "soft proof" instead of a traditional proof. You'll save yourself time and money while reducing the use of energy and materials used to create a hard proof.

4. Recycle outdated and unused print materials, and encourage your audience and associates to do so, too.

For more about printing and the envionment, visit Priced Right Print.

Green Marketing: How Well Are We Really Doing?

After years of being hailed as the next big trend, green marketing has moved well beyond consideration as some sort of newfangled fad and become a cornerstone in best practices for a growing number of brands.

According to Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president for government affairs for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), "Marketers are doing a better job in reducing the number of mailings that are duplicates and/or undeliverable as addressed. In addition, an increasing number have begun to reduce the amount of paper used in packaging."

Learn more about the state of green marketing.  And, see what we've done to make our business greener.  Then, (and this is the important part) please tell us...what is your company doing to make its marketing activities more eco-friendly?

Where Did John Doe Go?

When the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2010 results, the data validated what many of us already knew: that the notion of an “average American” is just that...a notion.

According to demographic analyst Peter Francese, key population changes are forcing marketers to re-think how they do business.  In a report commissioned by Advertising Age, Francese highlighted these transformational trends:

• There’s no longer an “average American.” Previously, marketers focused on what was widely accepted as an even society; one in which the majority of people had the same needs for the same consumer products and services.   
• We’re now a multi-segmented nation and a multi-generational society. In our 10 largest cities and four states — California, Texas, New Mexico and Hawaii — no race or ethnicity is a majority anymore.
• The multi-cultural shift is driven by immigration, and the fact that the non-minority part of the population — white non-Hispanics — is aging very rapidly. This is in contrast to the past decades during which well over two-thirds of U.S. births were white non-Hispanics.
• More than ever before, marketers will need to treat each generation or age segment as independent entities. It will be essential to address the multi-dimensional nature of our society today, and to use greater precision in identifying customers and developing messages.
• Despite the tremendous growth in digital media, tools that reach people in their homes and in their own languages will continue to produce strong results.  Direct mail, especially when combined with QR (Quick Response) codes, is expected to be among the most effective in this category.

See the Advertising Age white paper for specifics on population trends, and check out our site for more information about direct mail and other targeted marketing tools.  Then, let us know what you're doing (or what you've seen) that responds to the latest population shifts.

Amp Up Your Print Marketing Materials with Color

It's out.  Pantone's award-winning catalog, featuring everything a design enthusiast needs to know about color NOW.  Even if you don't spec colors, check it out anyway.  It's eye-candy at its best and well worth your perusal.  View it from our link at http://tinyurl.com/3b6norl, and let us know what you think!





The Experience is the Brand

Check out this quick video about the importance of the brand experience.  Well worth the minute and 22 seconds.  Promise.

Social Media Revolution 2011

Erik Qualman, the author of Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, has done it again with his latest video about the future of social media.  Be prepared to be blown away. 

Here are some hightlights:

1. Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30-years-old

2. In 10 years over 40% of the Fortune 500 will no longer be here

3. Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web

4. Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S.

5. 1 in 5 couples meet online; 3 in 5 gay couples meet online

6. 1 in 5 divorces are blamed on Facebook

7. What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook…

8. 2009 US Department of Education study revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction

9. If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 3rd largest and 2x the size of the U.S. population

10. 80% of companies use social media for recruitment

How do you use social media for your business, school or personal communications?

Social Media Set to Transform Our Lives

Erik Qualman, the author of Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business, compiled these astounding statistics. Watch the video for his complete list and tell us what you think the future holds.

1. Over 50% of the world’s population is under 30-years-old

2. 96% of them have joined a social network

3. Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S.

4. Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web

5. 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media

6. iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months

7. If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 3rd largest ahead of the United States and only behind China and India

8. The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females

9. Generation Y and Z consider e-mail passé – some universities have stopped distributing e-mail accounts

10. The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years

Reduce Your Print Project's Envrionmental Impact: It's Easy and It Will Make You Feel Good

When it comes to commercial printing, a few small steps can go a long way toward minimizing the impact your printed piece has on the environment:

1. Whenever possible, choose papers that are certified for sustainability. Your printer can help you identify options that are right for your project, right for your budget and right for the environment.
2. Go with an aqueous coating instead of one of the traditional UV coatings or laminates. Water-based aqueous coatings provide the same resistance against scratches as other coatings, but without the harmful impact on the environment.
3. Ask for a "soft proof" instead of a traditional proof. You'll save yourself time and money while reducing the use of energy and materials used to create a hard proof.
4. Recycle outdated and unused print materials, and encourage your audience and associates to do so, too.

For more about printing and the envionment, visit Priced Right Print

Hot Color Trends for 2010 -- Color Marketing Group Weighs In

A color that used to be strictly for fashion is the Group's pick, set to be the year's biggest star for everything else. What is it? The leading international organization of color design professionals says its GRAPE.

Officially called "Mardi Grape," it is "a sophisticated crossover between purple, brown and gray. It comes from fashion and has European roots."

According to CMG's president, James Martin, "Purple has been with us for awhile now, but the big story is that we're seeing purple as a neutral for the very first time. The purple is browner and grayer, a neutral we can love long-term."

CMG also predicts these trends:

Red - Strong with pink intuition; bright and clean with energy and excitement -- a clean pop to go with neutrals.

Orange - A rich, sophisticated color that moves away from earth-based colors to an optimistic orange, seasoned with a touch of gray.

Yellow - A greener, more natural yellow, softened with gray.

Green - Optimistic and uplifting, a clear and bright accent green with a slight shift toward blue.

Blue - A saturated blue with gray influences; rich without being too luxe.

Beige-Brown - A true chameleon to complement darker hues, it can be either matte or metallic.

Neutral/Gray - Gray with a touch of purple, drawing inspiration from mineral, concrete and steel.

The Color Marketing Group, the leading international non-profit association of color design professionals, has been accurately predicting color trends for more than 45 years.

Learn more about our printing services at http://www.pricedrightprint.com/.

View Our Latest Newsletter

Check out our latest newsletter with tips for "Getting Your Message Heard," and "How to Make Your Print Project More Environmentally Friendly."

Find it on our News and Media page.

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The Ultimate Business Tune-up for Times Like These

Want insight from some of the nation's leading entrepreneurs?

See Inc. Magazine's list of "23 things you can do right now" to energize your employees, wow your customers, and get your business back on track."

How to Create Copy That Sells

All great marketing materials start with a sound editorial concept and well-written copy. Make your printed pieces as effective as possible by following these basic copywriting guidelines:

• Consider the audience you are trying to attract; "get inside their heads"

• Focus on benefits, not features; show why whatever you are promoting is the right choice for your reader

• Write headlines that command attention

• Use strong leads that will “hook” the reader

• Keep it short; be sensitive to the fact that people are busy

• Write in an active voice. Correct: The man called the dog. Incorrect: The dog was called by the man.

• Use a conversational tone with simple language anybody can understand

• Stay away from industry jargon and too many “buzz” words

• Include a call to action, such as “buy now,” “visit our website to order,” “get a free sample”

• Make sure your marketing piece is “skim-able,” meaning there should be plenty of white space, brief-yet-informative headlines and subheads, bullet points, etc. People are looking for "nuggets" of information, not the great American novel.

If you've got tips of your own, please comment and I'll include them in future entries.

Purple is Hot and Blue is the New Green

Graphic designers, fashionistas and design gurus in every field already know that The Color Marketing Group has picked purple as the must-have color of the year. For those of us to whom the news trickles more slowly, check this out http://www.colormarketing.org/Media.aspx?id=1095 and find out which colors lead the pack in "challenging economic times," and which ones convey the optimism we all crave.

Uncertain Times Demand Embrace of Social Media

Want to learn more about social media's role in business communications? See what PR Week has to say in this new article: http://www.prweekus.com/Uncertain-times-demand-embrace-of-social-media/article/127718/

Green Printing: The Graphic Designers Field Guide to Sustainability

Check out this green design resource from Lunar for information that will help graphic designers produce projects that are as environmentally friendly as possible. Designers are encouraged to consider these questions: 1) What is it the piece trying to accomplish? 2) How is it brought to life? 3) How is it used? 4) Where does it end up?

(Also, see PRP's green printing initiatives for paper, proofing, coating and other green options we can all feel good about.)

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