3

6

9 Updates From The Post Office.

How Do You Measure Success?

Are You Combining Mobile With Print?

11

QUICk MARkETINg TIP

10 ways to use qr codes

Transport & Travel Make travel interactive! Use QR codes on advertising panels in buses, trains & planes linking to websites where people can

get additional details about their destination. Or what

about making the QR code go to a game or a story

that kids can enjoy while traveling?

HOTelS & TOUriSM

Place QR codes on marketing materials that lead to a video of things to do and places to see. This gives hotel guests a quick and efficient way to discover more. Check to see if wireless Internet is available and free to use where you’re placing the QR codes.

SUPerMArKeTS & grOCerS

Try placing QR codes next to products or on product packaging. The QR codes can lead to online recipes helping promote other items available in the store. The shopper leaves prepared to cook a delicious meal and the store sells more products!

reTAil

Not enough room in the shop for all of your products?

Put images of more products with QR codes in spare areas, such as changing rooms or available wall panels. It allows customers to find more products, download coupons or order online.

leiSUre & FAMilY ATTrACTiONS

Make family attractions, such as museums, more fun by putting QR codes next to exhibitions linking to presentations and videos that not only educate but also entertain.

eDUCATiON

Use QR codes on workbooks and learning materials to direct students to online resources. For example, point them to a repository of past exam questions.

SPOrT & FiTNeSS

Ever visit a gym and wonder how a certain piece of equipment works? QR codes next to gym equipment could direct gym members to videos explaining how to use the equipment and its benefits.

eNTerTAiNMeNT

QR codes can be used on marketing materials promoting

films, bands and theater shows, allowing people to view previews

and hear songs—ultimately encouraging them to buy tickets.

Restaurants & Cafes When you give customers their bill, include a branded card with a QR code on it. Direct customers to a mobile site where they can leave feedback and download a coupon for a return visit. You capture their data and gain information that can help improve your service; they get an incentive. It’s a win/ win!

Media Use QR codes in magazines, newspapers and books to give readers an interactive experience. Use a QR code in a news story, link it to photos and videos, and encourage readers to leave comments about the article.

To get your imagination pumping, check out these 10 different ways to use QR codes in 10 industries:

3 Private label enjoys loyalty too.“Private label products have captured the attention, the respect and the wallets of American consumers,” the report declares. The researchers found nearly all consumers purchase private brand products these days, and more than one in three actually seek out private label products.

Although 47% of consumers are buying more private label today versus before the economic downturn began, the strength of private label isn’t simply a result of belt-tightening. Consumer perceptions of the quality of private label products have become quite favorable in some categories. Across retail channels, store brands are viewed as offering the same or better quality as national brands by more than 50% of the population.Private label loyalty is strong and growing across many of the top 100 CPg categories, the report shows.Concluding recommendations come straight from the report: • Invest heavily in establishing and strengthening brand loyalty, focusing on and delivering against the most meaningful needs of key and target shoppers.

• Leverage frequent and granular assessments of core and target shoppers to ensure a comprehensive and always-current understanding of value drivers for key categories and brands.

2 as brand loyalty

increases, consumers are less sensitive to price changes. While marketers may know this intuitively, SymphonyIRI reports category data to prove the point: “In sugar and butter, where loyalty is pretty low, substantial price hikes have led to sharp drops in loyalty during the past three years. In blades and dish detergent, on the other hand, relatively high brand loyalty has continued to grow despite rather sharp price increases.”

This should be good news to the many companies whose categories have been hit with rising raw material and manufacturing costs. It suggests that consumers accept some price increases—loyalty is leverage.

And just because a category may not inspire high loyalty in general, it’s not stuck. The research shows that brands can still build loyalty during inflationary times. Chocolate candy is an example of a category with relatively low average loyalty (16%) that has seen an increase in loyalty between 2008 and 2011.

1 Price does not

equal value.

Perceived value drives loyal

purchase behavior. The report

explains, “…even when times

are tight, brands are important.

However, in the context of the

new, more conservative world of

CPg, brands that provide value

are critical.” But value isn’t about

price alone.

The researchers found that when

it comes to brand decisions, 79%

of consumers consider price and

76% consider past usage and

trust of the brand. Shoppers also

factor requests of household

members, product labels, in-store

displays and much more into

their buying decisions.

Further, twice as many people

agree with the statement, “I tend

to buy the items that give me

the best value for the money”

as those agreeing, “I tend to

buy the lowest price item.”

So, bottom line, brands can’t

bribe customers into loyalty

with price.

2

tIMeless tRuths

Yogi Berra once lamented that “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Today, companies have a related complaint: “Brand loyalty ain’t what it used to be.”

No longer can brands expect long-term loyalty, even from their most faithful customers. As economic pressures mount, competitive landscapes shift and life simply happens, it may seem pointless for companies to try to lock in customer loyalty.

Nonetheless, the folks at SymphonyIRI group released a study titled “Brand Loyalty: How

Understanding Brand Equity Impacts Brand Loyalty and Delivers to the Top and Bottom

Line,” which attempts to deconstruct the drivers of brand loyalty.

The scope of the report is limited to consumer packaged goods, so the findings may not apply to all categories. Also, the analysis defines loyalty as

“greater than 50% of buyer’s total purchasing is of a single brand, not including private label.”

WhIle You CAn ARgue WhetheR oR not thIs Is An ACCuRAte DefInItIon of loYAltY, the RePoRt PoInts to A feW tRuths ABout BRAnD loYAltY WhICh stAnD on theIR oWn AnD WhICh stAnD the test of tIMe.

By Denise Lee Yohn, brand as business bites™

about BRAnD loYAltY

”

White Paper workflowDarwillisms in Detail

NeedsBeltone Electronics Corporation has been a customer of Darwill’s for over 30 years. In that time, Darwill has moved from printing flyers that get mailed with a cheshire label (remember those?) to providing a robust marketing engine that includes:

• 35 customizable direct mail templates in a web–to-print application

• A campaign testing environment that tests 48 new campaigns a year

• Integrated data and results tracking

• 30+ million pieces of mail annually

• 1,500 dealer stores supported

One of the challenges of having this many “moving parts” with a program of this scale was the management of the inventory of pre-printed masters (or shells) that would have to be produced, cut, and stored. These shells would need to be pulled from inventory every week for imprinting (laser personalization) for the twice weekly production run. The coordination and space requirements around this effort slowed productivity and production schedules, affecting in-home dates.

SolutionOne of the reasons Darwill installed our Oce 3500 inkjet press one year ago was to help alleviate challenges like this. This groundbreaking technology allows for 4/4 color personalization for long run direct mail (among other products) in “one pass”. No more pre-printed shells cut to size and then fed through a laser printer. In this “white paper workflow”, blank paper starts on one side of the press, and cut to size, 4 color personalized letters are ready for folding and mailing. These letters (with any variation of 4 color images all integrated in) allows for:

• A single production stream allowing for postage savings when common formats are used

• No inventory to manage or throw away at the end of a campaign

• Flexible testing environment-add test groups without interrupting production

• Quicker manufacturing time because of less material handling

“ What do you do

when you have 131

different inventory

items, twice a week

mailing schedules

& 30 million pieces

of mail a year??

You get a white

paper workflow. ”

10 3

D o you have a mobile strategy as part of your marketing plan? If not, it’s time you did. We all

know how important email and a Web presence are to customer marketing. Now, according to research by Prosper Mobile Insights, more consumers are conducting these activities exclusively on their mobile phones.

For example, more than half of mobile users say they access email only on their mobile phones. Forty-five percent do Internet searches only on their mobile phones. Think about it—consumers are scrapping their computers in favor of their mobile devices.

As consumers transition their everyday activities to the mobile world, you need to have a strategy for reaching them at that level. You need to go where your customers go.

It’s time to start incorporating mobile marketing into your print marketing mix. This doesn’t need to be complex or over-whelming. To the right are a few simple, easy steps to get you started.

QR CoDes:

Add QR codes to your direct mail pieces, your invoices, and your envelopes. Leave the phone numbers, the URLs, and the tear-out forms. Just add QR Codes as an optional way to respond.

shoRt CoDes:

Start using short codes for promotions. For example, “Text ‘SUPERDEAL’ to 0550 and receive your free coupon!” This not only gives your customer a way to respond to the promotion immediately, but it gives you their mobile phone number for future marketing contacts.

text AleRts:

Offer to send text alerts as a customer service. Restaurants offer to text patrons when their tables are ready. Doctor’s offices offer to text appointment reminders to their patients one day ahead of time. Walmart uses text messaging very effectively to alert customers when their photo lab orders are ready for pick-up.

MoBIle lAnDIng PAges:

Create a mobile website for your business. Template-based software makes this easy. If you’re not ready to launch a full mobile site, you can still begin to create mobile-friendly landing pages for specific promotions. Especially when using QR codes, be sure that you are sending people to a mobile-optimized page.

When you think “mobile,” you don’t necessarily have to think about mobile payments . . . yet. It doesn’t have to be about selling products. the first step is simply getting customers engaged with you on a mobile basis. then imagine where that relationship can go over time!

Combining Mobile & Print?

Contributed by: Jill SCHWArTz Account Executived: 708-236-4996e: jschw@darwill.com

Download the full case study at darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

1

GUEST,ARE YOU

Order FREE Personalized Note Cards at

darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

V isual content marketing has become an effective tool for marketers to reach their

target audience and promote their brand in an interactive way. In a recent webinar, Maria Pergolino of Marketo and Jason Lankow of Column Five Media discussed numerous ways that companies can incorporate visual content in their marketing campaigns. Below are key points and excerpts from their webinar.

Many marketing campaigns include visual content to draw in prospective customers and avoid content overload. Oftentimes when we read an article, we do not have enough time to read all of the text and we skim, potentially missing useful information. Many companies are now taking advantage of the human eye’s interest in visual images and incorporating this in their marketing strategies. Six types of visual content give marketers creative and fun ways to promote a company or product: photos, videos, infographics, visual note-taking, comics and memes.

Before including visual content in your marketing plan, it’s important to follow the key steps to ensure that your campaign is a success:

• Create a compelling story

• Choose the right type of content

• Find the right partners

• Focus on great design and branding

• Promote your content strategically

Once you’re ready to advertise your content, the next step is to decide which platform will be most beneficial to your campaign and reach your target audience. An aspect to consider when uploading visual content is search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is the process of improving your company’s visibility in search engines. Highlighting key terms that customers may use when searching for a product is something to keep in mind when uploading content. It will affect how often your site shows up in search results. A number of platforms allow marketers to take advantage of visual content, including but not limited to Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook.

Photos

Photos are a great way to link your content to social media sites and increase readership. With 80 million users on Instagram and 20 million users on Pinterest, linking your content to photos is a key ingredient in driving interaction between customers and products on media platforms.

Pinterest is a media platform based on images and a perfect example of how visual content can be used to promote products and brands. Pinterest gives users an interactive experience to content by allowing them to browse and share images. Users can navigate their way through Pinterest by searching for content and liking it or repinning it onto their own page. Users are also able to upload their own images to the site with links to recipes, DIY projects and more.

The more traffic an image receives, the more likely it is to appear on the site’s homepage.

Facebook has also taken a more interactive approach with Timeline, giving users the option to browse through a company’s background and photos with ease. Timeline also allows companies to highlight important posts on their profile, such as a new product or award, and interact with customers through messaging.

4

visual content

audiences

&captures engages9

Major changes in 2013 for folded self-Mailers

• Final folds on the top will no longer be allowed

• Self-mailers that needed only one tab on the top, will now need two

• Quarter-fold self-mailers will need to be at least 70# text

• no tabs will be allowed on the bottom

• The final folded panel creates the non-address side of the mail piece

Postage changes for 2013

• For 2013, the USPS has announced pricing increases on letters and postcards. These increases will go into effect on January 27th.

intelligent Mail Barcode (iMB) in 2013

• IMB is a reality on January 28, 2013

• To get the best automation discounts for your mail (both outgoing and incoming) your mail needs to have the IMB code

paper Cougar Digital Color Copy 100# Text

press Darwill’s HP indigo 7000 Digital Press

design Kim PannosProduction Notes

Post office

Updates2013

Details on all the 2013 USPS changes can be found

by visiting darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

or by scanning this code from your smartphone.

Let’s see how it DiD it.

The company was highly successful and generating a very high volume of leads. The company’s challenge was that it was not qualifying those leads and distributing them appropriately to the right salespeople to follow up on a timely and effective basis.

The company began to channel all of its customer information—customer service contacts, transactional data, marketing data, Web data—into a single, comprehensive database. This gave it a 360-degree view of its customers’ behavior. Not just during the sales process, but from the lead generation all the way to conversion. Then the company de-duped its data, cleansed it, and standardized it.

With its data clean, accurate, and in one centralized location, the company was able to improve the effectiveness of its lead generation efforts. It was able to deploy multi-channel campaigns using information and knowledge about the customer gained from other channels through which the customer was interacting.

Communications were also more precisely targeted based on a

holistic view of that customer.

Using this information, the marketer implemented a

comprehensive lead qualification and

distribution process that

put qualified leads into the hands of the right salespeople at the right time.

8

For “warm” leads (people who showed an interest in the company’s products but who were not necessarily ready to buy), the company developed a lead nurturing process that communicated with those leads in relevant and timely ways until they became sales-ready.

The results? By increasing the efficiency of its campaign execution and setting up an automated process for nurturing leads until they are ready to be distributed to a sales channel, the company has increased its lead-to-opportunity conversion rate by a whopping 400%!

Not every marketer will have the level of sophistication or the economies of scale as this one, but this example illustrates the power of centralizing your data, creating a more comprehensive view of your customers, and using that information to develop a more effective lead generation and distribution process.

WAnt to IMPRoVe YouR leAD nuRtuRIng?

ContaCt us. We Can help!

Don't have a limited view of your customer. Boost the effectiveness of your lead generation efforts by channeling all of your customer information into one database and put qualified leads into the hands of the right salespeople.

Case study:

Lead NurturiNg Boosts CoNversioN rate By 400%!are you missing sales opportunities because your print marketing is generating leads but your salespeople aren’t able to sift through them and act on the most qualified leads quickly enough? Is the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns being impacted by a limited view of the customer? If so, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there is good news. Let’s look at one large international company that took the time to integrate its lead generation and lead nurturing programs, creating a holistic view of the customer and boosting its conversion rate by 400%!

5

Information taken from Visual Content

Marketing: Capture & Engage Your Audience webinar delivered

by Maria Pergolino, senior director of marketing at Marketo, and

Jason Lankow, co-founder and CEO of Column

Five Media.

Making images shareable allows customers to promote your content on other social media sites, drawing in other potential customers. Combining photos and text is another way to make your content visual and convey information about your company, products, services and brand.

ViDeOS Video is one of the most interactive and popular forms of visual content. Whether it’s a short introduction video or an in-depth look at a product, adding music and narration increases retention of the information and is an interactive way for customers to absorb content. YouTube is a common tool that many companies use to promote their brand, products and events.

iNFOgrAPHiCS Infographics are steadily increasing the flow of marketing content and drawing in consumers on a variety of platforms. Infographics can be formatted into three different forms:

• Static • Motion • Interactive

Infographics make it easy to place a quick statistic in a brochure and surround it with content, allowing the customer to indulge in layers of data in an appealing and visual way.

ViSUAl NOTe-TAKiNg Similar to infographics, visual note-taking allows marketers to tell a story in a condensed way using a combination of words and images.

Visual note-taking is a way to draw out a conversation at a live event, such as a webinar, and put it online in an engaging way. Followers are more likely to remember the content from a webinar if they are able to visualize it and relate images to information.

COMiCS According to a series of studies done at the Univer-sity of California, Santa Barbara, students learned 51 percent more from cartoons rather than text. Visual content allows companies to communicate complex issues and present information in a way that is ap-pealing and relatable for customers. Comics are an easy way to communicate a subject that may involve dry text or numbers and transform it into memorable piece.

Comics are also great ways to:

• Explain step-by-step how-to’s

• Profile people or teams

• Express an opinion

• Connect with kids (and adults)

• Sell products, services and ideas

MeMeS Memes are another fun and interactive method for sharing company information and promoting brands. A good meme takes a fun approach to common industry topics with limited text. Including a simple image with a customer quote is an easy way to share content and make a brand more relatable.In today’s digital world, visual content plays a vital role in nearly every successful marketing campaign.

1

Guest,

6

Many of these are fuzzy terms. Different marketers use different

terms for the same strategies. The point is simply to be aware that

there are different ways to calculate response, and in evaluating

the success of your campaign, you need to pick the measures that

are most appropriate for that campaign.

3 Cost per sale. Not every lead converts to a sale, so if the campaign is a direct selling effort, you might want to see how much it costs to land each sale. With higher conversion rates, 1:1 printing campaigns tend to excel here.

4 Revenues per sale. Better-matched products and services and more engaged respondents are more likely to generate higher revenues than static campaigns. One children’s charity, for example, switched to 1:1 campaigns and discovered that its average donation increased 168%.

5 Return on Investment. As with other measures, return on investment (ROI) for well-executed 1:1 printing campaigns is often exponentially higher than for traditional campaigns. Why? When you take into consideration all of the other metrics, including higher conversion rates and dollars per sale, even a small lift can translate into huge gains in ROI.

6 lifetime Customer Value. Loyal customers who purchase from a company over and over have enormous lifetime customer value (LCV). Customers gained through 1:1 printing tend, not just to purchase more, but to be more loyal than those gained through static methods. As a result, LCV can play heavily into the cost-benefit equation.

7 Internet Components. If your campaign will include an Internet component, such as with integrated e-mail and print campaigns and with personalized URL campaigns, there are other measures that you might want to consider. These include e-mail open rate, e-mail “click-through” rate and form fill or survey completion rate.

1 Conversion Rate. This is the percentage of people who not only respond to the campaign, but who follow through and convert to sales. You can have a 38% response rate to a campaign, but if only 6% of those convert to sales, that’s only 2.3% of the original list. If, on the other hand, you get a 12% response rate but a 60% conversion rate, that’s 7.2% of the original list. That is nearly four times higher.

2 Cost per lead. Forget cost per piece. How much did it cost to get each person to respond? For example, if you print 100,000 mailers and get a 0.5% response rate (or 1,000 leads), at $0.36 per mailer, each lead cost you $36. If, you print 10,000 mailers and get a 12% response rate, that’s 1,200 leads. At $1.26 per mailer, each lead costs you $10.50. If you are measuring by cost per lead, 1:1 printing costs one-third less.

7

Guest at ABC Company

HOW DO YOUMEASURESUCCESS?

Guest, need help? Talk to Mark Pageau about these measures of success

and determine which terms to measure your next campaign by.

Download the full story on “Measuring Success” byvisiting darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

6

Many of these are fuzzy terms. Different marketers use different

terms for the same strategies. The point is simply to be aware that

there are different ways to calculate response, and in evaluating

the success of your campaign, you need to pick the measures that

are most appropriate for that campaign.

3 Cost per sale. Not every lead converts to a sale, so if the campaign is a direct selling effort, you might want to see how much it costs to land each sale. With higher conversion rates, 1:1 printing campaigns tend to excel here.

4 Revenues per sale. Better-matched products and services and more engaged respondents are more likely to generate higher revenues than static campaigns. One children’s charity, for example, switched to 1:1 campaigns and discovered that its average donation increased 168%.

5 Return on Investment. As with other measures, return on investment (ROI) for well-executed 1:1 printing campaigns is often exponentially higher than for traditional campaigns. Why? When you take into consideration all of the other metrics, including higher conversion rates and dollars per sale, even a small lift can translate into huge gains in ROI.

6 lifetime Customer Value. Loyal customers who purchase from a company over and over have enormous lifetime customer value (LCV). Customers gained through 1:1 printing tend, not just to purchase more, but to be more loyal than those gained through static methods. As a result, LCV can play heavily into the cost-benefit equation.

7 Internet Components. If your campaign will include an Internet component, such as with integrated e-mail and print campaigns and with personalized URL campaigns, there are other measures that you might want to consider. These include e-mail open rate, e-mail “click-through” rate and form fill or survey completion rate.

1 Conversion Rate. This is the percentage of people who not only respond to the campaign, but who follow through and convert to sales. You can have a 38% response rate to a campaign, but if only 6% of those convert to sales, that’s only 2.3% of the original list. If, on the other hand, you get a 12% response rate but a 60% conversion rate, that’s 7.2% of the original list. That is nearly four times higher.

2 Cost per lead. Forget cost per piece. How much did it cost to get each person to respond? For example, if you print 100,000 mailers and get a 0.5% response rate (or 1,000 leads), at $0.36 per mailer, each lead cost you $36. If, you print 10,000 mailers and get a 12% response rate, that’s 1,200 leads. At $1.26 per mailer, each lead costs you $10.50. If you are measuring by cost per lead, 1:1 printing costs one-third less.

7

Guest at ABC Company

HOW DO YOUMEASURESUCCESS?

Guest, need help? Talk to Mark Pageau about these measures of success

and determine which terms to measure your next campaign by.

Download the full story on “Measuring Success” byvisiting darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

Let’s see how it DiD it.

The company was highly successful and generating a very high volume of leads. The company’s challenge was that it was not qualifying those leads and distributing them appropriately to the right salespeople to follow up on a timely and effective basis.

The company began to channel all of its customer information—customer service contacts, transactional data, marketing data, Web data—into a single, comprehensive database. This gave it a 360-degree view of its customers’ behavior. Not just during the sales process, but from the lead generation all the way to conversion. Then the company de-duped its data, cleansed it, and standardized it.

With its data clean, accurate, and in one centralized location, the company was able to improve the effectiveness of its lead generation efforts. It was able to deploy multi-channel campaigns using information and knowledge about the customer gained from other channels through which the customer was interacting.

Communications were also more precisely targeted based on a

holistic view of that customer.

Using this information, the marketer implemented a

comprehensive lead qualification and

distribution process that

put qualified leads into the hands of the right salespeople at the right time.

8

For “warm” leads (people who showed an interest in the company’s products but who were not necessarily ready to buy), the company developed a lead nurturing process that communicated with those leads in relevant and timely ways until they became sales-ready.

The results? By increasing the efficiency of its campaign execution and setting up an automated process for nurturing leads until they are ready to be distributed to a sales channel, the company has increased its lead-to-opportunity conversion rate by a whopping 400%!

Not every marketer will have the level of sophistication or the economies of scale as this one, but this example illustrates the power of centralizing your data, creating a more comprehensive view of your customers, and using that information to develop a more effective lead generation and distribution process.

WAnt to IMPRoVe YouR leAD nuRtuRIng?

ContaCt us. We Can help!

Don't have a limited view of your customer. Boost the effectiveness of your lead generation efforts by channeling all of your customer information into one database and put qualified leads into the hands of the right salespeople.

Case study:

Lead NurturiNg Boosts CoNversioN rate By 400%!are you missing sales opportunities because your print marketing is generating leads but your salespeople aren’t able to sift through them and act on the most qualified leads quickly enough? Is the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns being impacted by a limited view of the customer? If so, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there is good news. Let’s look at one large international company that took the time to integrate its lead generation and lead nurturing programs, creating a holistic view of the customer and boosting its conversion rate by 400%!

5

Information taken from Visual Content

Marketing: Capture & Engage Your Audience webinar delivered

by Maria Pergolino, senior director of marketing at Marketo, and

Jason Lankow, co-founder and CEO of Column

Five Media.

Making images shareable allows customers to promote your content on other social media sites, drawing in other potential customers. Combining photos and text is another way to make your content visual and convey information about your company, products, services and brand.

ViDeOS Video is one of the most interactive and popular forms of visual content. Whether it’s a short introduction video or an in-depth look at a product, adding music and narration increases retention of the information and is an interactive way for customers to absorb content. YouTube is a common tool that many companies use to promote their brand, products and events.

iNFOgrAPHiCS Infographics are steadily increasing the flow of marketing content and drawing in consumers on a variety of platforms. Infographics can be formatted into three different forms:

• Static • Motion • Interactive

Infographics make it easy to place a quick statistic in a brochure and surround it with content, allowing the customer to indulge in layers of data in an appealing and visual way.

ViSUAl NOTe-TAKiNg Similar to infographics, visual note-taking allows marketers to tell a story in a condensed way using a combination of words and images.

Visual note-taking is a way to draw out a conversation at a live event, such as a webinar, and put it online in an engaging way. Followers are more likely to remember the content from a webinar if they are able to visualize it and relate images to information.

COMiCS According to a series of studies done at the Univer-sity of California, Santa Barbara, students learned 51 percent more from cartoons rather than text. Visual content allows companies to communicate complex issues and present information in a way that is ap-pealing and relatable for customers. Comics are an easy way to communicate a subject that may involve dry text or numbers and transform it into memorable piece.

Comics are also great ways to:

• Explain step-by-step how-to’s

• Profile people or teams

• Express an opinion

• Connect with kids (and adults)

• Sell products, services and ideas

MeMeS Memes are another fun and interactive method for sharing company information and promoting brands. A good meme takes a fun approach to common industry topics with limited text. Including a simple image with a customer quote is an easy way to share content and make a brand more relatable.In today’s digital world, visual content plays a vital role in nearly every successful marketing campaign.

1

Guest,

V isual content marketing has become an effective tool for marketers to reach their

target audience and promote their brand in an interactive way. In a recent webinar, Maria Pergolino of Marketo and Jason Lankow of Column Five Media discussed numerous ways that companies can incorporate visual content in their marketing campaigns. Below are key points and excerpts from their webinar.

Many marketing campaigns include visual content to draw in prospective customers and avoid content overload. Oftentimes when we read an article, we do not have enough time to read all of the text and we skim, potentially missing useful information. Many companies are now taking advantage of the human eye’s interest in visual images and incorporating this in their marketing strategies. Six types of visual content give marketers creative and fun ways to promote a company or product: photos, videos, infographics, visual note-taking, comics and memes.

Before including visual content in your marketing plan, it’s important to follow the key steps to ensure that your campaign is a success:

• Create a compelling story

• Choose the right type of content

• Find the right partners

• Focus on great design and branding

• Promote your content strategically

Once you’re ready to advertise your content, the next step is to decide which platform will be most beneficial to your campaign and reach your target audience. An aspect to consider when uploading visual content is search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO is the process of improving your company’s visibility in search engines. Highlighting key terms that customers may use when searching for a product is something to keep in mind when uploading content. It will affect how often your site shows up in search results. A number of platforms allow marketers to take advantage of visual content, including but not limited to Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook.

Photos

Photos are a great way to link your content to social media sites and increase readership. With 80 million users on Instagram and 20 million users on Pinterest, linking your content to photos is a key ingredient in driving interaction between customers and products on media platforms.

Pinterest is a media platform based on images and a perfect example of how visual content can be used to promote products and brands. Pinterest gives users an interactive experience to content by allowing them to browse and share images. Users can navigate their way through Pinterest by searching for content and liking it or repinning it onto their own page. Users are also able to upload their own images to the site with links to recipes, DIY projects and more.

The more traffic an image receives, the more likely it is to appear on the site’s homepage.

Facebook has also taken a more interactive approach with Timeline, giving users the option to browse through a company’s background and photos with ease. Timeline also allows companies to highlight important posts on their profile, such as a new product or award, and interact with customers through messaging.

4

visual content

audiences

&captures engages9

Major changes in 2013 for folded self-Mailers

• Final folds on the top will no longer be allowed

• Self-mailers that needed only one tab on the top, will now need two

• Quarter-fold self-mailers will need to be at least 70# text

• no tabs will be allowed on the bottom

• The final folded panel creates the non-address side of the mail piece

Postage changes for 2013

• For 2013, the USPS has announced pricing increases on letters and postcards. These increases will go into effect on January 27th.

intelligent Mail Barcode (iMB) in 2013

• IMB is a reality on January 28, 2013

• To get the best automation discounts for your mail (both outgoing and incoming) your mail needs to have the IMB code

paper Cougar Digital Color Copy 100# Text

press Darwill’s HP indigo 7000 Digital Press

design Kim PannosProduction Notes

Post office

Updates2013

Details on all the 2013 USPS changes can be found

by visiting darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

or by scanning this code from your smartphone.

”

White Paper workflowDarwillisms in Detail

NeedsBeltone Electronics Corporation has been a customer of Darwill’s for over 30 years. In that time, Darwill has moved from printing flyers that get mailed with a cheshire label (remember those?) to providing a robust marketing engine that includes:

• 35 customizable direct mail templates in a web–to-print application

• A campaign testing environment that tests 48 new campaigns a year

• Integrated data and results tracking

• 30+ million pieces of mail annually

• 1,500 dealer stores supported

One of the challenges of having this many “moving parts” with a program of this scale was the management of the inventory of pre-printed masters (or shells) that would have to be produced, cut, and stored. These shells would need to be pulled from inventory every week for imprinting (laser personalization) for the twice weekly production run. The coordination and space requirements around this effort slowed productivity and production schedules, affecting in-home dates.

SolutionOne of the reasons Darwill installed our Oce 3500 inkjet press one year ago was to help alleviate challenges like this. This groundbreaking technology allows for 4/4 color personalization for long run direct mail (among other products) in “one pass”. No more pre-printed shells cut to size and then fed through a laser printer. In this “white paper workflow”, blank paper starts on one side of the press, and cut to size, 4 color personalized letters are ready for folding and mailing. These letters (with any variation of 4 color images all integrated in) allows for:

• A single production stream allowing for postage savings when common formats are used

• No inventory to manage or throw away at the end of a campaign

• Flexible testing environment-add test groups without interrupting production

• Quicker manufacturing time because of less material handling

“ What do you do

when you have 131

different inventory

items, twice a week

mailing schedules

& 30 million pieces

of mail a year??

You get a white

paper workflow. ”

10 3

D o you have a mobile strategy as part of your marketing plan? If not, it’s time you did. We all

know how important email and a Web presence are to customer marketing. Now, according to research by Prosper Mobile Insights, more consumers are conducting these activities exclusively on their mobile phones.

For example, more than half of mobile users say they access email only on their mobile phones. Forty-five percent do Internet searches only on their mobile phones. Think about it—consumers are scrapping their computers in favor of their mobile devices.

As consumers transition their everyday activities to the mobile world, you need to have a strategy for reaching them at that level. You need to go where your customers go.

It’s time to start incorporating mobile marketing into your print marketing mix. This doesn’t need to be complex or over-whelming. To the right are a few simple, easy steps to get you started.

QR CoDes:

Add QR codes to your direct mail pieces, your invoices, and your envelopes. Leave the phone numbers, the URLs, and the tear-out forms. Just add QR Codes as an optional way to respond.

shoRt CoDes:

Start using short codes for promotions. For example, “Text ‘SUPERDEAL’ to 0550 and receive your free coupon!” This not only gives your customer a way to respond to the promotion immediately, but it gives you their mobile phone number for future marketing contacts.

text AleRts:

Offer to send text alerts as a customer service. Restaurants offer to text patrons when their tables are ready. Doctor’s offices offer to text appointment reminders to their patients one day ahead of time. Walmart uses text messaging very effectively to alert customers when their photo lab orders are ready for pick-up.

MoBIle lAnDIng PAges:

Create a mobile website for your business. Template-based software makes this easy. If you’re not ready to launch a full mobile site, you can still begin to create mobile-friendly landing pages for specific promotions. Especially when using QR codes, be sure that you are sending people to a mobile-optimized page.

When you think “mobile,” you don’t necessarily have to think about mobile payments . . . yet. It doesn’t have to be about selling products. the first step is simply getting customers engaged with you on a mobile basis. then imagine where that relationship can go over time!

Combining Mobile & Print?

Contributed by: Jill SCHWArTz Account Executived: 708-236-4996e: jschw@darwill.com

Download the full case study at darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

1

GUEST,ARE YOU

Order FREE Personalized Note Cards at

darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

11

QUICk MARkETINg TIP

10 ways to use qr codes

Transport & Travel Make travel interactive! Use QR codes on advertising panels in buses, trains & planes linking to websites where people can

get additional details about their destination. Or what

about making the QR code go to a game or a story

that kids can enjoy while traveling?

HOTelS & TOUriSM

Place QR codes on marketing materials that lead to a video of things to do and places to see. This gives hotel guests a quick and efficient way to discover more. Check to see if wireless Internet is available and free to use where you’re placing the QR codes.

SUPerMArKeTS & grOCerS

Try placing QR codes next to products or on product packaging. The QR codes can lead to online recipes helping promote other items available in the store. The shopper leaves prepared to cook a delicious meal and the store sells more products!

reTAil

Not enough room in the shop for all of your products?

Put images of more products with QR codes in spare areas, such as changing rooms or available wall panels. It allows customers to find more products, download coupons or order online.

leiSUre & FAMilY ATTrACTiONS

Make family attractions, such as museums, more fun by putting QR codes next to exhibitions linking to presentations and videos that not only educate but also entertain.

eDUCATiON

Use QR codes on workbooks and learning materials to direct students to online resources. For example, point them to a repository of past exam questions.

SPOrT & FiTNeSS

Ever visit a gym and wonder how a certain piece of equipment works? QR codes next to gym equipment could direct gym members to videos explaining how to use the equipment and its benefits.

eNTerTAiNMeNT

QR codes can be used on marketing materials promoting

films, bands and theater shows, allowing people to view previews

and hear songs—ultimately encouraging them to buy tickets.

Restaurants & Cafes When you give customers their bill, include a branded card with a QR code on it. Direct customers to a mobile site where they can leave feedback and download a coupon for a return visit. You capture their data and gain information that can help improve your service; they get an incentive. It’s a win/ win!

Media Use QR codes in magazines, newspapers and books to give readers an interactive experience. Use a QR code in a news story, link it to photos and videos, and encourage readers to leave comments about the article.

To get your imagination pumping, check out these 10 different ways to use QR codes in 10 industries:

3 Private label enjoys loyalty too.“Private label products have captured the attention, the respect and the wallets of American consumers,” the report declares. The researchers found nearly all consumers purchase private brand products these days, and more than one in three actually seek out private label products.

Although 47% of consumers are buying more private label today versus before the economic downturn began, the strength of private label isn’t simply a result of belt-tightening. Consumer perceptions of the quality of private label products have become quite favorable in some categories. Across retail channels, store brands are viewed as offering the same or better quality as national brands by more than 50% of the population.Private label loyalty is strong and growing across many of the top 100 CPg categories, the report shows.Concluding recommendations come straight from the report: • Invest heavily in establishing and strengthening brand loyalty, focusing on and delivering against the most meaningful needs of key and target shoppers.

• Leverage frequent and granular assessments of core and target shoppers to ensure a comprehensive and always-current understanding of value drivers for key categories and brands.

2 as brand loyalty

increases, consumers are less sensitive to price changes. While marketers may know this intuitively, SymphonyIRI reports category data to prove the point: “In sugar and butter, where loyalty is pretty low, substantial price hikes have led to sharp drops in loyalty during the past three years. In blades and dish detergent, on the other hand, relatively high brand loyalty has continued to grow despite rather sharp price increases.”

This should be good news to the many companies whose categories have been hit with rising raw material and manufacturing costs. It suggests that consumers accept some price increases—loyalty is leverage.

And just because a category may not inspire high loyalty in general, it’s not stuck. The research shows that brands can still build loyalty during inflationary times. Chocolate candy is an example of a category with relatively low average loyalty (16%) that has seen an increase in loyalty between 2008 and 2011.

1 Price does not

equal value.

Perceived value drives loyal

purchase behavior. The report

explains, “…even when times

are tight, brands are important.

However, in the context of the

new, more conservative world of

CPg, brands that provide value

are critical.” But value isn’t about

price alone.

The researchers found that when

it comes to brand decisions, 79%

of consumers consider price and

76% consider past usage and

trust of the brand. Shoppers also

factor requests of household

members, product labels, in-store

displays and much more into

their buying decisions.

Further, twice as many people

agree with the statement, “I tend

to buy the items that give me

the best value for the money”

as those agreeing, “I tend to

buy the lowest price item.”

So, bottom line, brands can’t

bribe customers into loyalty

with price.

2

tIMeless tRuths

Yogi Berra once lamented that “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Today, companies have a related complaint: “Brand loyalty ain’t what it used to be.”

No longer can brands expect long-term loyalty, even from their most faithful customers. As economic pressures mount, competitive landscapes shift and life simply happens, it may seem pointless for companies to try to lock in customer loyalty.

Nonetheless, the folks at SymphonyIRI group released a study titled “Brand Loyalty: How

Understanding Brand Equity Impacts Brand Loyalty and Delivers to the Top and Bottom

Line,” which attempts to deconstruct the drivers of brand loyalty.

The scope of the report is limited to consumer packaged goods, so the findings may not apply to all categories. Also, the analysis defines loyalty as

“greater than 50% of buyer’s total purchasing is of a single brand, not including private label.”

WhIle You CAn ARgue WhetheR oR not thIs Is An ACCuRAte DefInItIon of loYAltY, the RePoRt PoInts to A feW tRuths ABout BRAnD loYAltY WhICh stAnD on theIR oWn AnD WhICh stAnD the test of tIMe.

By Denise Lee Yohn, brand as business bites™

about BRAnD loYAltY

Connect with me on

Dear Guest,

Sometimes when we get tothis part of winter, we need alittle kick start. The cold andgray still has a few weeks to goand we can use a littlepick-me-up. This issue ofDarwillisms won’t cure ALLyour winter blues but we havesome pretty good ideas in hereon how to energize yourbusiness! We’ve covered avariety of topics in hereincluding the latest in postalupdates, where you can useQR codes, and how to measuresuccess in your directmarketing campaigns.

Go to your personal micrositeat darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631 and takeadvantage of all the greatcontent we have in this issueof Darwillisms.

If you have any ideas orquestions, give me a call.

Regards,

D: 708-236-4962C: 708-557-1619E: mpage@darwill.com

Your Darwill Contact:

Mark Pageau,Director of Sales

11

QUICk MARkETINg TIP

10 ways to use qr codes

Transport & Travel Make travel interactive! Use QR codes on advertising panels in buses, trains & planes linking to websites where people can

get additional details about their destination. Or what

about making the QR code go to a game or a story

that kids can enjoy while traveling?

HOTelS & TOUriSM

Place QR codes on marketing materials that lead to a video of things to do and places to see. This gives hotel guests a quick and efficient way to discover more. Check to see if wireless Internet is available and free to use where you’re placing the QR codes.

SUPerMArKeTS & grOCerS

Try placing QR codes next to products or on product packaging. The QR codes can lead to online recipes helping promote other items available in the store. The shopper leaves prepared to cook a delicious meal and the store sells more products!

reTAil

Not enough room in the shop for all of your products?

Put images of more products with QR codes in spare areas, such as changing rooms or available wall panels. It allows customers to find more products, download coupons or order online.

leiSUre & FAMilY ATTrACTiONS

Make family attractions, such as museums, more fun by putting QR codes next to exhibitions linking to presentations and videos that not only educate but also entertain.

eDUCATiON

Use QR codes on workbooks and learning materials to direct students to online resources. For example, point them to a repository of past exam questions.

SPOrT & FiTNeSS

Ever visit a gym and wonder how a certain piece of equipment works? QR codes next to gym equipment could direct gym members to videos explaining how to use the equipment and its benefits.

eNTerTAiNMeNT

QR codes can be used on marketing materials promoting

films, bands and theater shows, allowing people to view previews

and hear songs—ultimately encouraging them to buy tickets.

Restaurants & Cafes When you give customers their bill, include a branded card with a QR code on it. Direct customers to a mobile site where they can leave feedback and download a coupon for a return visit. You capture their data and gain information that can help improve your service; they get an incentive. It’s a win/ win!

Media Use QR codes in magazines, newspapers and books to give readers an interactive experience. Use a QR code in a news story, link it to photos and videos, and encourage readers to leave comments about the article.

To get your imagination pumping, check out these 10 different ways to use QR codes in 10 industries:

3 Private label enjoys loyalty too.“Private label products have captured the attention, the respect and the wallets of American consumers,” the report declares. The researchers found nearly all consumers purchase private brand products these days, and more than one in three actually seek out private label products.

Although 47% of consumers are buying more private label today versus before the economic downturn began, the strength of private label isn’t simply a result of belt-tightening. Consumer perceptions of the quality of private label products have become quite favorable in some categories. Across retail channels, store brands are viewed as offering the same or better quality as national brands by more than 50% of the population.Private label loyalty is strong and growing across many of the top 100 CPg categories, the report shows.Concluding recommendations come straight from the report: • Invest heavily in establishing and strengthening brand loyalty, focusing on and delivering against the most meaningful needs of key and target shoppers.

• Leverage frequent and granular assessments of core and target shoppers to ensure a comprehensive and always-current understanding of value drivers for key categories and brands.

2 as brand loyalty

increases, consumers are less sensitive to price changes. While marketers may know this intuitively, SymphonyIRI reports category data to prove the point: “In sugar and butter, where loyalty is pretty low, substantial price hikes have led to sharp drops in loyalty during the past three years. In blades and dish detergent, on the other hand, relatively high brand loyalty has continued to grow despite rather sharp price increases.”

This should be good news to the many companies whose categories have been hit with rising raw material and manufacturing costs. It suggests that consumers accept some price increases—loyalty is leverage.

And just because a category may not inspire high loyalty in general, it’s not stuck. The research shows that brands can still build loyalty during inflationary times. Chocolate candy is an example of a category with relatively low average loyalty (16%) that has seen an increase in loyalty between 2008 and 2011.

1 Price does not

equal value.

Perceived value drives loyal

purchase behavior. The report

explains, “…even when times

are tight, brands are important.

However, in the context of the

new, more conservative world of

CPg, brands that provide value

are critical.” But value isn’t about

price alone.

The researchers found that when

it comes to brand decisions, 79%

of consumers consider price and

76% consider past usage and

trust of the brand. Shoppers also

factor requests of household

members, product labels, in-store

displays and much more into

their buying decisions.

Further, twice as many people

agree with the statement, “I tend

to buy the items that give me

the best value for the money”

as those agreeing, “I tend to

buy the lowest price item.”

So, bottom line, brands can’t

bribe customers into loyalty

with price.

2

tIMeless tRuths

Yogi Berra once lamented that “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Today, companies have a related complaint: “Brand loyalty ain’t what it used to be.”

No longer can brands expect long-term loyalty, even from their most faithful customers. As economic pressures mount, competitive landscapes shift and life simply happens, it may seem pointless for companies to try to lock in customer loyalty.

Nonetheless, the folks at SymphonyIRI group released a study titled “Brand Loyalty: How

Understanding Brand Equity Impacts Brand Loyalty and Delivers to the Top and Bottom

Line,” which attempts to deconstruct the drivers of brand loyalty.

The scope of the report is limited to consumer packaged goods, so the findings may not apply to all categories. Also, the analysis defines loyalty as

“greater than 50% of buyer’s total purchasing is of a single brand, not including private label.”

WhIle You CAn ARgue WhetheR oR not thIs Is An ACCuRAte DefInItIon of loYAltY, the RePoRt PoInts to A feW tRuths ABout BRAnD loYAltY WhICh stAnD on theIR oWn AnD WhICh stAnD the test of tIMe.

By Denise Lee Yohn, brand as business bites™

about BRAnD loYAltY

Connect with me on

Dear Guest,

Sometimes when we get tothis part of winter, we need alittle kick start. The cold andgray still has a few weeks to goand we can use a littlepick-me-up. This issue ofDarwillisms won’t cure ALLyour winter blues but we havesome pretty good ideas in hereon how to energize yourbusiness! We’ve covered avariety of topics in hereincluding the latest in postalupdates, where you can useQR codes, and how to measuresuccess in your directmarketing campaigns.

Go to your personal micrositeat darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631 and takeadvantage of all the greatcontent we have in this issueof Darwillisms.

If you have any ideas orquestions, give me a call.

Regards,

D: 708-236-4962C: 708-557-1619E: mpage@darwill.com

Your Darwill Contact:

Mark Pageau,Director of Sales

11900 West Roosevelt RoadHillside, Illinois 60162

PRSRT STDU.S. PoSTage

PAIDPeRmiT no. 4113

ChiCago, il

© 2012 Darwill, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Visit the Darwillisms Blog for news and views on what is happening in the world of integrated communications.

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Hey Guest, check us out at:darwillisms.com/HolliaPickett631

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