Millcraft In Stock Magazine Issue 3 by Millcraft

Insight into the paper, packaging and graphic arts industry

VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 3 • 2014

The power of paper Written commitments are making the world better – one promise card at a time

INSIDE Printed catalogs drive sales Ideas that Matter design contest Pinnacle Recycling focuses on customer service

Alex Sheen founder, because I said I would

Volume 1, Issue 3 • Fall 2014

welcome Doing good with paper As part of a 94-year-old family-run business spanning four generations, it is important for all of us at Millcraft to realize that we have a broader purpose beyond paper and beyond profits. Of course we’re in business to provide our customers with the highest-quality paper, packaging and graphic arts products and services, and that will never change. But we’re also here to try to make a positive, lasting difference to the people and the communities that we serve. Millcraft’s longstanding guiding principles include a deep sense of obligation and responsibility to our stakeholders and the world in which we live. “We believe in increasing the economic well-being of all our stakeholders — employees, customers, suppliers, neighbors and shareholders — and in balancing our business needs with a conscientious effort toward the long-term protection and enhancement of our natural environment.” In these pages of In Stock, you’ll learn how Millcraft and some of our partners are working together for a common purpose that sees beyond profits. And better yet, all of these projects are accomplished on paper, often with just a single sheet. You’ll meet Alex Sheen, founder of because I said I would, a social movement and nonprofit dedicated to bettering humanity through promises made and kept … on paper. You’ll learn about the Ideas that Matter program at Sappi Fine Paper, an annual global initiative forging partnerships with graphic designers and social causes through key projects supported by influential paper-based campaigns. You’ll discover how the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital successfully uses cause marketing to optimize the quality and level of life-changing care it provides to its thousands of young patients each year In addition, you’ll read about Millcraft’s own in-house initiative, our buy & give program, which utilizes a simple commodity — copy paper — as a vehicle for charitable giving. I hope this issue of In Stock will inspire you and the people at your business to find ways to give back to your own communities where you live, work and play. And it could be as simple as starting with a single piece of paper. Respectfully,

contents Cover Story 6

The power of promises on paper

How written commitments are making the world better — one promise card at a time

2 Letter from the president

Doing good with paper

In brief

10 12

Travis Mlakar President The Millcraft Paper Company (216) 429-9823 mlakart@millcraft.com @mlakart

News and trends in paper, packaging and design

Features

In the industry How the Sappi Ideas that Matter design contest has made a difference How Pinnacle Recycling built its reputation on customer service

6800 Grant Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44105 Phone: (800) 860-2482

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cause marketing to benefit the community

How Millcraft is turning copy paper into a difference-maker

Printed on Sappi Opus Gloss – 100# Cover and 100# Text Cover Photography by Emily Metzger

IN STOCK • Fall 2014

Editor: Todd Shryock Associate Editors: Brooke N. Bates Kara Anderson Erik Cassano Tom Leland Art Director: Lori Smith Project Manager: Erin Walker

In the digital age, printed catalogs still drive sales

In the family 14 Millcraft and Cleveland Clinic team up in

Visit www.millcraft.com to sign up for Millcraft’s enewsletters PaperClips and FullCircle.

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Association works to keep forests plentiful

in brief Setting the record straight by looking at two sides of the story As of January 2014, more than 20 companies had removed misleading green claims used to promote electronic billing as a more environmentally friendly solution than paper. The companies are largely Fortune 500 organizations in the banking, utilities and telecommunications sectors. Two Sides, a nonprofit group (of which Millcraft is a proud member) funded by the paper, print and direct mail industries, is working to set the record straight about the sustainability of print and paper. Two Sides argues that such greenwashing claims violate FTC guidelines for environmental marketing. Marketing messages such as “save trees” create the false impression that forests are a finite resource that are being destroyed instead of a renewable resource that is continuously replenished using sustainable forest management practices. The organization is working privately with individual companies to halt such claims. For more information, visit www.twosides.info.

> To get the latest in paper, packaging and graphic arts industry news, visit www.millcraft.com to sign up for Millcraft’s enewsletters, PaperClips and FullCircle.

IN STOCK • Fall 2014

Paper recycling rates increasing Paper recycling is on the rise, as Americans see the value of reusing resources and the industry continues to make environmental sustainability a priority. According to the American Forest & Paper Association: • Paper recovery for recycling has exceeded 60 percent each year since 2009. The goal for 2020 is 70 percent. • The amount of paper and paperboard recovered in the U.S. increased 76 percent between 1990 and 2012. • Every ton of paper recycled saves more than 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space. In 2000, the amount of paper going to landfills was about 40 million tons; by 2013, that had fallen to less than 20 million tons. • Eighty-seven percent of Americans have access to paper recycling programs. • Total paper recovery in the U.S. exceeded 51 million tons in 2012; of that, 40 percent was exported to China and other countries and 32 percent was used to produce containerboard. • Nearly three times more paper is recycled than is sent to landfills. • About 76 percent of all U.S. papermakers use some recovered paper to make everything from paper-based packaging to tissue products to office paper and newspaper.

Corrugated industry improves environmental performance New research shows there was a 32 percent reduction per unit in the corrugated industry’s greenhouse gas emissions between 2006 and 2010, according to a new U.S. corrugated industry life cycle assessment study released by the Corrugated Packaging Alliance. The reduction is attributed primarily to increased recovery for recycling of corrugated material, which increased from 72 percent in 2006 to 85 percent in 2010. As more old corrugated containers are recovered, less goes to landfills, thereby reducing methane emissions.

The American Forest & Paper Association is working to increase the amount of fiber procured from certified forestlands or through certified giver sourcing programs in the U.S. from 2005 to 2020 and to decrease logging. The goal is to: • Keep forests plentiful. Without a regular harvesting of trees to manufacture products, managed forestlands would likely be used for other purposes such as development or agriculture. • Support jobs and the economy. In the U.S., private, working forests support 2.5 million jobs, $235 billion in annual sales, $87 billion in payroll, $4.4 billion in state income and severance taxes and $102 billion to the GDP. • Protect people and the environment. Illegal logging contributes to global deforestation and climate change and threatens species with extinction.

Sri Lankan newspaper saves lives A newspaper in Sri Lanka imprinted its pages with mosquito repellent to slow the spread of dengue fever. The sometimes-deadly virus infected more than 30,000 people in 2013, and there is no known treatment. The national newspaper Mawbima mixed citronella essence, which repels mosquitos, with ink so that the newspaper itself keeps mosquitos away. The printing was done in conjunction with National Dengue Week. The edition sold out, resulting in 30 percent increased sales and a rise in readership of 300,000. Not only did the innovative scented newspaper offer a solution to a nationwide health problem, it also shows how creativity and design can influence an entire culture.

The myths of paper When it comes to paper, some people can’t see the forest for the trees, according to Two Sides, a nonprofit group funded by the paper, print and direct mail industries that works to set the record straight about the sustainability of print and paper.

The myth: Making paper destroys forests. The fact: Paper production supports sustainable forest management. Paper manufacturers promote sustainable forestry and depend on sustainable forest growth to provide a reliable supply of wood fiber. In the U.S., there are more trees grown than harvested, and the amount of forestland has remained essentially the same for the last 100 years.

The myth: Making paper is bad for the environment. The fact: Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products. Paper is made from a natural resource that is renewable and recyclable, and because forest products can require little or no fossil fuels for production, they can have inherent climate change advantages over other materials.

> The national newspaper Mawbima mixed citronella essence, which repels mosquitos, with ink so that the newspaper itself keeps mosquitos away.

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How written commitments are making the world better — one promise card at a time By Brooke N. Bates

The

power of promises

s Alex Sheen planned the eulogy for his father’s funeral in September 2012, he tried to glean some inspiration from his dad’s rather ordinary life. “Like any son, I want to remember the best of my father, but he was nothing particularly press-worthy,” Sheen wrote. “But what my dad did do was keep a promise. If he said he was going to do it, it would certainly be done. I want to remember my dad and the promises he kept. I want to help others remember their commitments.” So Sheen created a promise card, a small piece of paper, blank except for the words “because I said I would” on the bottom. At the funeral, he handed them out and urged the guests to write down promises — as small as returning overdue library books or as significant as kicking an addiction. Then, he encouraged them to give the card to someone else, with an opportunity to earn it back once they’d kept their word. Right away, the cards became symbolic reminders of the importance of promises, inspiring the guests to follow through after the funeral. “For most people, a funeral is a sad, somber day, but you sort of move on with life,” Sheen says. “I did not want my father’s funeral to just be another sad day. Instead, I thought, ‘How can the passing of my father get me – or anyone else - to become a better person? ’” The cards launched a movement dedicated to “bettering humanity through promises made and kept,” shipping 10 promise cards to anyone, anywhere, at no cost — by request only. Within a month of the funeral, Sheen had sent promise cards to more than 12 states. The organization officially became a nonprofit organization in October 2012, and within 18 months, because I said I would had sent more than a million promise cards to 105 countries. By empowering people to make promises on paper, tangibly sealing commitments, Sheen sparked a viral social movement, gaining attention across national media and the Internet. Fueled by these simple cards, because I said I would aims to make the world a better place by encouraging people to literally, physically “keep” one written promise at a time.

Alex Sheen founder, because I said I would

on paper

IN STOCK • Fall 2014

Photography by XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

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The power of paper Some promises are simple, like the child who wrote, “I will use my inside voice when I’m inside.” Some require more work, like the father with cancer who promised to write 826 napkin notes for his daughter’s lunchbox — one for each day until her high school graduation. Some are life-changing, like Matthew Cordle’s promise to take full responsibility for killing someone in a drunk driving accident (watch his powerful message at https:// becauseisaidiwould.com/saveyourvictim/). Big or small, Sheen knows each promise is valuable and has to be treated with care. Like many of us, he lives and works in a tech-immersed environment dominated by texts and tweets, all the more reason why he gives each of his own commitments careful attention by taking time to put pen to paper. “The physical act of writing something down and giving it to someone, I thought, was meaningful,” he says. “We give verbal promises to people all the time, and technology enables us to make even more open-ended promises: ‘Oh yeah, I’ll go to that Facebook event.’ ‘Oh yeah, I’ll message you.’” When promises are as effortless as saying OK, or clicking a button, it’s easy to put them off or forget them altogether. But when a card tangibly holds honor on the line, it serves as a physical reminder. “That physical card is a positive anchor,” Sheen says. “It gives more value, more attention and more time to a promise. It encourages us to stay true to our word and remember the importance of a promise and what it says about our character.” Giving promise cards away adds an element of accountability because someone 8

IN STOCK • Fall 2014

“The physical act of writing something down and giving it to someone, I thought, was meaningful.” > Alex Sheen, founder, because I said I would

else expects fulfillment. Justin Zrenner, a teacher who lives in Cleveland, has promised to show “52 kinds of love” by dedicating each week of the year to a different person. Each Sunday, he draws a promise card from a jar marked with names of friends, family and strangers. He then dedicates the next week to showing that person love — whether via daily phone calls, personal visits or becoming vegetarian. “You’re making that action or that person a priority when you’re taking the time to put pen to paper,” Zrenner says. “When you take the time to say, ‘This is important enough for me to write down and put my character on the line,’ it says, ‘You’d better hang on to this; it’s valuable to me, and I’m coming back to get it.’ That card is like gold; it’s trust.” Making it happen Research has shown that writing something down does make accomplishing it more likely. At Dominican University of California, psychologist Gail Matthews studied a group of participants who just

thought about business-related goals next to several groups who actually wrote them down. The first group included action steps, the second shared their written goals with friends and a third added weekly accountability check-ins. Matthews found that the first group accomplished 43 percent of their stated goals. Those who shared their written goals accomplished 64 percent, and the group that shared written goals and weekly progress reports accomplished 76 percent. “When you write something down, it makes it real, and once it’s real, it’s just a matter of time,” says Henriette Anne Klauser, Ph.D., who has written about the power of writing in several best-selling books, including, “Write it Down, Make it Happen.” “Once you write down a goal, your brain will be working overtime to see you get it, and it will alert you to the signs and signals that … were there all along,” she wrote. “Once you start writing your goals down, the brain will send you all kinds of new material: innovative, energizing ideas for planning out and expanding

those ambitions.” Klauser says that writing commitments triggers the brain’s reticular activating system (RAS) to focus on fulfilling that goal. The RAS filters attention from nonurgent information to more urgent data. When the RAS is focused on helping those less fortunate, for example, volunteer opportunities seem to pop up everywhere because the attention is attuned. What makes promise cards unique as RAS triggers is the physical power of paper, as opposed to verbal commitments. In an age in which communication has shifted to cyberspace, writing by hand requires extra effort. Think, for example, how special handwritten notes are amid endless emails. “Why does it make a difference to write it down? There’s longevity in it,” says Klauser, who’s motivated daily by handwritten notes received years ago. “In these days of social media, it’s even more powerful to get a personal note.” Connecting beyond cards Beyond paper, because I said I would also

walks the walk through Sheen’s charitable promises. After promising to deliver support to Hurricane Sandy victims, he drove to New York City less than a week later with $7,500 he had raised. After Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were rescued from kidnapper Ariel Castro, Sheen promised to raise awareness against sexual violence by walking 240 miles across Ohio in 10 days. Additionally, to offset the environmental impact of more than 1.5 million paper promise cards — which are made from 100 percent post-consumer waste — the organization donated enough money to Trees for the Future to plant 10,000 trees. “It’s our obligation, and the responsibility of the paper industry, to reduce our carbon footprint,” Sheen says. “It takes a lot of effort to keep our promises, but we’re an organization that has to walk the walk.” Although physical promise cards enable meaningful commitments, because I said I would uses multiple channels to share promises made and kept. Sheen spoke at 55 events last year, and social media plays a huge role. In fact, by social media reach, because I said I would is one of the largest nonprofits in Ohio, almost as large as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. On Sept. 6, 2014, because I said I would hosted its own inaugural event at the Columbus Convention Center, providing still another platform for sharing how written commitments change lives. Speak-

ers included Holocaust survivor Eva Kor, and Bobby O’Donnell, a runner who was less than a mile from the Boston marathon finish line when the bomb exploded. “It had to be more than just a bunch of speeches,” Sheen says. “We had some incredible speakers, but it had to end up with people actually doing something.” As a call to action, the event hosted 30 national nonprofits, from the American Cancer Society to the Boys & Girls Club, so attendees could volunteer on the spot. Meanwhile, video rooms let attendees record their promise stories on camera. Of those recordings, 50 videos will be released through a yearlong YouTube series, further spreading the power of promises. “Honoring your commitments is a central part of what it means to be a person of honor,” Sheen says. “Keeping your promises is not a flash in the pan. We’re just giving commitments a way to be shared, making it socially acceptable to say, ‘This is something I stand for, and it will be done.’”

> Contact because I said I would to request promise cards: becauseisaidiwould.com

> Check out this video to learn more about the organization and to see highlights from the Columbus event: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=lacwpfPk_HE

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in the industry

The power of print In the digital age, printed catalogs still drive sales

oes paper really matter anymore? As you walk down the street, through the office or airport, or even at the mall or grocery store and see countless people jabbing at their smartphones and tablet computers, the thought might have crossed your mind. Do people read paperback books anymore? Newspapers? Do they even bother to retrieve what arrives in their physical mailbox at the end of the driveway? If you’re in the retail or manufacturing business, does it makes sense to invest in printed catalogs when everyone has a device readily available for shopping online virtually around the clock? The answer might surprise you. “Digital communication has done a lot for business, but it can’t replace print as a marketing tool,” says Christine Alexander, a sales representative at Bloomington, Ind.-based Metropolitan Printing Service. “Print is tactile. You can play on different senses. You can use different textures and scents to bring a product’s story to life. In the digital world, all you really have is sight and sound.” Print’s place In the modern world of marketing, print has to work

IN STOCK • Fall 2014

in tandem with electronic forms of marketing to create different touch points with consumers. But Alexander advocates print as the gateway to customer interaction because of its ability to engage sight, touch and smell, and because studies show that consumers who subscribe to print catalogs spend more money. “Catalog receivers spend an average of 27 percent more online than noncatalog receivers do,” she says. “Catalogs allow you a more relaxed atmosphere to go through and see what you like, with no distractions, no pop-up ads and no eyestrain from staring at a screen. Catalog users tend to identify the products they like via print and then go online to do additional research and make the purchase.” New developments in technology are also helping marry the pleasure of perusing a print catalog with the immediacy of digital marketing. QR codes are perhaps the best-known example of print-to-digital marketing, but retailers such as IKEA have taken the print-to-digital concept to another level with augmented reality, which allows digital graphic elements to be spliced into an existing image. IKEA has utilized AR technology to give smartphone users the opportunity to place IKEA furniture in their living

rooms without leaving the house. In addition to a smartphone, all you need is an IKEA print catalog — which shouldn’t be hard to find, because the company prints about 200 million copies each year in 27 languages for 38 countries. “You can scan an image of a product you like directly from the catalog and drop that product into an image of your living room or bedroom,” Alexander says. “That is an incredible way that print catalogs have become interactive tools. It really boggles my mind.” The cost advantages The long-held belief among businesses is that print is a high-cost and labor-intensive means of marketing. But Alexander says the initial investment in print catalogs is quickly offset by the increased traction that catalogs can provide, leading to increased sales and additional profits that, in the end, turn print marketing into a profit-maker. “The cost up front will be more expensive for print, but going back to the additional percentage that catalog-receivers spend versus those who don’t receive catalogs, you’re making more money per customer, and that adds up,” she says.

Rejecting print to go all-digital may seem like a more cost-effective option, as you aren’t paying for paper, ink and the use of printing services. But digital marketing also tends to have less traction in turning viewers into buyers. “It could actually end up costing you more to reach people digitally than to send out mass mailings in print,” Alexander says. With so many businesses gravitating toward digital marketing, it opens up another advantage for businesses willing to invest in print, as it is a much less crowded space. The digital space is designed for a massive volume of quick-hitting information that is ingested, processed and forgotten in short order. Print offers a thinner crowd and a slower pace, and consumers can bond with your brand when perusing a print catalog. “There is just so much noise in the digital realm,” Alexander says. “Tweets are very short lived. Emails might not even be opened because we get so many of them. But in a physical mailbox, you might get five pieces of mail per day. There is much less noise and a much greater chance of getting the attention of the recipient — who can then open the catalog and browse at his or her leisure.” Ultimately, to be effective, your marketing strategy has to appeal to your customers, which means you have to know them and how best to communicate with them. This means tracking and studying their buying behaviors and figuring out what makes them tick. Print publications represent one tool in your belt, a tool that can be extremely effective if utilized properly. “There is a strategy around everything, and the core purpose of your print strategy isn’t really different from any other type of marketing you might do,” Alexander says. “You have to look at the design, the language, and then figure out how to draw the eyes of your audience to them. Print is often underutilized in developing that connection among your product, your brand and your customers.”

> To learn more about Christine Alexander’s passion for paper, read her blog, dreaming in cmyk – www.dreamingincmyk.com.

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in the industry

Changing the world How the Sappi Ideas that Matter design contest has made a difference

t began with the belief that design can be powerful — maybe even powerful enough to change the world. And so it has. Conceived in 1999 by designer Cheryl Heller, the Sappi Ideas that Matter design contest was established by Sappi North America, the maker of McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo printing paper brands, to recognize and support designers who use their skills and expertise to solve communications problems for a wide range of charitable activities. Since then, through Sappi’s ongoing, generous support, Ideas that Matter has contributed more than $12.5 million in grants worldwide to more than 500 nonprofit projects, benefiting arts organizations, education programs, community groups, children’s agencies and those living in poverty without access to food and health care in what the global paper manufacturer has deemed “a call for more good.” “The program demonstrates our commitment to making communities a better place,” says Patti Groh, director of marketing communications for Sappi Fine Paper North America. “It’s really gratifying watching so many wonderful ideas being implemented.” The only program of its kind in the design arena, Ideas that Matter is intended for individual professional designers, design firms, design instructors and students — anyone who wants to use his or her skills and passion for social good, says Groh. The contest rules are simple. Projects must support a nonprofit, and at least some of the design materials must be printed. The projects chosen are eligible for between $5,000 and $50,000 in grant funding. Awarding funding When Ken Botts received a grant in 2012, it helped

IN STOCK • Fall 2014

turn a hope into a reality. Botts, founding principal at Virtual Marketing Associates, an international branding firm based in Dayton, Ohio, and his team developed communications materials for the Wright Family Foundation, which endeavors to preserve the Wright Brothers’ aviation legacy. The grant project, completed in 2013, included a brand style guide, marketing materials for licensees and an integrated website. Through brand licensing, profits from Wright Brothers “aviation-cool” style products such as sunglasses, bicycles and watches will help sustain Hawthorn Hill, the Wright home. Using the best quality paper was vital to this project, says Botts, as the products being marketed under the Wright Brothers brand are all about luxury. “You see pictures of the brothers in their bike shop, and they’re wearing starched white collars and wool pants — they were stylish,” says Botts “We’re positioning this as a fashion brand with a higher price point, and the print communication had to be commensurate with a quality brand. Working with Sappi was awesome.” Winners are chosen based not only on quality of design and creativity but also on how the project stands to benefit its nonprofit partner and how that nonprofit could, in turn, positively affect the community it serves. The project is a great example of what can be accomplished when the paper, print and design communities come together to create something that is so much greater than the sum of its individual parts.

> For a list of this year’s winners, go to www.na.sappi.com/ideasthatmatterNA/ decadeofgiving.html.

Pinnacle of performance Pinnacle Recycling thrives on customer service

aterials recycling is, at its heart, a service business. The processing of scrap paper, plastic and metal takes place at a plant, out of sight and out of mind for the customer. The customer only cares that the company providing the service is reliable, comprehensive and a pleasure to work with. That has been the core philosophy for Pinnacle Recycling LLC since the Akron company’s founding nearly five years ago. “The founders of our company all had many years of experience in the industry,” says Dan O’Connor, Pinnacle’s president. “Our inspiration was that we knew we could do it better and be more effective. That’s why we formed our own company.” Pinnacle’s business model doesn’t rely on reinventing the wheel. It doesn’t primarily rely on new technology or innovations to set it apart. What Pinnacle does rely on is meeting and exceeding the expectations of its customers, and doing it time and again. “Our business is, first and foremost, reliant on the performance of our drivers,” O’Connor says. “The people running our tractor trailers throughout our service area, from Toledo to Pittsburgh to Columbus, they’re the ones providing the direct service to our customers, wearing our company’s badge.” Through consistent direct interaction with customers and observing trends in the marketplace, Pinnacle’s leaders have been able to adapt the company’s service offerings, allowing them to remain responsive to the changing needs of their customers. The most prominent example is Pinnacle’s growth from a paper-dominant business to servicing a more diverse range of materials. “At the outset, we might have only looked at the

paper-recycling market,” O’Connor says. “But we started to gain customers who had a need for plastic and metal recycling. We had initially stayed away from those areas, but we knew that if we were going to build our reputation on customer service, we’d have to diversify. As a result, plastics have now grown to be 10 percent of our business.” Diversification adds layers of complexity to a business from an operational standpoint, so along with expansion comes the need for enhanced efficiency. To achieve higher degrees of efficiency, Pinnacle regularly invests in improving its processes, which in turn leads to more competitive pricing that the company can pass along to its customers. The company’s leaders also invest in ongoing employee training. “Our industry is governed by a lot of different specs and regulations that frequently change, like contaminant levels in old newspapers,” O’Connor says. “The tolerance for contaminants might be different now than five years ago. Our customers expect us to stay on top of those things, so we have to keep our whole staff aware of changes.” Pinnacle aims to compete on price and efficiency, but more than anything, the company aims to compete on its people. Whether it’s the drivers on site, or the staff at the Akron home office, O’Connor says Pinnacle’s people are the special factor that drives the company’s success. “Our key will always be our people,” he says. “It’s how we hire them, how we train them, how we encourage them to embrace change and think outside the box in an industry that is constantly changing. That’s always what’s going to matter the most for us.”

> For more information, contact Pinnacle Recycling at www.pinnaclerecyclingllc.com or (800) 607-1503.

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in the family

Creating

win-win-win situations Millcraft and Cleveland Clinic team up in cause marketing to benefit the community

illcraft sells a copy paper that kids can

teamed up with the Cleveland Browns to benefit the

use to draw and color on, to make paper

Taussig Cancer Institute.

airplanes with and to spark their imagina-

buy & give

How Millcraft is turning copy paper into a difference-maker

ew manufactured items are as basic and

started to wrap our heads around what was impor-

simple as copy paper. Even in the digital

tant to our team members, we realized, one, how

age, companies still depend on reams upon

passionate our people are about so many different

reams of copy paper as an essential component of

causes, and two, how many incredible charities are

conducting business.

underserved in the communities we serve through-

tions for myriad other creative uses. But this otherwise

grow,” McMahan says. “With the Panera initiative,

everyday, ordinary paper can also help extraordinary

about 27,000 cookies were sold in 2013; this year, it’s

kids receiving extraordinary treatment at the Cleveland

nearly 43,000, an increase of more than 60 percent.

multiple brand names to scores of customers across

lasting impact, as a business, on just some of these

One of the best things about cause marketing is how

the company’s Midwest footprint. So Millcraft’s team

organizations and the communities they serve.”

it gets employees involved.”

started thinking about a way that copy paper could

Clinic’s Children’s hospital. The office paper, made for copiers, laser printers

It’s one of Millcraft’s staple products, sold under

Successful cause marketing programs create

make an even bigger impact outside of the office.

& give charitable initiative, and the Cleveland Clinic

shareholder and social value, connect businesses

That’s how the idea for its “buy & give” brand

Children’s Lend a Hand fundraising program is its

and organizations with consumers, employees and

primary beneficiary in Northeast Ohio. Launched in

suppliers, and communicate the shared values of

and inkjet printers, is the foundation for Millcraft’s buy

January 2011 by Millcraft and one of its core suppli-

both entities.

was launched. “We wanted to take what is traditionally a com-

out the Midwest. This is a way for us to make a

Eisenmann says the desire to give back, particularly to children’s hospitals, is something personal for Millcraft’s president, Travis Mlakar. “Travis has a son who was born with a heart defect, and he spent a lot of time in the hospital over

modity product and differentiate it,” says Scott Eisen-

the course of his son’s early life, experiencing first-

mann, Millcraft’s Cleveland-based regional manager.

hand how hospitals operate, the amazing, oftentimes

ers, Domtar Paper, buy & give connects businesses’

“Besides directly helping Cleveland Clinic and its

copy paper purchases to charitable giving. For every

patients, these programs help people make personal

“So we came up with buy & give, which is a cause

life-saving efforts they put out every day, and where

carton of the paper that Millcraft sells, $1 is donated

connections to the care that we’re providing,” says

marketing initiative centered around a new brand of

the opportunities are — not only for individuals but

to the Cleveland Clinic Children’s hospital in the name

Megan Frankel, director of service line marketing at

copy paper. We take one dollar per case and donate

for businesses — to help support their heroic work.”

of the purchasing business. The initiative is an excel-

Cleveland Clinic. “It’s more meaningful when it’s part of

it to a charity.” That dollar per case — which contains about

For the Mlakars and the whole team at Millcraft, the buy & give concept grew from a simple desire to

lent example of cause marketing, in which for-profit

your daily life. It’s the difference between seeing a sign

businesses and nonprofit organizations team up for

at Panera where you were already waiting in line, and

5,000 sheets of paper — is donated to a designated

mutual benefit, in this case, providing the hospital with

seeing a billboard along the freeway. It’s the perfect

charity in the home market of the purchasing com-

“Copy paper is the ultimate commodity; everyone

tens of thousands of dollars over the past three years

marriage of raising funds and raising awareness.”

pany. Initially rolled out in the Cleveland market three

uses it in copiers, printers and fax machines,” Mlakar

Some of the largest national for- and nonprofit

years ago, this summer, the buy & give program

says. “But it doesn’t have to be a throwaway deci-

teams — Delta Airlines and the Breast Cancer Re-

was extended to all 17 locations that comprise

sion. When utilized for a greater cause, it can have

participating in more and more cause marketing

search Foundation, Macy’s and March of Dimes, Gallo

Millcraft’s footprint.

such a widespread, positive impact. And, as far as

programs,” says Chris McMahan, executive director

Family Vineyards and Meals on Wheels — have suc-

that it would not otherwise have had. “Over the last few years, Cleveland Clinic has been

“For the past three years, the program’s donations

give back and make sure that what they do matters.

I’m concerned, that’s the best impression any of us

of corporate philanthropy at Cleveland Clinic. “It’s a

cessfully partnered in cause marketing programs. But

in Cleveland have gone to the Cleveland Clinic Chil-

wonderful way to draw support for the programs our

there are added advantages when both the players

dren’s hospital,” Eisenmann says. “As we expanded

The company’s goal is to donate $200,000 per

experts are delivering, and ultimately, for our patients.”

serve the same local community.

to other cities this past August, each Millcraft division

year for the next five years to eight proudly chosen

had the opportunity to line up partnerships with its

charities in the Midwest communities in which

Cleveland Clinic also partners with Panera Bread

“It’s interesting to watch these programs evolve and

in the family

“One of the benefits we’ve seen working with local

can leave, as a person and as a business.”

in a cause marketing initiative in which a portion of

companies is that the people who participate find

own charity of choice, whose cause or mission is of

it operates.

cookie sales go to the Center for Autism, and with

it so gratifying to contribute to the lives of people in

particular importance to those team members, to

Cedar Point, which donates a portion of the revenue

their own community,” McMahan says. “And from a

maximize the local impact of the donation.

> For more information about how to participate

from tickets sold to its employees to support the

philanthropy standpoint, it’s nice to have a program

Children’s hospital. The Cleveland Clinic has previously

that keeps the funds in the local community.”

IN STOCK • Fall 2014

“Business is personal. As a company, we want to be part of the communities that we serve. When we

in the buy & give program in your community and the charities involved, please contact your local Millcraft sales office at (800) 860-2482. Visit mymillcraft.com to order online.

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