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...