Connect April/May 2015

April / May 2015

by NextPage

CORPORATE

JUNGLE How to truly make your brand stand out

INSIDE Corporate jungle | 6 Brand police | 10 Trending with... | 14 Trade Shows & Direct Mail | 15

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NextPage goes

BIG

Being Green is More Than Recycled Paper!

Understand the Journey Along The Sustainable Printing Path

SUSTAINABILITY T NextPage started automating workflows and integrating with large databases to produce more personalized marketing pieces long before “going green” was made popular by print companies trying to increase their productivity and profits.

Earth-friendly Processes VOC emissions, low percentage of wasted ink and coatings. Press wash using recycled materials.

FSC CERTIFIED NextPage is an FSC printer. The Komori press helps reduce our carbon footprint even further. We report back the savings for several of our clients—going beyond the ‘chain of custody’ reporting requirements.

On Demand Printing - eliminates waste by producing print on demand and implementing a prepress model whereby we “distribute first, print later.”

Paperless Job System –

SAVE A CULTURE L

STATUS UPDATES

We follow reduce, reuse, recycle as part of our culture of ‘doing more with less’.

Variable Printing - Using resources wisely – means printing more targeted communications.

our IT department is building a unique system that collaboratively connects all departments, improves productivity and communications, saves paper and saves energy.

RECYCLE TRUTH We use recycled papers, papers with chlorine-free processing, and even “tree-free” papers made from non-wood pulp.

ENERGY SAVINGS A NextPage merges technology with process to reduce inefficiencies in addition to the traditional measures. We waste less, we do more with less.

Building Location - an underground is an Energy Star labeled building profile business complex that is environmentally friendly lower *energy costs by 50-70%.*

If being "green" is important to you, NextPage should be your printing partner.

Call 866.938.3607 to schedule a tour and learn more about our "hyper-green" approach to print. *http://www.huntmidwest.com/subtropolis/

publisher’s letter

Climate change

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W

hile many people say the recession is over, that doesn’t mean the recovery will be spectacular. In fact, there will be nothing fair about the recovery ahead. To the contrary, it will heartlessly divide those who are prepared for a transformed world and those who are not.

While each of us is worried about a host of things, the biggest concerns are normally centered on our ability to increase sales. We wonder where our next sale will come from and whether or not we will have anything of value in the future.

The gist is that our economy gained strength in 2014 and is likely to keep that momentum in 2015. But even among the greatest marketers, there is widespread unease that margins for error are wafer-thin. If we take our eye off that key account, even for a moment, it may be gone. Get a little careless with costs, and profitability could take a hit. Think for a minute that you have it all figured out, and you may quickly learn otherwise.

In Epicomm’s recent “Printing Business Conditions” survey, marketing services executives say the future of print will be targeted. In other words, they believe that customized content delivers unique value and allows you to connect more deeply with your clients. And the more you connect with them, the more resistance there is to drop you as a provider.

So, while the economic climate is in a constant state of change, great marketers understand they must stay remarkably in tune with their communities. They realize that if the rate of change on the outside is greater than the rate of change on the inside, they are in trouble.

As we continue to preach about going deeper with clients, we ask you to spend some time with our latest issue. In our cover story, “Corporate Jungle,” entrepreneur and author Dr. Colby Jubenville discusses how to truly stand out as a brand.

In our second feature, “Brand Police,” marketing and legal experts weigh in on the disciplines of protecting your brand and its reputation.

So, while the recession may be over, the recovery will not be a rising tide that raises all boats. We will need to focus on our clients and remain open to the changes that inevitably lie ahead.

While the economic climate is in a constant state of change, great marketers understand they must stay remarkably in tune with their communities.

Respectfully,

Gina M. Danner, CEO

CONTENTS

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Publisher’s Letter

Did you notice?

The cool effects on the cover of this issue of Connect were produced using a technique called Reticulating Varnish. This special application is possible on NextPage’s Komori Lithrone GL-840P 8 Color Press. This is a cost effective way to add impact and attention to your printed piece.

Be sure to ask for details and let your creative mind soar.

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NextPage Goes Big

Climate change

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Corporate jungle How to truly make your brand stand out

15

Brand police

Trending with...

Trade Shows & Direct Mail

Why your brand should be your first line of defense

Branding expert Rodger Roeser

A Winning Combination

Publishers Gina M. Danner

Managing Editors Rosanne Kirn

Art Direction Brent Cashman • Creative Director Jaime Hill • Graphic Designer Connect is published bimonthly by NextPage® 8300 NE Underground Drive, Pillar 122 Kansas City, Missouri 64161 © 2015. All rights reserved For more information, contact us at 866.938.3607 or visit goNextPage.com.

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage, please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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Print Big Solutions

All of us at NextPage are excited to welcome Print Big Solutions to our family of companies!!!

goes

BIG with the acquisition of

Joe Duffy, President and owner, of Print Big shares this insight “I am very excited about the opportunity for the clients and employees of Print Big. The leadership team at NextPage truly sees the future of the printing industry and is delivering on their promise to ‘redefine print in this region’.”

“Joe and his team have created a great company in Print Big. One that has provided great leadership for over 18 years,” shares Gina Danner, CEO of NextPage. “Print Big is a trusted brand in the large format printing arena. The reality that Joe Duffy thought NextPage offered the best opportunity for clients and employees is something we take great pride in.”

Duffy shares additional insight, “NextPage is committed to the acquisition of the newest and most technologically advanced equipment that not only supports our current customers, but provides MORE. With their continued investment strategy and active leadership, NextPage is the place to be if you are in the marketing or printing industry. I’m excited NextPage will be able to lead Print Big clients to the next evolution of marketing service in a seamless and wellplanned manner. Plus, the desire of the NextPage team to create a smooth transition for our clients AND the intentional growth planning they have is something that the marketing and advertising community should support.”

Danner goes on, “Our customers currently purchase a variety of signage and large format printing. We see an opportunity to provide one more valued service to them. Print Big knows this portion of the industry. It just made sense to add their talent and expertise to our own. With the addition of Print Big, we will once again be expanding our facility in the Hunt Midwest Subtropolis. I’m extremely proud of our team and look forward to the future.”

April/May 2015 • Connect by NextPage

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Posters Signs Vehicle Wraps Banners Wall Graphics Floor Graphics

Wallpaper Custom Decals Tradeshow Graphics Event Graphics Hardware Solutions

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage, please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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CORPORATE

JUNGLE How to truly make your brand stand out

By Michael J. Pallerino

I

t’s Saturday morning in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and the drive through at the local fast food stop already is 40 cars deep. On this particular Saturday, the rain is pouring down – a very poorly timed present from Mother Nature. It doesn’t matter, really. The customers, as if drawn by some hypnotic force, continue to come in droves. As the line nudges forward, a traffic cop – another Saturday morning staple – kindly keeps order among the masses. On this day, several teenaged employees take turns walking the customers who dared to venture inside back to their cars.

Somewhere in the huddled throng of clanging windshield wipers sit Colby Jubenville and his son.

The accomplished entrepreneur, inventor, speaker, professor and author marvels at the dedication of the patrons, himself included, to the experience.

April/May 2015 • Connect by NextPage

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To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage, please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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Corporate jungle

That’s right – the experience. Sure, there’s the sandwich and there’s the experience: The plotting, planning and eventual trip to where a host of fast food professionals armed with hospitality and grace provide you with a family experience that’s consistent every time.

“You have to know your customers,” Jubenville says. “And this place knows its customers. All those people in that line are going for the experience, not the sandwich.

Standing out is the passion that drives Jubenville. You can read all about how and why in his book, “Zebras & Cheetahs: Look Different and Stay Agile to Survive the Business Jungle,” which he co-wrote with business coach Michael Burt.

“Zebras & Cheetahs” provides an insightful look at surviving in today’s corporate jungle – a world where the big don’t eat the small, the fast eat the slow. Carefully crafted and delivered in a way that all brands – personal and business – can follow, the book is a user’s guide to becoming bigger, stronger and faster than your competition, whatever and whoever that competition may be.

There are no secrets today,” says Jubenville, who also is principal of Red Herring Innovation and Design. “It starts by knowing who you are. The truth is that you are what your clients and your market say you are. If you want to get better at branding, you have to start by having better conversations with yourself. And you have to focus on that conversation.”

Finding your ‘collective passion’

The exercise of becoming – and delivering on the perfect brand drills down to asking yourself two simple questions: What is the promise I am offering and how do I deliver it? It’s that simple, Jubenville admits. The strategy that ensues (which involves garnering the buyin from everybody – your organization, your customers and your employees) is a principle

April/May 2015 • Connect by NextPage

Corproate Jungle

he calls “collective passion.”

If you’re looking for the simplest explanation of that, the die-hard college football fan will give you his University of Alabama example. Deep in the heart of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Jubenville says that coach Nick Saban is building one of the greatest examples of his principles. The Crimson Tide is a brand known for its rabid, unwavering fan support. “Nick Saban is building passion on all levels. He is hard on his players and, oftentimes, deemed unfair in how much he demands, but there is a reason behind that. He has created a set of standards that has defined the buy-in. Those standards create the buy-in, which builds chemistry.”

“You really have to know your purpose – why do you play the game? Seems like a simple question, but amazing how many brands don’t have an answer.”

– Dustin Longstreth, VP of Strategy, Group Director, CBX There’s a story Jubenville likes to quote about an old Navy captain who once told him that everybody wants to know three things when it comes to the task at hand: Who’s in charge? What are the rules? How are you going to hold me accountable?

“Wouldn’t it be great if everybody just asked themselves those questions? In today’s corporate jungle, the biggest challenge we

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the job of purpose.” have is finding good people to work better.

Linda Popky, strategic marketing expert We have to find them, and then get them and author of the upcoming book, “Marketto act alive. Those three questions help. ing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic AdMost marketers have the strategy they want vantage with Marketing that Matters,” says to help them stand out, they just have to that with all the mediums available today, implement it.” brands can and should stand out. You don’t Dustin Longstreth is a big believer in do that by adding to the chaos and noise the tribal mentality concept. The VP of in the marketplace by attempting to chase Strategy and group director for branding every possible new avenue, but by focusing agency CBX believes that brand building is on the key fundamentals.” a team effort that starts with a mindset of “Marketers need to get above the noise in living for your people, not off them. “You their organizations, as well as in the markethave to adopt a tribal mentality. Yet, so place,” says Popky, who also is president of many brands today still speak in terms of Leverage2Market Associmarketing to a ‘target’ that ates. “Marketers need to is completely separate work hand-in-hand with from the people they interthe rest of their company, act with every day. That’s including sales, product an occupier’s mentality.” development and, more As a result, the brand important, IT. The days efforts feel like a con game, of being driven by creand eventually, people reative concepts are over. volt. It is about being one We need to be part of the with your tribe in order to overall business strategy, build the trust, empathy not the execution and deand intuition needed to ployment team.” quickly act and react in At the end of the ways that add value and day, the mark of a brand build loyalty. comes down to Juben“Follow us, join us, ville’s two simple quesshare with us (and eventutions: What is the promally buy from us) are the ise I am offering, and new calls to action in the how do I deliver it? “Can connected age,” Longstreth you make your customsays. “You really have to – Linda Popky, President, ers money [and/or] can know your purpose – why do Leverage2Market Associates you save them money? you play the game? Seems

“Marketers need to get above the noise in their organizations, as well as in the marketplace.

They need to work handin-hand with the rest of their company.”

like a simple question, but it’s amazing how many brands don’t have an answer. Positioning is a helpful framework to remind you what messages your brand needs to repeat, but it doesn’t do much to inspire advocacy. That’s

If you can’t do either, they’re moving on. You have to know your true value. If you don’t, you have to figure it out.”

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage, please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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April/May 2015 • Connect by NextPage

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Why your brand should be your first line of defense

By Charlie Lunan

D

an Antonelli remembers being excited when his New Jersey marketing agency, Graphic D-Signs Inc., received a call from one of the largest service companies in the country. He was exploring rebranding options after learning he could not trademark a logo because it had been created with clip art. They had grown from one van to several hundred, and wanted to expand to new markets. But with so many other competitors using the same art, they found themselves in a quandary. Rebranding would cost more than $1 million.

“Ultimately, they decided to keep what they had, due to the cost,” says Antonelli, CEO and creative director of Graphic D-Signs. “It’s unfortunate, because they can’t even own their brand and build a unique corporate identity that delivers a meaningful brand promise, since the art is so generic and diluted.”

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage, please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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Brand police

“A lot of companies think because they don’t tweet, no one tweets about them. It’s kind of a head-in-thesand approach.”

– Greg Mancusi-Ungaro, CMO, BrandProtect

Graphic artists and trademark attorneys say such tales are far from rare and illustrate how entrepreneurs and marketers can fall short when it comes to protecting the brands they work so hard to create. While brand protection is a discipline that should start at the inception of the creative process, it often is neglected in the rush of starting a business.

“With so many other things to focus on – from securing equipment to all the logistics of starting their business – the brand is often an afterthought,” Antonelli says.

Knowing the risks

Failure to adequately research trademarks can cost time and money and, ultimately, can undermine what investors are willing to pay to buy a business.

“The repeated misery I see is the brand team goes out and does all this testing on a name and then goes to legal,” says Andrea Anderson, an intellectual property rights attorney based in the Denver offices of Holland & Hart. “Then, you have to make the tough decision of whether to acquire the trademark or go forward on your own.”

Marketers also can err by registering a trademark that is difficult to defend, such as a name that includes a description of a product or

service. “Sometimes, marketing people may not appreciate the risks,” Anderson says. “It’s not whether you win the lawsuit, because less than 1 percent of all trademark cases go to trial. It’s, ‘Am I willing to risk $100,000 in legal fees on this one brand decision?’”

Anderson routinely urges companies that source or register relevant trademarks with the Chinese government. Without registration, they won’t be able to work with Chinese authorities to fight counterfeiters and risk being extorted by trademark trolls. Just last summer, Tesla Motors paid an undisclosed sum to an entrepreneur who had trademarked its name in China years before it entered the country.

There have been instances when a company lowered its bid to acquire a company, after due diligence revealed it would cost millions to obtain overseas trademark rights and/or rid an overseas market of counterfeit goods. “I’ve seen companies bitten by that more than once,” Anderson says.

“It was going to cost them $3,000 to $4,000 to register their trademark in China, and they’d rather spend that going to a trade show.”

Death by a thousand cuts

Of course, trademark registration merely is the foundation of a long-term brand protection

T IPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR BRAND A comprehensive brand protection strategy can and should be driven by marketers in close coordination with trademark attorneys.

In the first phase, marketers work hand-in-hand with legal counsel to select marks that cannot only be registered, but also defended. In the second phase, they work together to monitor for trademark infringements and other threats, and decide how to respond. After consulting with several sources, we compiled the following checklist.

RESEARCH

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Online research – Conduct an online search to get a sense of what trademarks already are in use in your target market.

Hire a trademark attorney – At some point, you’ll need to call a trademark attorney to conduct a U.S. Patent and Trademark and common law search, since trademark rights in the United States stem not only from registration, but also from use of a mark. An attorney actually may be able to save you a lot of time, money and frustration by dissuading you from registering a trademark that will be difficult to defend. Tip: Trademark attorneys love made-up words, which are easier to protect than generic words.

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April/May 2015 • Connect by NextPage

Conduct a domain name and social media search – If someone already is using your trademark in a URL or as a social media handle, it’s

better to know before you choose a mark, since you may have to budget for the cost of buying them out.

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Register early – Once you pick a mark you want to protect, register it with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office as soon as possible. Once granted, trademarks are retroactive to the time the application was filed, so you can file the application two to three years before you use it – while your product is still in development. It also puts competitors on notice.

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Consider registering trademarks overseas – This is particularly important for companies that anticipate sourcing from or selling in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), where nearly 70 percent of all counterfeit goods seized by U.S. authorities in fiscal 2013 originated. Moreover, PRC trademark law does not recognize common law usage, which means a trademark troll could trademark your brand before you even enter the market.

13 strategy. To be effective, a vigilant online monitoring program – regardless of how much online selling and marketing a company does, must accompany registered trademarks.

“A lot of companies think because they don’t tweet, no one tweets about them,” says Greg Mancusi-Ungaro, CMO for BrandProtect.

“It’s kind of a head-in-the-sand approach.”

BrandProtect is one of several subscription-based services that monitor the internet for mentions of a client’s trademarks. Using its own proprietary algorithms and human analysts, the services identify potential threats, such as rogue websites selling counterfeit products, phishing scams, cyber squatters, unauthorized social media sites and even resume fraud. Depending on the client, it may have the authority and the tools to immediately shut down trademark infringers.

“The majority of mentions are legitimate,” says Mancusi-Ungaro, noting that BrandProtect’s smallest clients spend about $11,000 a year with the company. “We are throwing away the wheat to find the chaff, so the yield may only be .05 to 3 percent of everything we sift through. But that little pile of threatening activity is, for our customers, extremely relevant, extremely scary and potentially impactful.”

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representative, and end up The more common in“Sometimes, with illegitimate brokers,” jury, however, comes from marketing people allowing dozens of lessmay not appreciate Mancusi-Ungaro says. “That is using the brand to steal.” dramatic threats to go unthe risks. It’s not Thankfully, most local answered. Over time, unauwhether you win businesses don’t have to thorized use of trademarks the lawsuit. It’s, worry about these threats. in a URL, social media han‘Am I willing to risk Criminals tend to gravitate dle or eBay store can dilute $100,000 in legal fees toward the most iconic a brand every bit as much on this one brand brands that will earn them as using clip art in a logo. decision?’” the most money. That does “It’s really more the not excuse small business death by a thousand cuts,” – Attorney Andrea Anderson, marketers from being vigiMancusi-Ungaro says.

Holland & Hart lant, whether that’s setting In the summer of 2013, up Google alerts for its trademarks or selecting a major regional bank that was hearing coman artist to design its logo. plaints on social media about what some of its Antonelli warns that many websites mortgage loan officers were doing approached now offer to connect small businesses with BrandProtect. After three or four weeks, offshore graphic designers who regularly enBrandProtect reported back to the bank what gage in trademark infringement. “Often, the it had learned from monitoring 1,000 of its small business owner has no idea their new loan officers. As it turned out, the bank only ‘original’ logo is simply a ripoff of someone’s had 477 mortgage loan officers. Most of the trademark – until he gets a cease and de500-plus others identified by BrandProtect sist letter, or worse, a suit claiming dammerely had failed to update their online inforages. They then not only need to defend mation. A handful was intentionally trading on themselves in a suit, but also deal with the the credibility of the bank. expense of rebranding everything that uses “In a worst-case scenario, people see a this stolen artwork.” legitimate advertisement and look for a local

Register for adjacent uses – Consider future brand extensions into new product categories. For example, if you’re a footwear brand, consider registering your trademark for apparel and accessories as well.

MONITOR & ENFORCE

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Set up alerts – Set up email alerts on your favorite search engine that will notify you every time your trademark appears on the internet. This can act as an early warning signal of trademark infringement.

Work with distributors – If you sell through retailers and wholesalers, encourage them to report suspicious activity.

Appoint a brand cop – Consider assigning someone in marketing to work part-time, monitoring searches and responding to dealer complaints.

Use the ® and ™ symbols – Use these with all registered trademarks, including logos, in all corporate communications, including press releases, logos, signage, advertising and labeling. This will

prevent unscrupulous competitors from inadvertently infringing your trademarks, and prove you were actively using and protecting them if you feel compelled to take your claims to court.

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Subscribe to a digital brand protection service – Larger companies may want to consider subscribing to a service such as BrandProtect, ChannelIQ or Corporation Service Co. to set up a custom monitoring and reporting service. Be sure to shop around as these services can cost thousands of dollars per month.

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Conduct regular audits – This is a good practice for grooming a company for an acquisition or takeover. Look at every mark you’re using, and consider whether you want to register it. Audits also should check to make sure the company, rather than the founder or someone in marketing who registered an asset in their own name, owns all trademarks.

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Educate and enlist consumers – If you sell highly counterfeited goods such as handbags, watches, consumer electronics, apparel or footwear, consider setting up a page where consumers can learn how to detect and report counterfeit goods.

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage, please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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Q&A: Interview with Rodger Roeser

Trending with ...

Branding expert Rodger Roeser

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wards seem to follow Rodger Roeser wherever he goes. Over the years, he has been an award-winning TV anchor/reporter, radio host, journalist and editor. On the business front, the agency he founded, The Eisen Agency, has won a litany of accolades, including a spot on the “Inc. 5000” list as one of the fastest growing small businesses in the country in 2012.

Today, Roeser’s Cincinnati-based firm works with small and large businesses alike to help align their communications with their respective audiences. Clients include RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, White Castle and Roto-Rooter, among others. Here are his insights into why branding is a team game.

What’s the most important aspect of branding today?

The single most important thing is to have a clear understanding of the brand and make certain the experience is truly felt throughout the whole organization. This should not only be consistent across the marketing mediums and external expressions, but also permeate throughout the look and feel of your business and employees and how your customers are treated.

How do you continue to keep things consistent?

You should have brand “police” that continually work with your organization at all levels. This helps them understand the brand and what it stands for, and how each individual as a part of that organization fits into the brand discussion.

It’s more about the professional than the service, so it’s critical everyone understand even the smallest nuance of the brand as a whole.

Why is that important?

It allows everyone at every level to share what’s interesting or what makes an organization “tick.” When you have brand ambassadors, you have a better chance of standing out amid a cluttered field.

How critical is the “buy in” at every level?

Branding is a top, down process, permeated throughout the Branding is a top, down whole of the brand entity. It’s an ongoing process that involves process, permeated practice, drills, questions and throughout the whole objectivity. There needs to be a commitment to create, foster of the brand entity. and manage that brand for the good of the whole. Leadership It’s an ongoing because if the folks process that involves isin critical, the corner offices pay “lip practice, drills, questions service” to the brand or brand experience, no one will follow and objectivity. along. The leadership must be the most diligent of brand ambassadors and continually challenge others to more succinctly share in that brand conversation.

What’s the main ingredient in telling your brand’s story?

It’s the customer or the client. Without the clear ability to truly understand what the client or customer wants and needs, it’s almost impossible to have an objective brand story to further engage and actually be part of the customer story. As with virtually all products or services, it doesn’t exist if the client isn’t central, which is why saying a business is client-centric is a poor brand pillar to stand on. Understand why your customers love your brand and how you cannot only share that story, but also live that conversation throughout the whole of the operation. Branding isn’t about marketing; it’s about operations.

April/May 2015 • Connect by NextPage

Trade Shows & Direct Mail

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Trade Shows & Direct Mail: A Winning Combination

by Marlys Arnold

One big mistake many exhibitors make is neglecting to do anything to promote their presence at a trade show. They somehow think people will just magically show up at their booth, or perhaps that attendees are already aware of — and eager to meet — them.

Unfortunately, these exhibitors are fooling themselves. According to industry studies, at least 75 percent of attendees arrive at a show with a pre-set agenda, and if they aren’t aware of your company, you won’t be on that list. Promoting the fact you’re exhibiting is key to building traffic in your booth.

Direct mail is one great tool for getting the word out in advance while standing out from the crowd. For example, how many e-mails did you get this week? How many text messages …

LinkedIn messages … Facebook messages …?

Now how many pieces of postal mail did you get (other than bills)? I bet you can count them on one hand. So as a trade show marketer, you’ve got a much greater chance of getting attention with a physical piece of mail in their mailbox.

Postal mail appeals to not only visual learners, but also tactile learners. Enhance the recipient’s experience by using textured paper or a custom shape for your mailer. With Variable Data Printing, virtually any text can be customized. Use list demographics to design pre-show invitations tailored to each attendee’s needs or customized to the specific type or size of their company.

You’re not limited to text on a page. Mailers can incorporate all kinds of other objects along with your invitation. Include a button to wear on the show floor (with the incentive of winning a prize if spotted), die-cut magnets, or the first of a twopart gift (they must come to the booth to get the rest).

The Expo Group wanted to get on the radar of attendees who hadn’t switched vendors in

years. Using personalization techniques, they sent 60 targeted prospects a CD case with an insert picturing either a vinyl record, cassette tape, or CD (depending on length of time since last bid) and asked “Is this how you were listening to music the last time you went out to bid?” Inside the case was a $10 iTunes gift card with a note saying “a lot has changed since then.”

These days, most buyers arrive at a booth already having researched the company, so invite them to check you out. One strategy my clients and I have used very successfully is an online scavenger hunt. In the pre-show mailing, list five questions attendees can easily answer by visiting your website, then bringing those answers to your booth to claim a gift (ideally something from your own product line or a service you provide).

The first time I used this technique, people were lining up with their answer sheets in my 10x10’ booth, eager to talk with me. Meanwhile, the household-brand staff in the booth next door

stood and waited for their colorful branding and reputation to do all the work for them.

More tips for pre-show mailings: • Make your message clear at a glance. Don’t get too wordy.

• Always include the show name and date, as well as your booth number.(Simple, but often overlooked.)

• Give a call to action and encourage them to do something: visit yourwebsite, bring card to the booth, etc.

• Offer an incentive or reason to visit the booth such as a special event or guest appearance, new product debut, or drawing.

• Use graphics consistent with what will be in your booth so they recognize it when they arrive.

When it comes to pre-show promotions, creativity scores big points, as does piquing attendees’ curiosity. Send them something they won’t forget and they’ll be anxious to come to your booth on the show floor.

Marlys Arnold is a Kansas City-based trade show marketing consultant, trainer, and the author of Build a Better Trade Show Image. She’s worked with exhibitors in all kinds of industries, from local consumer expos to some of the largest trade shows in the U.S. For more tips and ideas, check out her Trade Show Insights blog and podcast at www.tradeshowinsights.com.

To discuss any information contained in Connect by NextPage, please contact NextPage at 866.938.3607.

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8300 NE Underground Dr., Pillar 122 Kansas City, MO 64161 goNextPage.com | 866.938.3607

... we Deliver More One of our core beliefs at NextPage is that we must deliver more through continuous innovation.

A few of the ways we innovate every day include: • Print Automation solutions that allow for direct mail sends based off of email deliverability rules • Marketing Automation tools that save countless working hours every month - You define the business rules and we build the tools • Local Store Marketing that allows thousands of corporate or franchise locations to access approved marketing content from a central online store front with support from a dedicated call center • Social Media campaigns seamlessly integrated and executed hand in hand with direct marketing campaigns • Marketing Automation tie ins to third party software including: ExactTarget, ACT-ON, Marketo, Salesforce. com, Teradata, PeopleSoft and more • Specialized coating and gluing applications used on world wide brands produced for retail sales • Specialized manufacturing processes that are custom designed for efficiency.

• Large format printing via PrintBig, a NextPage company.

Each and every day the NextPage team is driven to innovate.

What can we build for you?

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