Show-Stopping Print Ideas to Compliment Your Digital Marketing

Does your brain ever feel tired?

Some days, that’s probably due to information overload. Today, researchers estimate we are exposed to over 5,000 brands per day or around 600-625 ads per person. If you add in pop-ups and YouTube ads, who knows how high the number may soar!

But amidst the explosion of digital advertising, industry reports remind us that print holds steady. 70% of Americans prefer to read on paper, and 67% prefer printed materials over digital. Additionally, 55% of consumers say they trust print marketing more than any other advertising messages.

Want to evoke emotions with your next masterpiece? Draw from three creative examples of print ads that recently stole the show.

C&A: The Real “Like” Leaderboard

Nothing builds excitement like a little competition!

In a partnership with Microsoft and Tim (one of Brazil's biggest fashion retailers), C&A created an interactive print advertising campaign to engage clients and collect feedback on designs pitted against one another. Customers who registered to receive the special 'Like Ads' on Facebook were given a print magazine with a personalized Tim chip installed. These print pieces are integrated with an interactive thumbs-up icon from Facebook. When viewers approved of a fashion design by pressing the physical thumbs up button, their vote was also tabulated online (without the need to connect any additional devices).

Beyond recording user preferences on influencer Facebook pages, the most popular "liked" looks from these print ads were displayed on a giant leaderboard in the Morumbi Shopping store. What a tremendous way to build engagement and momentum!

Motorola: Where Customization is King

Moto X customization was one of the big selling features of this mobile phone.

To wow potential purchasers, Motorola released interactive ads in New York and Chicago that reached around 150,000 readers of the “Wired” magazine. Phone ads featured super-slim batteries, LED lights, and buttons people could press to modify the phone's color on the page. Prefer blue? Maybe red, pink, or green? Viewers could try any color as the phone in the ad transformed before their eyes.

Virtual Test Drives

If you find it hard to get customers through your doors, why not bring the product right to them?

Volkswagen is a brand that strives to be a leader in new technology, so it launched an interactive print ad to drive this point home. Using a three-page print ad, readers could unfold a map of a curvy road and then download a corresponding app that would transform their phone into a mini-vehicle. As drivers steered their “car” (mobile phone) along the “road” (print ad), they had a memorable, hands-on experience with vehicle innovations like the Adaptive Lights or Lane Assist modes. Leave it to Volkswagon to create the first-ever “test drive in a print ad.”

Not to be outdone, Lexus followed suit shortly afterward. Readers of Sports Illustrated could take the Lexus print ad, place it over a Lexus webpage on their iPad screen, and watch the ad come to life with sight, sound, and motion that displayed the car in action (with spinning wheels and different backgrounds and music).

Tactile, Memorable Print

Print is nothing if not tactile. And now, static media options have become more interactive than ever.

Use this to your advantage by creating ads that are memorable, relatable, and fun!

Need some fresh ideas? Contact us today to get started! 516-561-1468 or FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF OUR MARKETING PRODUCTS GO TO: www.printcafeli.com

                        Unbeatable Packaging Ideas for 2021

Want to sharpen your appearance in 2021?

Great packaging gets buyers pumped about your product before they even open it. It’s one of the first touchpoints of a prospect and helps you stand out from the competition.

Ready to go? Here are just a few creative (yet functional!) designs to consider this year.

Packaging with a Story

Consumers want more than a product.

They want to be part of a story. Studies have revealed that people are impacted by emotions rather than information when making brand decisions, so sharpen your narrative and weave compelling stories into your designs.

Consider the example of Paper Boat, a brand of traditional Indian beverages headquartered in Bengaluru. This brand seeks to evoke tradition and memory with a product that’s more than a beverage – but something with “nostalgia in every sip.”

In a sea of similar tetra pack cartons, Paper Boat packaging leaps off the shelf with its pear-shaped flexible pouch. The design evokes a bright, unconventional theme with bold, playful fonts. This heart-warming vibe is paired with a creative one-liner on the bottom of the pack, bringing a quirky personalization builds a strong connection with customers and keeps them coming back.

Name-Centric Labels

When you want your brand to stick, why not put the name front and center?

Instead of making an illustration or logo the packaging’s focal point, many designers choose to make a product’s name the star of their designs. These concepts have lots of fun with lettering, allowing the featured name to leave a confident, edgy impression.

Each name feels like an artwork, bringing a stand-alone sophistication that speaks for itself.

Beautiful Boxes

Today’s customers are starved for new experiences, and a clever unboxing experience can provide the fun factor people want.

‘Unboxing’ is just what it sounds like: the action of taking something out of a box. But it’s also much more than that. If it wasn’t, there wouldn’t be 1.6 million videos on YouTube devoted to it, with popular channels drawing in as many as 2.4 billion views. It might be odd-sounding, but it’s a fantastic niche that’s growing by 57% per year!

A stellar unboxing experience will boost your content marketing efforts, drive engagement, increase sales, and enhance customers’ opinions of your product. Need ideas? Check out companies like Birchbox or Thrive Market to inspire your next masterpiece.

Limited Edition or Collectible Series

If you want products to fly off the shelves, try packaging them as a gorgeous collection.

Good Flower Farm, which specializes in organic, plant-based skincare products, does this masterfully. Richly-colored earthy labels adorn each item, and combinations (in a design series) make a beautiful decoration for the bathroom, yoga studio, or vanity of your favorite tree-hugger. The deodorant set features jewel-toned packaging for lavender tea tree, pine cedarwood, or charcoal citrus. Why choose just one when you could have all three?

To stimulate impulse buying, change up your labels series each year. These quirky and attractive limited editions trigger spontaneous collectors and an urgency to buy.

They WILL Judge a Book by its Cover

As tempting as it is to think ourselves rational, logical individuals, the truth is that human beings make snap judgments when it comes to packaging.

If you want to increase the emotional attachments customers have with your business, start with pristine packaging. From a dash of color on your envelope to a gorgeous label on your containers, exterior branding can be part of any business budget.

Need some fresh ideas? Contact us today to get started! 516-561-1468 or FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF OUR MARKETING PRODUCTS GO TO: www.printcafeli.com

Grow Your Influence with the 10 Most “Likeable” Personality Traits (Part 2)

Certain horrible habits drive others away.

If you want to win friends and influence people, it’s important to spend time evaluating your personality from time to time. Do others gravitate toward you or subtly slink away when you leave the room?

Influential leaders know how to gain respect and bring out the best in others.

Move in the Opposite Spirit: Traits 6-10

In last week’s blog, we shared five traits to avoid and how to replace them with better habits.

Here are several more from the “notorious” top ten, with five essential qualities to emulate instead:

6. Pessimistic

If people are always telling you to look on the bright side, it’s likely that you are the “Debbie Downer” in the room.

While it’s ok to be a realist, melancholy people are perceived as whiny, impossible to please, and a drain on everyone around them.

How can you fix this? Do your best to avoid talking about things that bum you out. When you’re tempted to complain, choose something upbeat or beautiful to focus on instead. If you have a headache or a car problem, consider asking someone else about their day instead of talking about yours.

Change the atmosphere, and you’ll change EVERYONE’S mood – and your reputation.

7. Arrogant

Arrogant people come across as prideful, rude, or long-winded in conversation.

If you find that you regularly turn conversations back to you – or you make yourself the hero of every story – you might be repelling those you’d like to attract.

To grow in humility, remember this phrase: “collectively, we are genius.” Don’t try to be the expert at all times. Encourage the value in people through active listening, empathy, and a friendly spirit. Admit your own mistakes and apologize. Affirm others when you’re tempted to make much of yourself.

8. Focused on External Factors

Many years ago, Dale Miller conducted a study that compared two groups of executives.

One group was identified as highly effective and ready for a promotion, while the second group was eventually deemed unready or unsuited for the role.

The difference? A willingness to accept responsibility for the results of a task or team.

Unaccountable people are seen as unreliable, quick to blame others, or as embodying a victim-based mentality. In contrast, leaders are seen as “get it done” people – those who are willing to reject passivity and accept responsibility.

To grow in personal responsibility, embrace the mindset that says, “I am the person who must make this happen.” Take ownership for a task, accept criticism for mistakes, and apologize for outcomes that fall short of the goal.

9. Impulsive

In the movies, it’s cool to be spontaneous.

In real life, it’s often a disaster. Impulsive team members can be reckless, imprudent, arrogant, and oblivious to the feelings of others. They are often wrong – but never in doubt!

The annoyance factor here comes after the fact – when your decisions have hurt the people you care about. To avoid this tendency, delay big decisions at least 24 hours. Ask wise colleagues to give input or play the devil’s advocate to help you see all sides of a situation. And brainstorm other possibilities without assuming your instincts are correct.

10. Unbearably Sensitive

Overly sensitive people seem to have low self-esteem; they come across as weak, emotionally needy, passive-aggressive, selfish, or fearful of confrontation.

Have you ever been with someone who sucked the air out of the room or made every situation about THEM? If you have, you know why people will run away screaming if you do this.

To avoid this pitfall, let things go, strive to believe the best about others, and smile when you’d rather cry. And express your true feelings only after considering the best place and method to do so.

Change Your Words, Change Your Outlook

Do you see yourself in any of the traits from this list?

The first step is recognizing it. From here, you can pay attention to bad habits and make productive changes for the future.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY OF OUR MARKETING PRODUCTS CALL: 516-561-1468 OR GO TO: www.printcafeli.com

 

 Sculpt an Eye-Catching Identity: 5 Bold Business Card Designs

Looking for an energetic start to a prosperous new year?

As you exhale after a tumultuous 2020, now is the time to clean out and set yourself up for a productive, successful new season. And one way to invigorate your image is with new business cards.

If you’re going to change a little, why not change a LOT? Here are five bold ideas for your next business card design.

1. Smart Cards

A modern business card includes not only contact information but also a stylish design that conveys the character and confidence of your brand.

When you want to close the gap between the physical and digital world, add a QR code to your business card. This saves space, looks modern, and increases the chance readers will follow up with your business later.

And don’t limit yourself to something bland. Instead of a black and white character set, generate a color cipher of an unusual shape to attract attention!

2. Transparency and Texture

Tired of the endless exchange of dull and flimsy white paper business cards?

Try a clear, frosted, or white plastic card. Translucent cards are sophisticated, visually intriguing, and fun to hold. And if you split the card into sections with different translucency values (one half partially opaque and the other half textured), you can create intense contrast that makes your name really leap up at the viewer. 

3. Colored Edges and Non-Standard Materials

Want a funky, three-dimensional feel for your introduction?

Colored edges are a fantastic option! Use colors to spice up a card with a neutral shade (like a black card with neon purple edges). Or use an unusual shape (like a gray die-cut heart) and add a hot pink outline on the edge.

Remember, the thicker the business card is, the better the colored edges will look. If you want to get really creative, you can even use non-standard materials like cork, wood, metal, or rubber.

4. Gorgeous Gradients

Color blending never gets old, and gradients offer endless options for unique, dynamic combos.

Gradient business cards offer so many possibilities! Add depth with thick pearly tones shimmering against a charcoal background. Or silver-purple waves against a deep blue sky. Voluminous gradients ebb and flow, creating an atmosphere of energetic motion.

When adding gradients, go for sharp color contrasts and highlight key elements. Do not apply the gradient to the entire card. Instead, limit yourself to the one element you want to highlight: background, logo, text, or graphics.

Need inspiration? Here’s one gradient sample spread to fuel your imagination.

5. Super Business Cards

Looking for something super impressive and super fun?

SUPER business cards are for you! Cut from premium paper that’s durable (yet lightweight), these non-bendy business cards bring a bold impression that LASTS. Customize them to your preferences, with round corners, shiny finishes, raised spot gloss lettering, and more.

Whether you want a muted matte feel or a sleek sparkly vibe, super business cards are guaranteed to be as resilient and creative as you are.

Start a Remarkable New Adventure

Today is the best day to start a new adventure!

Why not make 2021 your most imaginative year yet? Show the world a poised, passionate perspective – that comes straight from your pocket!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ALL OF OUR MARKETING PRODUCTS GO TO:

www.printcafeli.com