Page 14 - Print21 Magazine May-June 2022

Marketing
The physical always
outperforms the virtual
Marketing guru Malcolm Auld says
in each image was altered to the client’s name using creative font
technology. So the calendar had 12 separate images each with the client’s name on it.
For example, the image might have been of the Manly Surf
Club, but it was replaced with the client’s name to read say, Sarah Surf Club. These were so popular that, every year, clients would contact
me and ask if we could produce
some calendars with their children’s names, which of course we did. Many clients framed all 12 pages and hung them on their wall at home.
A recent arrival to personalised products is Spiff3D, using tech to completely change the personalised products category. It is a platform designed to allow retailers to offer
a customised packaging service to their clients. It delivers a 3D view of the packaging, so the customer can see where the personalised sections are located. Retailers can provide a choice of templates with messages, image and colour options, or customers can upload their own.
Even more impressive is the QR code and landing page function. A customer can create a gift card or packaging and upload a video to go with the personalised package. The system automatically creates and prints a QR code on the packaging or card, and produces a simple landing page that the QR code links to. Brands already using Spiff3D include Coca-Cola, Koko Black, Baccarat, Bega and CUB. Check out the website: https://spiff3d.com.
Now, imagine branding a wine bottle, or chocolates, or any desirable product with your own brand, including a QR code and delivering
it with a personal message to a prospect to generate a new lead? Even better, include the prospect’s data on the product. I guarantee you’ll get a better result than an online advertisement or remarketing around the internet. The reason
is simple – the physical always outperforms the virtual.
As I like to say, “the more you keep it real in the digital world, the more successful you’ll become.” 21
combining digital technologies with Oprint gives impressive results.
ne of the most common buzzwords in the digital marketing world is personalisation. It’s spoken about in
reverent tones as if it was only invented with the internet. Yet, as any experienced marketer knows, personalised communication (apart from face-to-face and telephone) has been a key part of the mail-order industry for decades.
The invention of variable data printing in the 1980s meant whole magazines could customise content so it was more relevant to different segments of readers – the US Farm Journal was a pioneer in personalised magazines.
In direct mail, marketers can personalise the letter, brochure and envelope with variable text, contact details and other related data, images, diagrams, charts, colours and more. The simple truth is,
direct mail isn’t direct mail if it isn’t personalised. It’s one of the reasons direct mail is one of the most trusted media, particularly in comparison
to online personalisation, which is usually regarded nearer the creepy end of the privacy scale.
Just as personalised mail delivers tactile credibility for brands, so too
do personalised products. One of the pioneers of personalised products was Brewtopia. The company started in 2001 supplying customised labels on wine, beer, water and juice. Individuals or companies could create their
own brands/labels and Brewtopia would print and adhere the labels to cleanskin drinks and packaging, then deliver to the customer. These were hugely popular for corporate events, celebrations such as Father’s Day
and significant milestones like 21st birthdays and weddings.
At one point the company ran a competition for the best labels, voted on by the customers. The winning labels were then offered as part of the templates on the Brewtopia site.
14 Print21 MAY/JUNE 2022
Brewtopia recently rebranded to Labeltopia (www.labeltopia.
com.au) and supplies a much broader range of products that can be personalised, including gin.
In 2004 Send Out Cards completely changed the greeting card industry with its customised greeting card platform that is sold via a network marketing model. Customers create their own cards from a large range
of formats, using their own or stock images, and choose from a range of fonts and text colours. The cards are mailed from the USA, using a real stamp on the envelope.
“You’ll get a better result than an online advertisement or remarketing around the internet. The reason is simple – the physical always outperforms the virtual.”
Keep it real: Malcolm Auld
A few years ago Bundaberg Brewed Drinks offered personalised labels on its brewed soft drinks. I gave my son his own brand of ginger beer for his 15th birthday. They have proven to be highly popular.
For many years, we created personalised calendars using our clients’ names. Each calendar had
a welcome page and 12 individual month pages, all designed to fit
into a CD jewel case. Each month
had a different image with a sign or business name in the image, taken from around Manly Beach. The name