FREE SAMPLE INSIDE: A brand new Glow-in-the-Dark Print Substrate! FEATURED
Glow-in-theDark Print
HOW A WELLDESIGNED WORKPLACE CAN IMPROVE PERFORMANCE
When you think of glowin-the-dark products, it may conjure up the image of novelty items like glow sticks and keychains. Or you might recall a toy or game you had as a child. Rarely do you think about marketing materials or practical business applications. But new glow-in-the-dark print substrates—like AlumiGraphics GLOW— may change that. Marketers may not always have adequate lighting for their printed materials, and adding light comes with additional costs, vendors, installation or equipment to consider. Fortunately, there are now print substrates that glow so you can take advantage of dimly lit areas. Glow-in-the-dark substrates are photoluminescent, so they “charge” with a light source. By designing your piece with the negative space in mind, your message or image will glow when the lights go out (check out our sample on the inside cover). It’s the perfect application for interior or exterior walls and walkways in public buildings, hospitals, event venues, amusement parks, stadiums, universities, hotels, and more.
VOL. 8, ISSUE 2, MARCH/APRIL 2018 Shawmut Communications Group | www.shawmutdelivers.com
Intrigued? Learn more about AlumiGraphics GLOW inside and check out our sample in the dark!
OUR COVER
AlumiGraphics GLOW
Light Up the Dark with AlumiGraphics
AlumiGraphics GLOW is unlike any other material. It’s a photoluminescent, foil-based substrate that can be used indoors and out. It adheres to rigid surfaces such as concrete, brick, and tile, and is easy to install and remove. The white substrate has a bright glow when the lights go out, making it an excellent solution for wayfinding, emergency indicators, and glow-inthe-dark advertisements! Plus, AlumiGraphics GLOW meets non-slip, no-burn, and glow-inthe-dark certifications and it’s recyclable! Ready to see how a specialty substrate like AlumiGraphics GLOW can impact your next piece? Talk to your Shawmut rep today!
FEATURED EXPERTS Lynne Dejadon Division Manager, Nurse Mates Sally Augustin, PhD Principal, Design With Science
Try it! Place this sample somewhere it can get a good amount of light and let it charge. Then turn the lights out and watch the hot air balloon glow!
BE SEEN!
O W L G HE DARK IN T
AlumiGraphics GLOW is a Premium Glow-in-the-Dark print substrate: • For interior or exterior use • A dheres to all rigid surfaces such as concrete, brick, and tile (not recommended for painted surfaces) • No overlaminate needed • Slip-resistant • Easy installation and removal • Long-term outdoor durability • Environmentally friendly
Sarah Sebastian Owner, Rose Gold Collective Mary Ann Geers Vice President of Corporate Strategy, GPA
Ready to see how AlumiGraphics GLOW or another specialty substrate can impact your next piece? Talk to your Shawmut rep today.
WELCOME
Do the Unexpected this Spring As a lifelong New England resident, I hesitate to open this issue with a message about spring. Some might say I’m jinxing it because the weather can turn on a dime. Nonetheless, wishful thinking has gotten the better of me, and I can’t help but look ahead to the joys of spring and the prospect of warmer days. For those of us here at Shawmut, spring is a busy time. Retailers are launching new product lines and catalogs, B2B companies have hectic trade show schedules, and our non-profit clients are trying to boost response rates for spring appeals. Across all of that work, we are consistently asked: how can I get people to notice my brand?
someone, or be the oddball in your industry. At the end of the day, being noticed is the hardest part. Just like the unexpected temperature swings in New England, doing something different can have a big impact on your business. It’s why we encourage our clients to take risks when it comes to formats, substrates, technology, and personalization strategies. This issue of Tactics provides advice on ways you can change things up—from how you manage and distribute collateral, to your presence at a trade show, and the design of your office. We hope it provides a few ideas to help you do something unexpected. Happy Spring,
There’s a million ways to answer this question. The specific strategies vary based on the company and its customers, but over our 65+ year history, we’ve noticed a few trends. We tell our clients to follow a simple rule: do something different. That “something” is different for every brand, but the goal is the same. Create a disruption, surprise
Michael Peluso President
Inside this Issue
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Customers don’t want a traditional shopping trip anymore—they want an experience. Brands are turning to print to drive in-store traffic, and create unique experiences.
What’s the best way to attract people to your booth? Get advice from a trade show pro and ace your marketing events this year.
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Learn to spruce up your space and improve productivity using tips from an applied environmental psychologist.
See how you can save valuable resources by cleaning out your marketing closet and putting materials into an online portal.
PRINT’S ROLE IN CREATING A GREAT RETAIL EXPERIENCE
HOW A WELL-DESIGNED WORKPLACE CAN IMPROVE PERFORMANCE
5 WAYS TO WOW CUSTOMERS AT TRADE SHOWS IN 2018
SPRING CLEANING: CHANGING THE WAY YOU MANAGE COLLATERAL
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Print’s Role in Creating a Great Retail Experience Today’s shopper is different. Shopping isn’t about wandering aimlessly through store aisles anymore. Today’s customer wants a personalized shopping experience that makes buying products fun, relevant, and efficient. 2
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Seventy-five percent of customers say they’re more likely to buy from a retailer that shows interest in their preferences and recommends products based on their unique needs, according to research from Accenture. To create a personalized shopping experience, brands have to create their own recipe of marketing tactics to connect with customers in-store and at home. Many brands are re-introducing print and direct mail—using big data and behavioral information gathered from digital channels—to drive that personalized experience. Moving forward, print and digital will become the two major ingredients in their personalized retail recipe.
Why are more customers responding to catalogs? Brands can personalize catalogs by adding a customer’s name or by sending personalized versions of a catalog with product recommendations based on different customer segments. Macy’s also exemplified the marriage between print and digital techniques. The retailer rolled out a hightech marketing campaign that delivered personalized messages to a customer’s phone when they walked through certain departments in the store. But, the messages were only sent to customers who had the Macy’s app. The retailer used large print banners set up at the store’s entrance to encourage more shoppers to download the app to get notifications while they shop.
Lynne Dejadon is the Division Manager of Nurse Mates, an apparel and accessory line specifically for nurses. She’s responsible for product development, sourcing, merchandising, brand management and all marketing initiatives.
Retailers combine print and digital strategies J.C. Penney has combined print and digital strategies by reviving its catalog, “Big Book.” After a five-year hiatus, the company brought back the phone book-sized catalog in 2015 with the intent to drive sales online. It’s one of many examples that prove catalogs are making a huge come back. In 2016, 9.8 million catalogs were sent and response rates climbed by 23%, according to a report from the Data and Marketing Association and USPS.
Retailers have relied on banners to dress-up their store windows for decades. In fact, 95% of retailers use posters for in-store communication, according to a visual report from Canon. But there’s a new push to create banners that drive traffic to an online channel like an app, website, or social platform.
How a Shawmut customer uses print to enhance the shopping experience Shawmut Communications Group customer Nurse Mates relies heavily on several print pieces to create a unique shopping experience for its customers. Nurse Mates is a manufacturer and wholesaler that sells its specialty line of scrubs and accessories for nurses to retailers. “Print provides a lot of marketing opportunity for us to connect with customers,” Division Manager Lynne Dejadon, who handles all of the marketing for the Nurse Mates brand, says. Dejadon says they give retailers a treasure trove of printed materials to keep customers informed, engaged, and most importantly, buying. Here’s how the brand uses various print pieces:
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Catalogs encourage sales in-store and online Nurse Mates prints a top-quality catalog that shows the breadth of its products. Retailers make the catalogs available to customers in-store as well as during on-site sales at hospitals or clinics.
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“Catalogs can show customers that we have more styles and colors that might not be available in-store or during an on-site sale,” Dejadon says. “Customers can browse the catalog and return to the store when they’re ready to make a purchase.”
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LLC COMPANY, MA 01810 SÖFFT SHOE / ANDOVER, SUITE 502 SQUARE / 100 BRICKSTONE 9339 1.800.347. s.com mate www.nurse
any, Shoe Comp ark of Söfft any, LLC is a tradem Shoe Comp Nurse Mates 2018 Söfft
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The catalogs are one of the most effective pieces of collateral that Nurse Mates uses, Dejadon says. “Retailers are always requesting more catalogs. They don’t just want a few, they want batches of 50–100. Hospitals and other medical employers also tell us that they offer copies in break rooms so employees can browse at work.”
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Nurse Mates also uses the catalogs to sell directly to nurses. “When we’re at a nursing school event, for example, we give away catalogs in hopes of driving customers to our website to make a purchase,” Dejadon says. “We combine print and online marketing tactics to drive sales.” Postcards promote new products When Nurse Mates is about to launch a new product, they’ll give retailers postcards to hand out. As customers make a purchase, a postcard with a vibrant product image and description are added to a customer’s bag. “We help retailers keep customers up-to-date on new product offerings,” Dejadon says. “These postcards serve as a great educational tool that can ultimately brings a customer back to the store to get the new item.” Wall charts push add-on sales Nurse Mates creates wall charts that retailers can use in-store to showcase specific products.
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2018 Nurse Mates catalog and wall chart.
“We can create a wall chart for the dressing room, for example, that showcases an accessory like socks,” Dejadon explains. “As a customer tries on a pair of scrubs they might see the wall chart and think, ‘I could use a few pairs of socks too.’” After seeing a wall chart, a customer might add items to their cart that weren’t initially planned for.
The benefits of print in the retail landscape While digital marketing efforts are front-and-center for many retailers, there’s a renewed effort to incorporate print into a customer’s buying journey. More than half (55%) of all marketers say creating visual content is a priority, according to statistics from HubSpot. Those visuals could come by way of catalogs, wall charts, postcards—the list goes on and on. For Nurse Mates, print has become a visual tool that not only establishes credibility with nurses, but also builds a connection with them. “Nurses buy our products because they have to, but by using a variety of print materials during their retail experience to show off our many products, we make it so nurses want to buy.”
COLOR, FLOOR PLANS, SHAPES, AND PATTERNS: NOT USUAL TOPICS OF CONVERSATION WHEN IT COMES TO EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE. BUT DR. SALLY AUGUSTIN, PH.D., URGES COMPANIES TO CONSIDER HOW WORKPLACE DESIGN ELEMENTS LIKE THESE CAN HELP—OR HURT—EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE.
“Organizations are becoming more aware of how an individual’s physical space can influence thoughts and behavior,” says Dr. Augustin, an applied behavioral scientist, and principal at Design with Science. “Cognitive psychologists have studied this for years, but now companies are starting to see the benefits of redesigning their space in a way that optimizes performance.”
HOW A WELL-DESIGNED WORKPLACE CAN IMPROVE PERFORMANCE
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Most people agree that our environment affects us, so why don’t we use this theory to our advantage in designing office spaces? That’s where researchers like Dr. Augustin come in. She helps organizations apply cognitive principles to workplace design to boost employee performance. Here are a few of the basics she urges all companies to consider.
DESIGN WITH JOB ROLES IN MIND “The most important thing is to know which employees are doing tactical work vs. strategic work. There is a big difference, and when someone’s space is designed to support the type of work they do they can add the most value,” Dr. Augustin says. To start, she suggests that employers segment staff into two groups—strategic and tactical— based on the majority of their work. Then, it’s essential to understand the design elements that should be uniquely different for each style.
requires a higher sensory experience. Dr. Augustin suggests using bright colors, rectilinear patterns, or geometric shapes such as triangles or squares—all of which can boost energy levels. On the other hand, strategic work such as market research or copywriting is better-suited for more peaceful environments. Relaxed colors and curvilinear patterns work well. Also, adding a view of nature or a fish tank can help refresh mental energy which is critical for strategic work. “Even the office furniture you choose can enhance a person’s ability to perform strategic work,” adds Augustin. “I recommend furniture with a visible wood grain because looking at wood destresses us. It reminds our brains of tree bark and nature.”
“Human beings are also naturally drawn to other people, and that connectivity boosts our energy levels. So give tactical workers more opportunities to interact and For example, tactical work, such as strategic workers spaces that are paperwork or product development, less prone to interruptions.”
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SIGNAGE CAN PROMOTE MIRRORING BEHAVIORS Signage plays a crucial role in communicating to staff information that they value about their employer and vice versa. Dr. Augustin recommends using signage to promote positive messages such as the organization’s ethics, environmental responsibility, and values like honesty, integrity, and commitment to others. When signage accurately depicts the company’s core values, it becomes much more than internal marketing material. The messages become reminders as to why employees chose their employer. When people read desirable statements about themselves, they tend to emulate that message. Essentially, employees will mirror the behavior.
GIVE PEOPLE CONTROL OVER THEIR SPACE Autonomy is empowering, especially in the workplace. When employers encourage employees to make their space their own,
they stand to make tremendous gains in productivity. It’s a natural cause and effect— when employees feel that they have control over their space to add lamps, fans, decorations or whatever makes them happy, it shows that the employer has respect and confidence in them. In turn, that feeling encourages people to work harder than they would without that option. “With workplace personalization employees tend to display objects that showcase their value because people are more comfortable in spaces that send messages about themselves they find desirable,” says Dr. Augustin. “And since comfort is linked to productivity, it’s a win-win for the employer.” Autonomy and choice also apply to work location. Collaborative
spaces and wireless connectivity allow employees to select space depending on the work they are doing at the time.
USE NATURAL LIGHT Just about everyone prefers natural light and employers should do their best to offer this wherever possible. Augustin says, “the more natural light, the better, as long as you’ve eliminated the glare.” However, if natural light isn’t possible, several design options can help employers achieve the same effect. Try including realistic photos of nature and green leafy plants. “Just don’t overdo it on the plants. A few are ok, but too many can become complex and have a negative effect.”
REATE A VARIETY OF SPACES C FOR DIFFERENT TASKS
While it’s important to design spaces for tactical vs. strategic work, it’s rare that an employee will focus solely on one or the other. In reality, people will do both, so employers should offer a variety of workplaces and flexibility. That includes the option to work from home. However, Dr. Augustin recommends managers discuss the structure of “home offices” and the type of work they plan to perform at home. If someone needs to do a strategic project, but they live in a noisy apartment or a house with lots of disruptions (kids, pets, etc.), the environment may be counterproductive. “In general, think about what your employees do and create a space for that. By offering flexibility, employees can hop from one space to another depending on the task at hand.”
Sally Augustin, PhD, is an applied environmental psychologist and a principal at Design With Science focusing on human-centered design. She has consulted with both individuals and multinational organizations to inform the design of places and objects that make lives better and help companies achieve their objectives.
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5 Ways to Wow Customers at Trade Shows in 2018 8
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Does your company market its products or services at trade shows? Research shows using trade shows as a lead generation tool is a wise decision. Eighty-one percent of trade show attendees have buying authority, which means 4 out 5 people that you interact with are potential customers, according to Trade Show News Network.
Trade shows give brands face-toface meetings with prospective clients that have already shown a level of interest in buying new products by merely attending the trade show. Some trade shows are massive events. The biggest trade show, the Consumer Electronics Show, is spread across a 2.4 million square foot venue in Las Vegas with more than four thousand exhibiting companies, according to Statista. How do you stand out in such a crowded, competitive space? Even if you’re not attending a trade show of this size, it still begs the question, what does it take to wow customers? Event Designer and Owner of Rose Gold Collective, Sarah Sebastian has worked countless trade shows and says you have to treat your 10×10 space as your brand house. “You have to think creatively and figure out a way to turn your limited space into an area that exudes your brand’s identity and vibe while showing off your products.” To help marketers create an amazing booth, Shawmut Communications Group worked with Sebastian to put together this list of tips:
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takeaways and let that be your starting point. Use these two pieces of information to steer your booth creation.
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Create a booth using the five senses
You need a way to draw customers to your booth. Use the five senses as a guide. What will attendees see, hear, smell, taste, or touch at your booth? There’s a ton of interesting substrates to use in your booth design or accompanying marketing materials that can help you create a sensory experience. As you plan your booth design, try to trigger at least three of the senses as a way to lure customers in.
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Make a plan for print and tech displays
Many marketers combine print displays and technology to create a one-of-a-kind booth. Printed banners might showcase your company name and logo, while a slideshow plays on a flat screen TV, for instance.
To make sure everything fits, mark off a 10×10 space in your conference room and plan the layout of your booth. With a layout planned, you can order appropriately sized print materials.
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Print unique marketing materials
A three-panel-brochure will convey your message, but why not spice things up with materials that customers will remember and can interact with? Try a vibrant postcard or unique folding format that offers basic information and a QR code. Customers can zap the code with their phone later on and go to a specifically designed landing page that directs them to product information or encourages them to sign up for a demo. And just like your booth design, it’s important to make your printed takeaways stand out from the piles of materials attendees will gather. Use interesting textures, stocks, or specialty print effects.
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Get creative with swag
Everyone loves free stuff, but people don’t really need another pen or a USB. Spend some time creating promotional materials that are connected to your brand. A cell phone accessory company might offer a keychain that doubles as a stand for smartphones, for instance.
Armed with these tips, you can make sure your booth is the hit of the show.
Focus on takeaway messages
Before you design any element of your booth, think about what you want customers to walk away knowing. Focus on two specific
Sarah Sebastian has over 10 years experience in brand marketing, working on the agency and client side. She has produced corporate events globally for influencers, clients and VIPs. Her passion for detail and over delivering event experiences led her to launch Rose Gold Collective.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Don’t Underestimate the Value of Face-to-Face Marketing and Events The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2020 the event industry will grow by 44%, exceeding predictions for many other industries. Event planners attribute a recent surge in trade shows and conferences to the strong economy, as well as a growing desire among brands to have more face-to-face interactions with customers.
In fact, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research reports that 48% of attendees say face-to-face interactions are more valuable today than they were two years ago. We rounded up some additional data from industry experts about the value of events for marketers.
In-person events have been rated the most effective B2B tactic for the last six years, with 81% of marketers using them.
75%
of content marketers rank in-person events as their most effective marketing tactic.1
2
ve opinion positi
Event marketing significantly influences brand equity and the perception people have of the company.4
1 & 2: CMI 2016 B2B Report
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4: Columbia Business School, EMI/Mosaic
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l C e a g n n i ing r p Changing the Way You Manage Collateral
Do you need to reclaim some office space that’s been taken over by piles of brochures and promotional items? Do you find yourself throwing leftover branded materials into a “marketing closet” with no way to manage it? Or worse, are you throwing unused collateral into the recycle bin year after year? Utilizing an collateral management portal is a great way to ensure you’re not wasting a single one of your products, while alleviating the guilt of adding “just one more thing” on to the pile. Collateral management portals, also referred to as online storefronts, can be as simple or as complex as you need them to be. For example, a basic collateral management portal may serve as a central access point for employees to order branded merchandise for personal or promotional use. This is a great way to clear up the clutter of water bottles, t-shirts, tote
bags, notebooks, anything you have lying around. From there, you can add print-on-demand templates for letterhead and business cards—allowing employees to create and order their own materials without bogging down graphic designers or other marketing staff. Beyond the basics, a collateral management portal can be designed with complex approval workflows, budget restrictions, various user permissions, custom branding and more. So now that you get the gist of how a collateral management portal can help, how do you start? First off, don’t get overwhelmed. It all starts with a good spring cleaning. Grab a few co-workers and take a complete inventory of your current marketing materials and promotional items. Create a spreadsheet with columns for item name, description, quantity, specs, packaging details, last order date, last revision date, and any other helpful details.
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Next, collect all the invoices and orders you’ve placed with vendors for printed material and promotional items over the last 12–24 months. If you have multiple locations or departments that are responsible for placing orders, assign one person as the lead and make sure they get a comprehensive view of the organization’s collateral inventory and usage. The research may show that you’ve been overor underestimating the amount of print materials you need— leading to storage problems or budget waste. If you have a sales team or field reps that use printed materials, it’s also a good idea to send them a survey. You might find that they are looking for other formats or updates to materials that you haven’t yet considered. Use these insights to determine if any of the materials you’ve gathered in your inventory spreadsheet should be
discontinued or updated to better meet their needs. This research will make basic setup of a collateral management portal quick and easy. Your office will be cleaner and you’ll spend less time managing materials and fulfilling requests. Once a collateral management portal is up and running, you’ll have access to reporting on all of the products you have housed there. A twelve month report might show trends you hadn’t noticed or could not analyze before. For example, a product ordered only sporadically in the summer might see a big uptick in the fall, leaving you scrambling to reprint before the end of the year. Conversely, you may find that every year, you have extra printed material from the year before that is no longer relevant. Watching the trends through the portal’s reporting capabilities gives you a clearer picture of how to budget in the coming year.
If you start off with basic inventory management, the portal can easily grow as your needs change. Perhaps you find yourself wanting to send out personalized kits and letters, but don’t have the time to set it all up. Your storefront can do the heavy lifting. Kits can be created with identical items, or you can allow each kit to be customized for the occasion. You may want to offer a stock form letter that includes a variable signature for each sales rep or an entirely custom message that is printed-on-demand as each kit is produced. Whether you need to produce kitted items, variable brochures, or send something to a direct mail list, a collateral management portal can make the process simple and efficient. Start small by cleaning out your marketing closet and then continue to customize and update the portal as needed. As it grows, you’ll save your organization valuable time and money.
HOW TO USE YOUR SHAWMUT STOREFRONT
Track your inventory, view reports, and place orders for static or print-on-demand items through your online portal.
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Shawmut fulfills your orders and ships wherever you’d like!
Have everything you need on hand, and nothing you don’t!
ASK AN EXPERT
4 Hot Retail Print Trends Vying for customer attention means coming up with innovative ways to draw customers into a store. Mary Ann Geers, Vice President of Corporate Strategy at GPA—a company that specializes in substrate solutions for offset, digital, and wide format printing—says “retailers need to create an experience that people want to go to.”
Last fall, Goldman Sachs reported that 85% of retail sales are still made in physical stores. Geers recommends a combination of channels—print, direct mail, email, and social media—to create what she calls “brand love.” However, she agrees the in-store experience keeps shoppers coming back. “Brands need to keep stores fresh with visually stunning print materials.” We asked Mary Ann how brands are using print in stores and she told us about these four hot retail print trends: 1. Branded wallpaper Companies are creating their own textured wallpaper to add a unique branded element to their store’s design. One standout Geers pointed to is Wendy’s. The fast food chain uses bold, colorful wallpaper along with dimensional lettering to showcase their brand values. They refer to these newly designed
particularly those that sell luxury products. These brands are creating detailed tags and high-end labels that are clean and easy to read while standing out from the run-of-the-mill paper tag or adhesive label. These print pieces give customers more information about big ticket items and add another high-end, in-store touchpoint for brands.
stores as their “Image Activation Restaurants” and they plan to continue rolling them out across the country. 2. Floor graphics People look at the floor when they walk so it’s a logical spot for retailers to advertise. Floor graphics 4. Hi-tech labels are inexpensive compared to POP displays and wall signage—making “Creating a great in-store experience is all about generating excitement,” them an effective way to leverage says Mary Ann. “Augmented reality unused space. is a fantastic tool that retailers can Brands are using floor graphics use to take printed labels beyond in malls to direct customers from a 2D experience.” the main walkway to their store An example Geers points to are entrance. They can also be used the interactive labels that appear outside to usher shoppers in and on wine bottles from the brand 19 direct them to new products and Crimes. Each label launches a short sales. Products like AlumiGraphics “crime story” video that comes to Grip adhere to just about any life when a customer scans the label exterior surface so they’re great with their smartphone. for sidewalks and parking lots. These four print trends are just some of the unique products and Detailed tags and product labels are applications to help retailers create another print trend among retailers, a unique in-store experience. 3. Detailed tags
As GPA’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Mary Ann Geers unifies GPA’s marketing, product, research and development, and technical teams, leading them as one cohesive force to provide maximum benefit to GPA’s customers.
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Shawmut Communications Group 33 Cherry Hill Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 www.shawmutdelivers.com
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Trade Show Season is Coming! Be ready for trade show season or your next event with materials that stand out. Whether it’s a trade show, seminar, or awards dinner, your event materials are speaking for your brand before attendees enter the room. What do you want them to say?
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