If you ask your customers what they really want, one answer might surprise you. It’s been well documented already that in the current full on, digital world, we actually want to switch off. We don’t want to be bombarded with information all the time, we get tired and exhausted. We also don’t know whether the information is real anymore. More and more of us are practising digital detoxing, which seems to be on the rise. So how can brands engage with increasingly more tuned-out customer base? Recognising the value of print, after all ESTILA has added print to its digital EDITS two years ago, I spoke to my printer’s marketing executive, Stephen Packwood from Crystal Press, about how you can enhance your customer experience with print.
1. In a digital world we live in, why do you think it’s still important to have marketing materials, especially if you’re a luxury brand?
When purchasing a luxury brand, it is all about the customer experience and feel good factor of buying, receiving and then owning the product that they have paid a substantial amount of money for. Once they have bought into the brand, they still want the special experience to continue in the future. Receiving printed matter as opposed to digital format gives the customer that special experience again. Printed marketing materials can be looked at, put down and picked up and looked at again later. It can also easily be shown to other people, it can be put on a bookshelf or filed to be looked at again at a later stage. It is a physical object that is tangible, rather than being something you just see on a screen. Everybody is doing digital now, so brands are looking at alternatives to digital, print being one of them.
2. How important is paper and printing quality for making a first impression and communication with customers?
Paper and printing has to ooze style and quality especially for luxury brands, but it also has to communicate to the customer very easily and clearly. It also has to entice you to turn to the next page to see more, so content is important and has to be good.
3. How does one know what’s quality and what’s not when it comes to marketing materials production?
Generally speaking, thinner paper or materials give the impression of cheap quality, thicker/bulkier and textured paper or materials give the impression of quality. Thicker materials tend to wear better then thinner materials, so the product stays looking good much longer.
4. What makes Crystal Press different from other printers?
Crystal Press has been established for quite a long time so it has a lot of experience and knowledge on all aspects of print. Our USP’s are being able to produce anything from a leaflet up to a case bound book all onsite. We specialise in Ecofoil and H-UV, and quality and service to clients is the main driver.
5. What is the most interesting marketing material or project you have been involved in?
McLaren P1 brochure, Garage magazine (with scented pages), Welsh School of Architecture book (open back binding – as above)
6. Have you got any exciting projects?
Ecofoil is for us the most exciting at the moment. Ecofoil is an alternative to normal Gold / Silver hot foiling. However, Ecofoil has several advantages;
it allows you to incorporate and simultaneously apply an unlimited number of different coloured foils into your printed marketing and packaging products. As it is applied in-line with the printing process, it offers significant commercial benefits. This in turn allows brands to develop bespoke foil colours using CMYK imagery as a tint of foil which is not physically possible with hot foil, therefore allowing for a completely creative freedom. When compared to hot foil, with Ecofoil we can achieve much finer detail and greater foil area complexity. Whatsmore, Ecofoil, as its name suggests, is friendlier to the environment and is fully recyclable. Surprisingly, it’s also more cost-effective and because it can be processed at full production speeds, it shortens the production lead-times.
If you need any help with content design and print marketing materials, please get in touch. Our studio is now open.
Website: Crystal Press
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