4 Interactive Print Ad Examples

Print advertising has been around long before the internet. It is one of the most original forms of advertising and has not gone out of style even with the introduction of new methods like social media advertising campaigns.

An interactive print advert is a new form of print advertising used to better engage with the customer and compete with all the new marketing methods out there. Advertisers are using this new and exciting method to bring products and their amazing features closer to the consumers. Because of this it is almost impossible to ignore.

Motion Silhouette

This method has been used for a long time in interactive print advertising to stand out from the ordinary flat paper and images. Especially in children’s books, shapes are cut out and arranged to pop up when a page is opened to illustrate a message. This has become more advanced over the years with detailed cut outs and more lifelike silhouettes projected between pages. This can be used in different types of advertising whether for products or services.

Conductive ink

Printing with conductive ink is fast becoming a trend. The ink is sensitive to touch and can emit smell and different senses of touch as designed. By using this method, print advertising is able to appeal to more than just sight but to other senses as well.

Video in Print

Video advertising has now been incorporated into print side by side for a more elaborate explanation. With this new technology direct mail pieces can now become more than just static pieces of paper, but a work of cinema, helping it to gain grounds in advertising.

Augmented solutions

Interactive print adverts with augmented technology now combine technology and print to bring a better picture of the product to consumers. For example, a famous furniture company made a phone app to go with their catalog so that customers could scan the catalog and project furniture in their rooms with the app.

Companies are continually becoming more innovative with interactive print adverts and changing the game of advertising to keep customers interested using some of the above methods and more.

 

http://www.printingdeals.org/specials/interactive-print-ads.html

http://www.publicationspress.com/blog/10-innovative-print-ads-that-will-change-the-way-you-think-about-print

Video Marketing on a Budget

It is now common knowledge that every business with an online presence must invest in video marketing. Video content is engaging, helps explain the features of the product and gives a storyline. However, creating quality videos may be a challenge if you are working on a shoestring budget. Video marketing is becoming an expensive project, particularly when the company is new to the idea.

That should not dissuade you. Here are a few techniques to enable you to come up with amazing video content without breaking your bank.

Don’t buy the equipment, rent

Buying video equipment is a good long-term strategy. However, it is just a waste of money when you are low on your marketing budget. You can rent state-of-the-art video equipment at reasonable prices. Look around for a video equipment rental company that will offer you a bulk package that includes most of the basic video equipment.

Develop the story in-house

There are the chances that there is a writer among your employees. Utilize the talent rather than hiring a writer from the outside as it can get pricey. Come up with the outline of the story together with your marketing team. After you are done with the main points, you can then hire a writer to help in storyboarding if necessary.

Storyboarding is an artistic way of approaching screenwriting as each scene has to be drawn out. The most important points are also drawn in every scene. These drawings act as templates for organizing the images.

Hire amateur and student actors

You have to hire actors with some experience if you wish to have quality videos. However, this doesn’t mean you have to break your bank account to hire leading screen actors. There are many amateur and students actors and actresses that will work at low prices as they build their resumes. Others will work free in return for a good recommendation. You can get the actors from Craigslist, BackStage, Manday, or a nearby university that teaches arts.

Make use of the free editing software

Premium Avid video and Adobe Premier software are the standard software options available for professionals. However, you have to hire qualified staff and buy the license to handle the project.

There are several Smartphone-based and desktop based free video editing software options in the market.If you have a Mac, you can make use of iMovie and Movie Maker for the Windows PCs. They have easy to use features and user-friendly interfaces.

Use DIY video animation

Animation is now a technique of creating engaging concepts without using real people or natural scenes. However, it can get expensive when you hire a company to do it for you. However, there are cheaper software options such as Sparkol and GoAnimate.

GoAnimate allows you to import music and images in the design of the animation. On the other hand, Sparkol enables you to use the entire animation board when making your movie thereby eliminating the need to put any person in front of your camera.

Just because you’re on a limited budget doesn’t mean you cannot (and should not) invest in video marketing. It just may be the tactic that launches your company on the map.

Print Advertising vs. Digital Advertising – When to Use What

John Wanamaker, a 19th century department store tycoon from Philadelphia, once said: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Mr. Wanamaker had only print options at his disposal and advertising at the time was in its earliest stages, so imagine how confused he would have been if he were alive today. Print options such as newspaper and magazine advertisements, direct mail campaigns, and flyers compete with an explosion in digital advertising techniques that use social media, influencer marketing, games, and advertising that interprets a user’s online activity to curate advertising content. So how would we advise a modern-day Wanamaker to navigate this complex landscape? Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when choosing between print and digital advertising:

  • Humans still respond strongly to print: A 2015 study by Temple University’s business school found that while digital ads were a cost-effective way of quickly getting the attention of consumers, physical interaction with print left a stronger memory that more directly affected purchase decisions.
  • Geographic target: Digital has no geographic boundaries, whereas print is typically focused on a particular town, city, region, or country (for national campaigns). International print campaigns are not unheard of but are less often used given their expense. So as a rule, if you’re trying to target geographic area, print may be your best option, whereas digital is best if you’re trying to reach the widest audience.
  • Cost: For a tight budget, digital ads can be the way to go. First, digital campaigns are typically priced on a variable cost basis, meaning they are more easily scalable to a target budget amount and digital’s ability to target certain types of users enables you to create a campaign focused on certain user types, whereas print campaigns tend to hit a specific geographic area for a fixed price. Second, digital ads generate data on user trends that can be used to further customize the campaign to fit a demographic.

For many companies, some combination of print and digital can be exactly what is required. Modern advertising is increasingly a mixture of art and science, so a professional marketing firm that specializes in both print and digital can be a big help in designing the right campaign.

How Direct Mail and Integrated Cross Media Still Play a Vital Role in Campaigns and Elections

In the ultra-competitive world of local, state and national elections, it remains vital that candidates effectively get their message to voters. This means getting to the all-important young voters that can swing elections, but it also means not alienating the base of middle-aged or older voters who got candidates there in the first place. In this age of social media, some make the mistake of overusing this medium and neglecting other areas such as direct mail. Not only is it important to continue using direct mail, it should be integrated with other types of media to be sure the message is reaching all potential voters.

Direct Mail and Millennials

According to Campaigns & Elections, young voters don’t get all of their information from social media, and in fact they do read and pay attention to direct mail from candidates. These young voters are actually more than twice as likely as voters in other age groups to read their political mail thoroughly. Almost 80 percent of young voters then discuss political mail with other people, and almost 70 percent then go on to research political candidates tied to mailings. Most important is what this group says themselves about direct mail, namely that they use it as a reminder to get out and vote, and that they consider it an important factor in elections at all levels. Given these numbers, it would be a mistake to think that social media is the only, or even the best way to reach millennials. 

Integrated Cross Media

Campaigns and candidates are quickly learning that in order to reach the most people possible, and deliver an effective message, is to get information across a combination of print, social, broadcast, online, and other types of media. According to InfoTrends, this approach leads to better brand awareness and consumer ownership. In the world of elections, this translates into potential voters not only getting to know candidates better, but making it easier for those voters to get on board with the candidate’s message. Leaving out any single component can weaken a campaign, while making sure all are strong across the board can help win elections.

 

https://www.campaignsandelections.com/campaign-insider/why-direct-mail-still-influences-millennials-7-takeaways-for-campaigns

http://www.infotrends.com/public/Content/INFOSTATS/Articles/2011/04.06.2011.html

Why Print Must Be a Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy

Once upon a time, print marketing was the only game in town. Flyers, banners, posters, business cards, and ads in newspapers were essentially your sole options for getting the word out about your business.

Then the Internet happened.

And with the advent of company websites, email lists, and social media, everything changed. In the last few decades, marketing has switched almost entirely to a digital platform.

So does this mean that print media is a thing of the past? Not even close. In fact, there are many reasons for why it is important to incorporate print advertising into your content marketing strategy.

1. It hangs around.

Emails can be archived and never seen again with just one click. Top-of-the-page banners and side-of-the-screen ads are instinctively ignored. But a brightly-colored brochure with engaging pictures or a fun and unique business card is something you might not immediately throw in the recycling.

To the contrary, you might put it on the fridge or keep the business card in your wallet. In other words, print media hands around, and that’s what you want a good marketing strategy to do.

2. It’s already “printed.”

Much of marketing involves coupons and discount codes that must be printed to be redeemed. This is a pain for a lot of people, which is why most skip this step and never engage in that type of marketing.

On the other hand, coupons and discount codes that have already been printed and mailed or handed out are much more likely to be used. Furthermore, even though some coupons can be redeemed by showing a barcode on your phone, most people find even this cumbersome. Taking a coupon out of your purse, though? That’s easy.

3. People trust it.

Finally, remember that most people today remember the old ways of marketing. They remember looking for jobs in the newspaper and clipping coupons from magazines. They remember handing out business cards at mixers. This makes these marketing strategies trusted. People have confidence in print marketing because they remember using it to great effect once upon a time.

Digital marketing still offers numerous advantages that print marketing will never rival. But what we should recognize is that current and potential clients and customers will often respond positively to print media tactics in ways that they wouldn’t if you just shot them a mass email every week. Try implementing print media into your marketing strategy and see what it can do for you.

3 Basic Print Layout Mistakes to Avoid

When creating your print design, there are some common mistakes which you should avoid at all costs. These errors will make your printout look messy and unpresentable and, as a result, you can lose clients. Below are the easily overlooked aspects when setting a print layout.

1. Failure to add Bleed

You will notice that at times the document layout will extend to the edges of your design. In this instance, it is important to use “bleed,” which will extend your colors past the edges of your document. After printing the design, you can trim off this extension, ensuring that there is no white edge on the finished product.

2. Using a Low Resolution

A file may look fine while on your screen, but upon printing, it will appear blurry. This can happen if the file is not set at the right resolution, or if you have imported a pixelated image. The quality of your printout will be determined by the dots per inch (dpi) and the resolution. An image with 300dpi will be of much better quality compared to the one with 72dpi, which is why 300dpi is recommended.

3. Setting Incorrect Size

Before sending the design for printing, you should confirm that it matches your desired size. You should also ensure that the design is positioned correctly and has the right proportions. If you intend to have a have a 25 x 25mm sticker, you should set the layout at 31 x 31mm so as to include the bleed area. After setting your document correctly, you should send it to the printer without making further changes. There are many pre-set templates which can be downloaded online including PDF versions with step-to-step guides on how to set your design’s proportions correctly.

Evidently, there are many mistakes which can lead to a low-quality design, but they are typically easily avoidable. If you avoid these mistakes, your printout will no doubt be presentable and attractive ensuring that your clients stick around.

5 Design Tools for the Non-Graphic Designer

Creating quality content is one of the ways of ensuring that you attract the intended online audience. With the advent of social media, great imagery is playing an increasingly significant role in the world of content creation. While relevant text content is important, images can help to entice your audience to click and read what you have created. If you do not have the knowledge and experience required to come up with quality images, there are several design tools that you can use.

Canva

Canva is one of the most popular design tools for non-graphic designers. The tool not only lets you make your own visuals but also comes with tutorials and teaching materials to help you develop and improve your skillset. Although Canva is not free, it has pre-made design layouts, pre-sized templates, and allows you to save your designs as well as to use the templates you have created at a later date.

Fivver

In case you have budgetary constraints, using Fivver will offer you the advantages you need to communicate using quality images. The tool lets you make custom logos within a very short period of time. With this graphic design tool, you will also be in a position to market the various products and services that you offer at an affordable fee.

99Designs

One of the advantages that place this particular tool ahead of its competitors is that it features crowd-sourced design services. You can create a contest for the specific project you have at a given time. This could be your business logo, a cover image for your social media account or website imagery. From such a contest, there is a chance that you will have many experienced designers competing for your project. This gives you an extraordinary chance to tap into some of the best talents in the industry.

Pixlr

This is a simpler and easy to use equivalent to Photoshop. The tool allows users to edit photos and create graphics. You will be able to choose your fonts, customize the size of your images and access it both on your desktop and mobile device.

PowerPoint

Although PowerPoint does not have as many features as those of the previous tools listed, it can also be used to make images. And since most people are familiar with the application, they can easily create the quality images that they need to make their content more attractive.

Having good quality images is a hugely important piece when it comes to creating your content, and just because you don’t have a degree in graphic design doesn’t mean you can get away with poor visuals.

The Importance of Relevant Messaging Both Online and Off

Whether online or offline, creating relevant messages to communicate to your audience is hugely important. These are messages that engage with people and add value to any campaign, marketing or otherwise. As you work to create your next campaign, ask yourself, “Is this message truly relevant to my following?”

What Is a Relevant Message, Then?

Relevant messages are a critical component to any online or offline strategy. They should convey certain themes and add value in some way. Here are some examples:

  • They are revealing.
  • They are informative and timely.
  • These messages can be challenging or empathetic.
  • They may be inspirational.
  • In some cases, they can be cautionary.
  • They should always be truthful.
  • In some way, they connect directly to your audience.

Why Does Relevance Matter?

Relevant messages convey more than just an announcement, a sale or a product launch. Rather, they help to create a unique bond between the viewer of that message and those putting the message out there. For example, the right message helps to show industry leadership thus creating a bond of respect. These messages create emotion in the reader. They appeal to the consumer in some way as well. Your message must impact your reader in a way that encourages them to take the action you desire. Without a relevant message, there’s no way for your reader to connect with your company. That leaves you without the return you want.

Pulling the Pieces Together

Every type of marketing you have should communicate a relevant message to your customer regardless of the platform. It should connect with them on some level to show them why a relationship with your company or organization should matter. When you create this connection, you build your brand, build your revenue, and create long-term connections with people who respect your team. Without a relevant message, your marketing will fall flat.

No matter whether you are creating a campaign in print, launching a social media campaign, or merely speaking out to the public one thing is for sure – make sure every word you add or any message you convey is relevant to the relationship you hope to build with your customers.

 

How to Stand Out in the Crowd on Social Media

Oh, the never-ending dilemma that is social media. Now, don’t get me wrong. It can be an excellent platform when used in the proper context. However, like a “stand” up comic, who has to engage the crowd to get them to laugh, social media marketers need to “stand” out in the scene online.

Therein lies the challenge.

When you have a passion for a product or service, offer personal testimony, this is helpful. However, if you can post a brief video demonstration that showcases your actual use and application of the product, that tells a whole other tale. Now you have a credibility factor and become more believable to buyers. We always hear about the need to create and post engaging content, and that is accurate. But, to create content that catches the reader’s attention, you may need to switch things up.

For instance, as opposed to just writing an informative piece, hit the insert button and add a: Frequently Asked Questions section. You may even create a “Contributor’s Corner” platform. In this manner, readers, your followers, will feel that:

  1. They have a voice, and you value their feedback.
  2. It creates a budding relationship and establishes a trust factor.

When that occurs, trust can translate into dollars, if you have a service or product to offer. If you are merely focusing on increasing your presence, trust is still critical. When followers believe you, two things happen: They will advocate for you on social media, and they will direct others to your page as a source which provides reliable and sound advice.

Another means to make your social media presence known is to upload photos of yourself; include outside interests, so to become relatable to your readers. It shows that you are accessible and very much in touch with the current culture.

Remember, this is not designed to overwhelm you, but put you over the top, in a sea of seekers online.

Here are some other things to consider:

  • Address people of various ages and stages, even if it is foreign to you. In doing so, the element of sensitivity comes into play. With millennials, Snapchat and Instagram are essential. It doesn’t have to be controversial, just conversational.
  • Invite readers to sound off on current events.

Hopefully, this helps.

How to Incorporate Storytelling into Your Content

Everyone loves a good story, right? And with content marketing gaining prominence, it is important that your work stands out. This goal can be achieved by including storytelling within your pieces. There are several ways to include storytelling in your content. One way is to tell a story that gives your audience a reason to engage with you regularly. Have a good narrative, one that includes multiple parts fed out at changing times. This gives your audience a reason to keep coming back; they are interested in the next piece of the saga.

Another way to incorporate storytelling into your content is to tell tales showing how your brand relates to your audience. The stories, even though they are fiction, can help provide another perspective on your brand. They can give more of a backstory around the feelings and culture of the company, conveyed in a thoughtful, entertaining way.

You can also tell a story about a topic to make it easier to understand. Sometimes, a complex problem is more easily explained via a narrative. If you can remember Schoolhouse Rock, you know what I mean.

But, why do this? Stories are not only memorable but also shareable. People can tell others about them. What better way to show how word-of-mouth advertising can work. A person reads a good story on your site, tells his friend about it. That friend goes to your site and reads that same good story. She then tells another friend of hers and so on and so on. Think of the potential power in that.

By telling a good story, you show your audience that you are not just trying to sell them something, that you are trying to connect with them at some deeper level. Give them a reason to like you, maybe just a bit more than a competitor.