November 2011
1 post
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Holiday Procrastinators Will Pay!
How many times have you let this happen to you:
It’s early fall and you are thinking about this year’s Holiday Greeting cards. You have your list of family, friends and worthy recipients in mind. You think how unique and uncluttered it would be to send a Thankgsiving Day greeting card.
But time slips away.
Veteran’s Day is certainly a card-worthy holiday, but the card...
October 2011
3 posts
4 tags
Hot Dog Marketing
While we always try to have informative and engaging speakers for our quarterly Lunch & Learns, we certainly received a bonus in the local celebrity of Hot Dog Mike (@hotdog_mike). In continuing with our theme of True Confessions - Real Life Stories of Marketers in the Digital Age, Mike had the daunting task of addressing our fourth marketing point - Something Blue.
No, he was not going to...
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True Confessions - Something new for Better...
Continuing our recap of True Confessions exposed during our Lunch & Learn held September 29th, it’s time to hear about Something New. And how appropriate it was for to hear from that sharp, young up-and-comer from The Communications Group, Jason Brown (@JBrown935). Jason spoke to the audience on how Something New – QR codes, personalized URLs (pURLs) and microsites helped his client...
5 tags
True Confessions - That Dinosaur will Hunt
We recently hosted our quarterly Lunch & Learn, and as always, the speakers and topics provided a cornucopia of marketing morsels. Titled True Confessions – Real Life Stories of Marketers in the Digital Age, it actually turned out to be more of a something old, something new, something borrowed & something blue- type event.
All in attendance seemed to be in agreement that marketing...
August 2011
1 post
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Now this is how to use QR codes!
So much has been written lately about QR codes that I felt compelled to write our own Best Practices list for their use. But I always seemed to find excuses to overcome that compulsion. However, last night while begrudgingly shopping for a printer at the world’s largest retailer, which is something I rarely enjoy, I was able to experience many of these Best Practices first hand.
First, some...
June 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Print Lives, But My Industry is Killin' Me. A...
Those of you who know me personally know that when it comes to politics, controversy and even food, I am pretty much like Switzerland. I try not to offend, and not be easily offended. I typically remain neutral. Industry communications over the past week, however, have caused me to become a little more outspoken.
In one instance, one of our trade associations issued a video response to cost...
3 tags
Good Grief! Another On-Line Relationship Exposed!
It started innocently enough, as do most on-line, long distance relationships. One evening after hours, I was alone in my office surfing the internet, and came across this website that was truly engaging. It seemed to offer something that I had been missing.
So I explored further, digging deeper into the background. I reacted to what I saw. Making sure it was a match I felt comfortable with, I...
May 2011
2 posts
4 tags
The USPS is trying; really they are...
The financial struggles of the US Postal Service have been well documented, and the news for this year hasn’t seemed to improve any. In spite of its marketing success, direct mail volumes have continued to decline. And yet, we see this as good news!
How is this good news? The dire situation of the USPS is bringing about a new way of thinking within some areas of its operation. The Postal...
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It's Official - USPS Says QR Codes are Hot.
It’s Official! The Postal Regulatory Commission has approved the USPS 2011 Mobile Barcode Promotion. And it’s not just any barcode we are talking about. Of course it’s our beloved 2d codes commonly referred to as QR codes. You know, those quirky little pixilated squares that are popping up in magazines, on products, and yes, in direct mail.
For a limited time, from July 1 through August 31,...
April 2011
1 post
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Move Over QR Codes; There's Some Thunder from Down...
While still reeling from yesterday’s announcement that Google killed the QR code, even more disturbing news will come out of Australia tomorrow (due to the time zone difference) about the future of our 2D friend. For the unwashed, a QR, or Quick Response code, is a two-dimensional bar code that bridges the gap between the physical (printed) world and the digital world.
I subscribe to an obscure...
March 2011
2 posts
4 tags
If It's Good Enough for Google...
I admit it, when it comes to direct marketing, I’m drinking the Kool Aid. After all, it’s what I do. It’s my livelihood. So when I attend seminars on the benefits of direct marketing, it’s easy for me to get excited to learn about the opportunities that can benefit our clients. Admittedly, I am somewhat biased.
And when I hear vendor partners like Kodak, Xerox, and even the USPS tout the...
February 2011
2 posts
Integrating Media Luncheon -- All About LBS
No, we’re not talking about some new religion or an old president. Our next Integrating Media luncheon is all about Location-Based Marketing.
Or Social Location Marketing.
Or Location-Based Services.
WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN? IT’S SO CONFUSING!
Which is why you need to come to our Lunch & Learn on Wednesday, March 2, at 11:30 at the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.
If...
1 tag
Viva Las Vegas (and Print)
This week I attended the PODi AppForum conference in Las Vegas. In addition to attending for my own edification, I was fortunate to be invited to present a 3 hour session on my experiences as a business owner involved in Social Media. Since speaking for 3 hours about anything seemed quite daunting, I was excited to have Amy Bradley-Hole (@amybhole) and Bryan Jones (@bryanjones) join me for this...
January 2011
1 post
Postal Rates to Change April 17
At least they will wait until after the April 15th Tax deadline. (Or so I thought…I was informed that the April 15th tax deadline falls on a holiday, so it will be extended until April 18th.)
In an effort to introduce a “new climate” in customer relations, US Postmaster General Pat Donahue met with mailer groups today to inform them of impending postal changes.
Simply put, this means that...
December 2010
5 posts
The Obligatory 2010 Review - with a Twist
(NOTE: Our resident graphic designer, Lisa, also publishes our internal newsletter. She has a knack of entertaining us all with her unique sense of humor and perspective on company events. So rather than me writing a retrospective review of 2010, I wanted to share Lisa’s recap of 2010 that she included in our recent newsletter.)
What a year, huh? In spite of our vow not to participate in...
Christmas Cards Through the Years
As a practitioner in the graphic arts, I feel it is my sworn duty to annually produce and publsh our our family Christmas cards. And I continue to do this, much to the chagrin of my beloved family. So today, I invite you to take a look at Christmas cards past. You will get a glimpse into our family, and my strange sense of Holiday Humor.
2002 - It’s Ornamental
Nothing really original...
The Power of a Bookmark (Part Dux)
So you read Amy’s story about the power of her printed bookmark. Well, now it’s time to hear about the real, behind-the-scenes drama of that project. Most of what I am writing is based solely upon memory that is now 6 or 7 months old.
Production of the bookmarks went smoothly. We designed and printed it according to Amy’s specifications. The only stipulation was that the bookmarks had to...
The Power of a Bookmark
It’s Amy time! How is everyone? Crazy with end of year and holiday plans? Me too. I’m trying to work on marketing plans for next year, and my brain is fried. I’ve been thinking about we can use print pieces as marketing tools in unusual situations, and I wanted to share this story with you.
A while back, I was asked to give a presentation at a tech conference for women. You know...
A Picture is Worth...$250 (for your favorite...
Seated, from L to R: Mildred, Ira, Mary Lee, Allison.
Standing, from L to R: Phillip, Paul, Charlie, Dennis, Bobby, Ina, Alan.
Here’s a group photo from 1990. That’s the year I joined CustomXM; only then it was called Custom Printing Company, Inc. At that time, we didn’t have a fax machine, internet, or social media. Apparently, from the looks of the photo, we didn’t...
November 2010
5 posts
Thankful for the Opportunity
Sometimes we do things a little differently around here. So instead of a traditional company turkey-laden potluck before we take a couple of days off to repeat this process, we decided to go Mexican, buffet-style. We call it our Annual Mexican Thanksgiving Feast. If you are not thankful for tacos, cheese dip, taco soup, homemade salsa and four layer delight dessert, then you are truly...
Holiday Marketing Using Print Products
Hi everyone — it’s Amy here. I’ve been doing some research lately on how to market with holiday gifts. I’ve been looking for ideas that are original, cost effective and memorable. Quite a few of the things I’ve found include a print element, so I thought I’d share some with you here.
One cute idea is to have holiday-specific business cards. Go all out and have...
Memories in Print
I recently moved into another office. After 20 years, I figured I was entitled to a change of scenery. As with any move, I was amazed at the junk I’ve accumulated over the years. Fortunately, I also stumbled across some treasures as well. One of these was an envelope that contained samples from a job we produced in 1980 for the Junior League of North Little Rock. Entitled “Memories in...
Integrating Media Conference on QR Codes
Hey everyone — Amy here. I’m blogging the Integrating Media conference. Think of this blog post as glorified note taking. I’m trying to type as fast as I can and jot down the key points, and I’m going to hit “publish” soon after the conference is over.
Let’s get started…
Change is inevitable! If it weren’t, Paul would still be wearing leisure...
Outsourced!
We run a lean operation. People are often surprised to learn that we employ only 12 full-time team members. We try not to over-hire, and when we lose a staff member, we don’t immediately replace that position. I do realize that this can be counter-intuitive if our goal is to grow the economy. But let’s be honest, that’s not our goal. Our primary corporate goal is to make a profit. If we...
October 2010
5 posts
Terrifying Tales of Petrifying Print Jobs
As a manufacturer of custom designed and printed products, I’d like to tell you that every job we produce is completed on time, flawlessly, and without any stress. I’d be lying, but I’d still like to tell you that. Not all jobs go as planned, and yes, sometimes they are due to our own mistakes. Not always, but sometimes. And sometimes, I am a firm believer that no matter what quality controls are...
California Dreaming
One of the perks of working in a family owned business is the opportunity to work daily with my parents. Okay, they only come in twice a week, and we hardly ever see each other, but still. Dad still does quite a bit of the estimating and reviews our equipment needs. Mom handles the payroll and the bookkeeping duties. (Please don’t tell her I’m a CPA; I hated that stuff.) I realize how blessed...
Somehow I Don't Think "Bossy" Is a Truly Effective...
Hey everyone, it’s Amy here. First, I have to say thanks to Paul for his awesome introduction. Yes, I’m blonde, and yes, I’m bossy. Those things may be part of my brand, but honestly, it’s not a contrived act. That’s why I really appreciate Paul and his willingness to work with someone like me, who’s a little bit unconventional and a little bit opinionated but who is a whole lot passionate...
The Brand, The Blog, & The Blonde
Having recently returned from a national trade conference, I’m determined to put into action some of the “take-aways” from that event. But I often find myself time-challenged in doing this. So that’s when I consider delegating certain tasks. The term “delegation” sometimes gets a bad rap. The book ReWork warns that “with a small team, you need people who are going to do work, not delegate work....
Save the Date!
Last year, thanks to social media in general, and Twitter specifically, we were able to produce a very attractive wall calendar that featured photographs provided by many of our Twitter friends. Beautiful shots from around Little Rock and Central Arkansas were featured each month, as were those funny little things called QR codes. (Have we really been talking about QR codes for over a year now?)...
September 2010
1 post
4 tags
The First Cut is the Deepest (Work with me, will...
No, this is not a tribute to Rod Stewart. Nor is this a solution to a recurring nuisance (i.e. the dreaded paper cut) that continues to plague our industry.
Instead, it’s a mild celebration of making the first cut in a national TV contest. ABC’s Good Morning, America recently launched a contest inviting viewers to tell them about their jobs. They asked their audience to explain, in 250 words or...
June 2010
2 posts
Moving Forward with QR Codes
In case you have not noticed, we at CustomXM have been pushing QR codes for about a year now. We really like them, more than cupcakes even. Mostly we think they have the potential to change the face of marketing and advertising. We have been very impressed with how far QR codes have come in the last year, this time in 09 it was a novelty, now it is beginning to get serious attention.
As a...
Our Kodak Video Challenge Winner is...
Jessica Yu from Calgary (print lives internationally too). Here is the winning idea:
- Two people are in a car/limo.
Envelopes, business cards are everywhere and they’re both sketching furiously on envelopes - they’re trying to meet a deadline.
The driver, Paul Strack in a tuxedo, glares at them from the rear-view mirror. He tells the two people about how CustomXM can do that...
May 2010
2 posts
Marketing to Millennials
*Note: After much input from the community I want to clarify something. The point of this post is not to knock down GenX. There are plenty of great success cases of GenXers succeeding. However as a generation they are following a generation that has (due to numbers and late retirements) held them back considerably. The notable difference with GenY is that we have developed an overall mistrust of...
Real Time Reactions…What is Fast Enough?
Marketing Question: what is considered a quick turnaround in the super-connected world we all live in? Life with smartphones, email, texting and Twitter means that we are available to be touched 24 hours a day. This hyper-access has accelerated people’s expectations of what is a reasonable amount of time they should wait for a response to a query. How many times have you received a phone...
April 2010
2 posts
The E-reader Review: Kindle vs. iPad
Let’s ignore the fact that a “print guy” is comparing two popular e-readers. Consider it market research. Let’s also ignore the fact that it’s probably a little odd for one person to have two e-readers. For the record, the Kindle was a Christmas gift from my wife. The iPad was an Easter gift(?) to my wife. (Okay, maybe that one is a stretch). So I have both and this fact was made known to a...
1 tag
Don't Listen to Kermit, It is Easy Being Green
Today, as you all should know, is earth day. As marketers sometimes it feels like struggle to honor the earth and stay green. When you start calculating the print materials, the postal transportation, the impact of inks, and the overall product waste from over printing you start to feel like maybe you need to go to confession tomorrow.
I decided to chat a bit with our president Paul Strack, who...
March 2010
4 posts
The CustomXM - Kodak Video Challenge – Enter and...
There are vendors, and there are partners. Kodak is one of our partners. Over the past three years, Kodak has played an instrumental role in helping us expand our offering of digital printing solutions. In addition to these successes, this relationship has lead to numerous award recognitions over that past several months. As a result, Kodak will soon feature CustomXM in a series of print,...
4 tags
How do I get folks to open the envelope?
While discussing a subscription renewal appeal for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the Rep’s Director of Marketing, our good friend Angel Galloway (@angelmg) asked, “How do I get folks to open the envelope?”
After getting over the excitement that Angel still considers direct mail a viable marketing channel. (Trust me, it is!), here are some of the tips we offered, as well as a few others:
...
Your Tax Dollars at Work
I had the pleasure of attending the 2010 Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism. If the venue itself, Eureka Springs, was not engaging and entertaining enough, the information presented was certainly captivating for those in attendance. More importantly, the information was welcome and exciting news for all of us as citizens of the Great State of Arkansas.
Rarely do I look at Arkansas as...
3 tags
Becoming a Linchpin
After a lot of persuasion from friends I finally picked up a copy of Seth Godin’s Linchpin this week. Just a few chapters in it is already a book that changes the way I view my position. However something struck me this morning. Why can a company itself not serve as a Linchpin for the community as a whole?
Godin describes a Linchpin as people who “invent, lead, connect others, make...
February 2010
3 posts
And the Award Goes to……Social Media
We were recently selected as Arkansas Business of the Year in a night that was equally euphoric as it was humbling. When I consider how fortunate we were to even make the cut as one of the five finalists, I naturally look at the efforts of our staff, and the loyalty of our clients. Both combine to allow us to provide high energy, creative solutions in a enthusiastic way.
As I explore...
3 tags
The state of digital printing
Let’s start with some statistics:
1) According to Pira International, the total global digital printing market has grown 122% since 2002, and by 2012, it is expected to double again, accounting for 21% of the overall global printing market as a whole.
2) Today, 30% of print providers offer web-to-print services. (CAPV)
3) 30% of today’s digital work is versioned or personalized....
4 tags
How the iPad Changes the Print Industry
Now we enter the week after the big iPad announcement. There have been tons of talk about how the iPad will revolutionize the book and newspaper industry, but what does it do for the other side of print?
Here are 3 ways I think the iPad will change the print marketing industry for the better.
Accessibility for small business: I’ve worked in small and larger business. In marketing print large...
January 2010
4 posts
3 tags
The Surprise Inside
Recently we invited our good friend, @simonslee, to speak to us about Customer Service. His engaging and entertaining remarks were summarized in two simple words: No Surprises! When it comes to superior customer service, there should be absolutely No Surprises. We all nodded in agreement, and decided we had a new mantra for 2010.
Upon sharing (via Twitter) a few of Simon’s comments, I received...
4 tags
Market Smart in the Downturn
By 2010 I was hoping I would be done talking about the recession. Over the past year I’ve had several friends ask me about how and why to market in a down economy. The fact is that most successful companies grow through marketing in the latter half of a recession. Even more amazing is that a large percentage of Fortune 100 companies were actually formed during an economic downtown.
By...
5 tags
Real Integrated marketing with QR Codes
Integrated marketing is what most forward thinking companies strive to achieve with marketing efforts. However a large gap exists between print and web making integration difficult. The use of QR codes in print advertising and marketing can help bridge this gap.
A few years ago while working for a marketing agency the big buzz word was “integrated marketing”. Essentially this was creating...
4 tags
Welcome to 2010, the Rebirth of Print
Welcome to 2010, I think this is going to be a very good year compared to the one we just made it through. Few have had a worse year however than the print industry. Which is why I am a little surprised to be here writing this for CustomXM. See I grew up in the digital age, marketing directors like myself have basically killed print. In developing my skill I embraced the computer monitor, and...