How to use branded stationery as a marketing tool
Cath Riley
Using branded stationery as part of your offline marketing mix is a great way to showcase the breadth of your brand in a subtle yet effective manner.
Whether you’re trying to engage your customers, keep peers sweet, or build brand awareness, a branded cotton shopper, planner, or water bottle may be just the tool you need. By rewarding your clients and peers with a little bit of your brand that they can keep, you increase brand loyalty and strengthen long-term relationships.
And by comparison, branded stationery is a fairly cost-effective offline marketing tool. It’s also one of the few marketing channels that offer a substantial boost on cost per impression – people are far more likely to pass on branded merchandise to a friend than they are to forward a promotional email or letter.
Partnerships
According to the Chartered Institute of Marketers (CIM), one of the most important elements of a successful marketing mix is the inclusion of partnerships. We work in an ever more collaborative sector, where advocacy and affiliation are two factors which may convince a potential client to become a loyal customer.
For example, when clients of your peers or partners are served tea in a mug with your brand on it during a meeting, you’re already well on your way to establishing brand awareness and credibility in their mind.
Add personality and interest to the workplace
Office cupboards and drawers can become dumping grounds for various mismatched items of stationery, merchandise, and other print products.
By utilising a strong, consistent branded approach to your internal stationery choices, you show clients and employees alike that your brand identity is strong (as well as visually appealing). This is a subtle way to showcase your brand, but an effective one all the same.
Event promotion
When it comes to putting a face to your brand’s name, there’s no better way to network than to attend sector-specific exhibitions, conferences, and trade shows. And with branded promotional stationery, you can give the people you meet something to remember you by.
Of course, business cards are important and should not be underestimated – they’re still the leading print marketing tool used by professionals, especially within B2B circles. However, offering branded freebies to the people you meet at events is an excellent way to maintain a sense of credibility in their mind.
Step away from the norm and look into printing a varied range of branded freebies – from Rubik’s cubes, lanyards, and sticky notes to keyring torches, promotional mints, and heat packs.
Of course, it’s important to choose items that suit your business – a health food company might find that giving out branded sweets as a freebie is going to send pretty mixed messages to potential customers or clients.
Branded stationery from Northern Print Solutions
If you’re looking to increase your offline marketing reach and employ some new tactics, get in touch with NPS to discuss your branded stationery project.
We pride ourselves on high-quality products and an exceptionally fast turnaround, so you can rest assured that your branded merchandise will give your customers and peers the best first impression possible, as well as leave a lasting impact.
Plus, we’re able to source the weird and the wonderful – if you have an idea we want to hear it! Get in touch with the NPS team today and see what we can do.
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Newcastle Eagles
Cath Riley
The Project:
The Newcastle Eagles are no stranger to the clock ticking down. Looking for a time-conscious printer they also wanted to develop a strong relationship with their printer to ensure their brand was represented well. Having worked with Northern Print Solutions previously, they approached us to become their print partner to help take a little pressure off their marketing department by managing and producing their range of promotional and printed materials for the games.
The Solution:
Working quickly with the Newcastle Eagles we helped design the fantastic promotional materials that help make the game the family event that it is. From gigantic foam fingers, and “merch” for their shop to advertising signage, programmes and flyers, we made doubly sure that their brand colours were consistent, especially important as colour variation can occur when using such a wide range of materials, machines and inks.
We have loved working together with Northern Print Solutions and have viewed them as an extension of our team. They have heaps of new ideas for reaching out to new fans and always have our budget in mind. Ultimately we have had a strong successful partnership together.
— Dan Black, Sales and Communications Manager
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Will digital print ever replace litho printing?
Cath Riley
Technology in the print industry is moving quickly.
Over the last decade, we’ve seen books become PDFs and experienced the introduction of 3D printers. On top of that, there’s been a general shift away from using too much paper as society aims to become more eco-friendly and reduce stress on the planet.
As we continue to digitise, the idea that digital printing is set to replace traditional lithographic (litho) printing has been mulled over within the industry. Large-format digital printing can, depending on the project, offer a cheaper and quicker alternative to litho printing.
Whether this is enough to overtake traditional litho printing, however, is yet to be seen.
What is litho printing?
As the industry choice for many years now, litho printing offers an excellent quality product for both long and short runs and allows you to design your artwork using spot colours.
Using CMYK plate technology, colours can be replicated exactly as they appear in the artwork. Plus, you can print onto a variety of materials (up to 600 gsm), including wood, metal, and cardstock. Litho printing guarantees you a high-quality product at a reasonable cost; especially for larger volume print runs or more complex projects.
What’s the difference between litho and digital printing?
With litho printing, an image is physically replicated multiple times using colour plates. Digital printing involves taking a digital image file and feeding it into a printer capable of translating it into ink, which it then transfers onto your chosen base material.
This means that digital printing doesn’t include anywhere near as much pre-press time as litho printing, making it a more cost-effective choice for many projects.
Digital printers come in two main types – xerographic and inkjet. With inkjet digital printing, the image is formed by propelling small drops of ink from a nozzle at high speed. It’s great for printing short-run publications such as books or personalised photo books, making the whole process simpler and cheaper.
Xerographic printing uses an electrical charge to attract tiny particles of toner to your chosen base material, before the image passes through a heater that fuses the toner and makes the image permanent. Often, you’ll find that xerographic printers are used for smaller book print runs, brochures, and transactional applications like bills, bank documents, and direct mail.
So, will digital print ever replace litho printing?
Some people think that as digital printing technology evolves, the demand for litho printing might die out.
However, just as video didn’t kill radio, it’s important to understand that both types of printing have the capacity to evolve at the same time, as well as complement each other.
We’re already starting to see hybrid printing presses appear within the industry as an alternative to choosing litho over digital, and vice versa. A hybrid press is able to digitise much of the preprint process using computers, while still producing your print project using an analogue method.
Plus, you will find that litho printing excels in its own way, just as digital print offers an entirely different set of advantages. So, when you come to choose the right type of print for your project, it’s important to remember that each project has its own requirements and characteristics.
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Add value to your pitch with print
Cath Riley
Need to set yourself apart from your competitors in a pitch scenario?
Pitches can be nerve-wracking, especially if you’re facing a particularly intimidating client, or trying to win someone over from a competitor.
It can sometimes feel like you’re struggling to stand out, even if you manage to impress them with great slides, fantastic content, and comprehensive analysis.
To set yourself apart from the crowd and add value to your pitch, invest in printed materials. It gives visitors something to take away with them and makes sure everyone leaves with the information they need – after all, not everyone takes good notes.
Use booklets to tell your story
With printed booklets, you can make use of significant physical real estate and include details like company history and team members that would otherwise be missed off a slide.
You may also wish to include case studies, details of research or analysis, or even testimonials – these are all great ways to instill confidence in your potential client and showcase exactly what it is your business is capable of.
Use folded leaflets to summarise your pitch
Don’t let your opportunities sit on the table whilst your prospective client walks out of the door!
Folded leaflets printed with the main points of your pitch are a fantastic way to give attendees points to reference once they leave your office.
Use business cards to maintain a lasting impression
This goes without saying, but you should always bring business cards to a presentation or proposal meeting. They, just like flyers, act as a great piece of takeaway marketing that will continue to represent you and your brand long after the recipient has left your office.
Have you ever handed your business card over to someone and had them try to get a feel for which level of cardstock you’re using? It’s a well-known fact that the quality of your business card should be at least above 400gsm, especially if you work in creative circles.
Go the extra mile and add an unreal finish like foil or spot UV. You could even duplex or triplex your cards – this involves gluing two or three sheets of card together for a classier impression.
Use presentation folders to keep everything together
Don’t leave your visitors scrambling to keep all of the above print in a messy pile on the table – it’s distracting, can be confusing, and may be particularly irritating if you’re handing out a lot of paper.
Professionally designed and printed presentation folders offer order and give an air of professionalism to your meetings. Clients will be able to walk away with all your flyers, research, and booklets easily contained within a smart, branded folder.
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How to upsell print as a reseller
Cath Riley
Two ways marketers can earn more revenue: Cross-selling & up-selling.
In marketing, there are two ways to make a customer spend more at the point of purchase – cross-selling, and upselling. Cross-selling is when you suggest complementary products to go along with the one the customer is already going to buy – think about going into a shop, buying a t-shirt, and having a sales rep convince you to buy a shirt to go over the top of it.
Upselling, on the other hand, is when you convince a customer to go with a more expensive version, upgrade, or larger package of product than the one they were originally going to buy.
This is like adding a pair of earphones to an e-commerce basket and being persuaded to buy a more expensive deluxe pair thanks to a prompt with a testimonial attached.
When you’re upselling print, you need to completely understand where your customer is coming from, what their limitations are (especially cost-wise), and make sure you don’t come across as unnecessarily pushy.
Look at how you can upsell the brief
When you receive the client’s brief, start thinking about how you could upsell their original request. Maybe they’re looking for a few roll up banners – ask them what for. If it’s for a trade event or showcase, consider upselling postcards, leaflets, brochures, and business cards.
If it’s a more permanent display feature (such as for the inside of an office, or in a foyer) then look at more internal print options. They might be in need of new notebooks for the office, NCR pads, or even branded folders so when clients come in, they’re prepared and organised.
Once the quote is confirmed, upsell more!
As a Northern Print customer, you order and we deliver. However, as a reseller yourself, you should always take the opportunity to offer your clients a greater print service.
For example, you may have a startup client who has ordered their first set of professional business cards. You may be able to upsell this order by offering them a branded stationery starter pack at a reduced price – they get a bargain, and you get a better sale.
Remember to include marketing materials in outgoing orders
Invest in the power of print to ensure customer retention and loyalty by tucking flyers, brochures, or leaflets into each order you send out.
Not only is this a chance to personalise your interactions with your customers, but it also gives you the opportunity to upsell future services and offers directly.
Digital Print from Northern Print Solutions
We work with you to ensure you’re always capable of upselling a product or service to your customers – this keeps us both happy! Get in touch today to discuss a client brief or project, and we’ll be able to advise you on what exactly you can add to your proposal.
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Why choose poster printing?
Cath Riley
Posters have been a part of everyday life ever since the printing industry worked out how to mass-produce coloured prints on an industrial scale. The mid-19th century saw massive advancements in printing technology, meaning that poster printing became more widely used for everything from promotion, advertising, and art.
With the advent of digital marketing and advertising, some say that printed marketing is becoming obsolete. And yet, the print industry is still going strong. In this article, NPS looks at the reasons why you might choose poster printing.
Targeted advertising
Posters come in many different sizes, meaning they can be placed in multiple different locations. Poster printing lets you target a message specifically to the people who will walk past and see it.
Whether you’re putting your posters in a shop window or tacking them to lampposts – poster printing is a great targeted advertising tool that will ensure your message is heard by the highest number of people possible.
Cost-effective
Compared to other types of printed marketing materials, poster printing is relatively affordable – and always cost-effective. Consider the cost-per-impression of an online ad – most impressions are made on people already searching for relevant keywords.
With poster printing, each poster occupies a physical location, meaning it can be seen by not only your target audience but also other people walking by. This is because people don’t choose to look at poster advertising – it’s there, it’s in their face, and they’ll read it without even noticing they are!
Posters can be many sizes, styles, and finishes – NPS offer poster printing on digital and lithographic presses, so you get the best poster printing experience tailored to your brief.
They work!
Over 50% of millennials (those aged 22-38) pay attention to print ads. And, a recent survey by Outdoor Media Centre found that 92% of shoppers said they’d seen outdoor poster advertising in the 30 minutes before they purchased something, with 82% saying they’d impulse purchased on that same day.
Think about it – how many times have you seen a “SALE” poster in a shop window and felt tempted to pop in for a look? Choosing poster printing over banner printing or flyer printing means you can place your core message at eye level in a place where it’s guaranteed to make an impact.
Versatility
Poster printing doesn’t have to be bland. Posters are amazingly versatile and offer loads of benefits, including:
- A huge range of eye-catching sizes
- Amazing colour combinations
- Bold, outspoken fonts
- Long-lasting finishes
Poster Printing from Northern Print Solutions
At NPS, our poster printing services include both digital and lithographic printing services. Interested? Either SHOP ONLINE WITH US or get in touch with a member of our team today.
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How to get the most out of your bespoke packaging
Cath Riley
At Northern Print Solutions, we’re a pretty creative bunch, and we’re lucky to have some really creative clients. Over the years, we’ve been able to work on some fantastic packaging projects that have really challenged us and pushed the boundaries of our bespoke packaging offering.
We really think that to get the most out of your bespoke packaging project, you need to come to us ready to experiment. Our presses are optimised for short runs, so if you’re looking at taking a few prototypes back to a stakeholders meeting, we’ve got you covered.
Once the packaging design is finalised, we still think there are a few ways you can optimise the overall experience for your customers. Here are our top tips for getting the most out of your bespoke packaging…
Get sticky!
Packaging is a fantastic way to start integrating your online and offline marketing efforts. Chances are, whatever is inside is going to a paying customer, so you already have their interest. Maybe they’re subscribed to your mailing list, or they follow your brand’s Instagram feed.
Give customers who purchase from you something special in the form of a sticker. You heard it right! A sticker is a fantastic opportunity to quickly personalise each order, whether you want to add a QR code that links to a one-time offer, or a set of social media credentials to encourage less internet-savvy customers to engage with you across as many channels as possible.
Stickers can also be used in a far simpler manner. If you’re choosing to go with plain, easily produced packaging, you can diversify the customer experience by using a range of stickers to brand each box.
And, if you choose Northern Print Solutions to fulfil and deliver your packaging, you can ensure that each piece is completed to the highest possible standard, and handled with the utmost care.
Make it personal…
As we mentioned above, your customers might already follow you on social media and interact with you online. When they purchase something from you, your packaging may be the first physical interaction that they have with your brand.
This is your chance to add a personal touch, which research shows that consumers really appreciate! Of course, whether your idea of a personal touch is scalable or not will depend on the size of your company and any subsequent growth – handwritten notes are popular for small shops but can be difficult to manage once a company begins to pull in a higher volume of orders.
We’re always on hand to discuss your ideas. Maybe you want to scan in your handwriting to give the impression of a handwritten signature on your packaging labels – we can use the variability of digital print to diversify what is printed so that each customer experiences something truly unique. It’s really up to you!
Make it a package deal!
Including a well-designed print product like a postcard or leaflet is another fantastic way to add value to your bespoke packaging and further engage your customers. Like the sticker, they can be used to notify the customer of an upcoming event, sale, or exclusive offer.
This is also a fantastic opportunity to ask your customers for feedback. Slipping a feedback form into the packaging will encourage customers to leave feedback on the item they’ve purchased, especially if you decide to incorporate something like a QR code link that will allow them to leave a review online.
Interested in our Bespoke Packaging service?
When clients bring exciting new ideas to the table, we go the extra mile to make them happen. If you’re looking for a company that will give your bespoke packaging as much attention as it deserves, get in touch with a member of the Northern Print Solutions team today
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What are the benefits of large format print?
Cath Riley
At Northern Print Solutions, we’re big fans of large format print. So much so, that we recently invested in some brilliant large-format presses, so you can get your print made bigger (and better) than ever before. Not only are they faster, but they’re more efficient, meaning our turnaround times are shorter… which in turn makes you happier!
There’re more to large format than just the size. In this blog, we take you through our top benefits of large format print.
Large format print is fast!
Your desktop printer might be relatively quick, but it can’t compare to the speed of an industrial large format printing press. A large format press is designed to work quickly and efficiently even when printing wider items like banners and posters.
Don’t fiddle with feeding multiple sheets of paper into your Epsom, hoping that when you tape them together they form the image you’re trying to display. Use our large format printing service instead.
Large format print offers high quality on larger prints
There’s a common misconception that printing something bigger reduces its quality. With large format printing, this isn’t the case.
These presses are designed to handle higher quality, larger images, meaning that regardless of whether you choose digital or litho – your print is going to come out looking sharp as anything so long as your artwork is set to 300dpi and ideally logos are vector.
Large format print replicates colours accurately
Again, we’re here to dispel the myth that printing using a large format digital press means the colours in your images aren’t going to be reproduced accurately.
Most companies stick with digital large format print as their cornerstone offering, and it makes sense – digital print is quick; tends to be more affordable for you, the customer; and can easily reproduce CMYK colours with accuracy that is constantly improving in line with technology.
We also offer large format lithographic printing, which has a longer turnaround because it involves more pre-press setup. Lithographic printing is extremely high quality and uses pre-mixed inks applied to print plates to achieve accurate reproduction of your chosen image.
For those larger prints that you want to last a while, large format lithographic printing can really add value to your product.
Large format print supports a range of substrates
Substrates – the ‘base material’ that you print on – vary greatly. One project might involve a simple cardstock, whilst another might benefit from aluminium sheeting. The fantastic thing about large format presses is their ability to print on more unusual substrates, thus broadening the choices you can make in the design phase of your print project.
Whether you’re looking to print signage, wallpaper, or just a simple outdoor poster – a large format printing press will be able to deliver fantastic results.
Has our large format piqued your pr-interest?
We offer a range of large format products such as A1 posters, outdoor banners, roller banners and signage in our online shop. However, at Northern Print Solutions, we’re dedicated to thinking outside of the box. So, if you’ve got something bespoke that you think our large format presses could handle… get in touch with an expert member of our team today.
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Top tips for creating a personalised print marketing campaign
Cath Riley
Print marketing can take many forms – flyers, posters, catalogues, brochures… the list goes on. Whether you’re looking to send direct mail leaflets through doors, or display posters across the country, your print marketing campaign could benefit from a spot of personalisation.
Unlike digital marketing, you can’t automate the personalised attributes of a print marketing campaign. This might sound limiting, but really it means you have the opportunity to be more deliberate with your choices.
We’ve compiled our top tips for creating a personalised print marketing campaign so you can get the best out of your print and do the best for your customers.
What is personalisation in print marketing?
In print marketing, personalisation is using customer data to customise the content you send your recipients.
Let’s say you’re planning a direct mail marketing campaign and you’re advertising offers for your nationwide group of stores. You can use an existing customer’s address to personalise the printed materials with local offers, discounts based on previous purchases, and even offer directions to their nearest branch of your business.
If you were looking to target new customers, you could use more generalised data specific to the location of your printed marketing materials. For example, bus stop posters are a fantastic way to grab the attention of local commuters, and they will be more likely to be receptive to in-jokes about the community and the use of colloquialisms in the copy.
Location-based personalisation requires coordination and planning, though – check out this faux-pas from HSBC, who put up a proud ‘You are Newcastle’ poster… in Nottingham.
Why use personalisation in print marketing?
Personalisation in print marketing can be a fantastic tool if used correctly. It can improve the attractiveness of a product by making it more applicable to the recipient, and subsequently increases usability – offering directions to a local store is more likely to be successful than simply supplying recipients with a generic nationwide website.
Personalisation in print marketing is also proven to increase enquiries, orders, and ROI. By involving the customer from the outset, they feel as though they have already made a decision to affiliate themselves with your brand, products, or services. This makes conversions more probable.
How can I implement personalisation into my marketing campaigns?
Basic personalisation can be achieved using a simple database with names, addresses, and a few other additional bits of information, as well as an agreement with a top-notch printer capable of turning round your print marketing campaigns on time, every time (hint: that’s us!)
If you’re working with a relatively small marketing budget, we can print names, addresses, and other information taken from your database straight onto a carrier sheet, envelope, or cover page of a catalogue. Usually, this is printed using black inkjet or laser onto a blank area left behind on purpose during the litho colour printing of the main product.
But with variable data printing (VDP) software, we can do both at once. Use any profiling data you have on your customers – such as those related to buying history, product preferences, or choices tied to product metadata – to print fully personalised, full-colour pages advertising products and services specific to the individual.
How much does personalising my print cost?
As with all print, the cost will vary depending on how far you want to go. It’s going to be cheaper to inkjet names and addresses onto plain white carrier pages slipped inside a folded leaflet than it is to fully personalise entire full-colour brochures, even if you choose digital over litho.
Still, it’s up to you to perform a cost-benefit analysis and work out which level of personalisation will offer the best returns on your print marketing campaign. Struggling? We can help.
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Fresh Fruit Delivery - Pumpkin Squash
Cath Riley
The Project:
For new company, Pumpkin Squash, a direct to door organic wholefood provider, sustainability was at the heart of everything they did and critical to their brand.
So, when they approached us to create all their promotional literature with recycled materials alone, we took their brief one step further.
The Solution:
Working closely with our own suppliers we sourced earthy and textured 100% recycled papers that were in keeping with their guidelines and, where possible, utilised vegetable-based inks that are kinder to the environment. And because we are a certified carbon offset company, we were also able to offset the carbon used in the production of all their collateral, enhancing the sustainability of their brand at the same time.
The approach to our brief regarding sustainability and the quality of the end product was outstanding, overall providing exceptional value. Speak to Northern Print Solutions, you find it’s an easy decision to work with the team.”
“The entire process with Northern Print Solutions was quick and painless. They offered sensible advice to help me get the most from the print job and the end results far exceeded our expectations.
It has been great to find a reliable local business who I can turn to as I grow my own company, whose values are very much in line with my own.
— Tom Frizell-Shackley, Owner
