Kelly Kirk's Blog (45)

Once you have made the jump (or sometimes leap of faith) to personalized multichannel marketing, the first thing you need to work out is how you are going use these new tools.

Every business has its own dynamic and set of challenges, so it’s important to decide what you ultimately want to achieve with your multichannel marketing campaign. Do you want to drive an online transaction; such as a pledge or donation, or do you want to set up your company’s sales people with new…

It’s not uncommon for organizations to believe that consumers will respond to their marketing campaign simply out of brand recognition or their loyalty to a product. The truth is that the sheer volume of direct marketing that consumers (or your target audience) receive requires marketers to go the extra mile to give them a reason to participate in your marketing campaign beyond just the opportunity to voice their opinion.

One tactic often used to garner participation or…

“What’s in it for me?” That is the question you should be answering when you are looking to drive higher response rates for your marketing campaigns. Who is your target audience? What do they care about? When executing a targeted multichannel marketing campaign, it is important to outline a strategy that works for your target audience.

Depending on who that is, you need to decide on the timing and sequence of your communications; what media to choose from, the call to action,…

Listening to all the excitement today about Facebook’s IPO I was reminded that what people are probably buying is not Facebook as it stands today but rather what it may become and do with the data that it has collected in the last 8 years. Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are all directly involved in building sizable customer profiles from data that they have gleaned…

Smartphones are becoming ubiquitous. The mobile phone platform is providing immediate, easy access to data in a way that has been unprecedented. Phone calls, Email, text, GPS, calendars, music, and search, games, TV and internet access all reside in our pockets. Our phones have evolved to become tiny computers which in some ways have lessened our need for desktop or laptop access.

Mobile phones allow the consumer instant access to a myriad of purchasing activities and can even target…

Check out these top mobile apps!  Click here to see screen shots and learn more about them.

Top APPs for Graphic Designers and Printers

1.  Color Expert                                            Price…

(From our Vet. Dean Pugh)

To the up & coming Graphic Arts Professionals:

I’m still a teenager stuck in the body of a senior citizen. Been in the printing game since 1974 – more than most, not as much as some – began in production and ended up in sales.

So why did I just waste 37 words telling you that? I’m not naïve enough to think you care about my bio, and it isn’t a glamorous story. It’s because I’ve seen huge shifts in the way businesses and careers work,…

Recently my nine year old grand daughter launched a successful marketing campaign. …

The Internet has created the ability to interact with customers in real time and as often as many times a day. Purchasing on the web has been growing by leaps and bounds but so have email blasts and surveys. It seems like every click of the mouse is generating a plethora of return emails soliciting more business and surveys asking about your purchasing or viewing…

“Thanks for all your help.”

It all started with a phone call before Memorial Day. My client wanted to know if I would be willing to come in to review a new project they were developing for a local university. “Is the sky blue? Does a bear poop in the woods?’ Of course, I am more than happy to consult with you!”

We reviewed beautiful comps of a 16 page text with a pocket folder cover. The photography was stunning – very interesting elements had been added into each piece of art…

Trade show marketing is a great way to enhance your experience when participating in a trade show, as it is a great opportunity to get exposure to new prospects for your business. Where else other than the Internet do prospects find you? But you do need to tread cautiously in choosing which trade show to participate in. Creating a pre-show marketing plan and post-show follow-up are key to the success of maximizing your trade show attendance,…

Choosing the paper for your print job can be a complicated procedure. You need to pick a stock that is appropriate for the project you are producing. Is it an annual report or a direct mail postcard? Is it being produced on a digital press or on a conventional sheet fed press? Do you have a corporate look that has been established that you need to adhere to? Or is this a one off project? Is there heavy ink coverage? What is the life span of the piece? Lots of questions arise.…

READ FULL BLOG POST HERE:  

How To Cut Your Print Budget By Maximizing Space ~ A MUST READ for Marketers

In this tough economy marketers are looking for ways to stretch their dollar, to get the most bang…

READ FULL BLOG POST HERE:  

Printing Coatings Compared: UV , Varnish, Aqueous, Spot, and Gloss

The 3 Major Print Coatings

Varnish, aqueous and UV are the three major kinds of coatings used in commercial sheet fed printing. They can change the appearance of the entire…

Print is only as effective as your marketing strategy. If your marketing strategy is weak, then don’t expect to have great results from your print marketing campaign. It’s important to have a well thought-out campaign that takes into consideration business objectives and your target audience. So how can you make your print marketing more effective?

There are…

Marketing budgets are beginning to rebound. Not to the pre-recession level but they are slowly rising from the ashes.

In discussions with clients, I am finding that marketers are being held to a greater level of accountability for the dollars they are spending. Building the brand is great, developing a presence in social media is now something that everyone seems to want to do. As people are moving forward with constructing apps and moving toward social media, the underlying question by…

As you walk into the country’s largest Craft and Hobby Show held at the Anaheim Convention Center, in California, it is like being in the world’s largest grown-up toy store. There are aisles and aisles of beautiful booths filled with amazing crafting products to get your creative juices flowing. There is so much to see. No matter what type of crafting you…

“Every marketer must understand each generation’s new concerns after the biggest economic calamity of our lifetime.”

Gaining insight into what each generation has lived through creates a further understanding of attributes that make up each group and how it applies to their spending habits, also known as generational spending. While each generation faces its own set of challenges, it’s apparent that technology and…

Leveraging customer managed relationships with…

What may seem so simple can turn into being so complex. Design is one of those areas that can go either way, depending on how well it is planned out in the beginning.

According to the article “Designing Success,” Frank Napolitano reshaped one of Albert Einstein’s quotes to say something along the lines of “If you have an hour to create a product or service, spend 59 minutes…