Often, when people and businesses think of print, they think of the same things; posters and cards, brochures and handouts. They think of the same process, the same materials, and the same result. But what many forget to consider is that with just a little bit of creativity, your company can easily set itself apart from the noise with just a few tips in mind.
Teaching an Old Process New Tricks
One mistake that many marketers fall victim to is failing to see old methods and processes in a new light. The masses tend to discard processes and tools of the past in favor of the new, but as marketers, we can take advantage of this. It's your job to stand out, right? Well bringing back flashes from the past can not only help your collateral (and your company) stand out, but it can show you're not afraid to be bold.
Take letterpress for example, a process largely credited to Johannes Gutenberg who revolutionized the printing in the 1400s. Letterpress has now been overtaken by new processes such as Lithography and Flexography which perform at much higher levels of detail and speed and yet, Letterpress is making a comeback. You only have to take a look at places like Pinterest to see why. Now, typesetting with individual metal letters has been replaced with polymer plates, but the process is still the same. The impression left where the image area of the plate meets the paper adds a tactile component of the piece. And the simplicity of design (most projects are limited to only a few colors) gives the final product a more 'simple craftsmanship' appeal.
Letterpress has made a comeback for its niche market. For cards and invitations that need to stand out among the wealth of generalized advertisements and mail, a simple Letterpress-printed piece with a contemporary design (like one of the two depicted in the photo above) will truly make its mark. And take for example overalls and short-length shorts, abandoned by the general public years ago, they have made a resurgence in the waves of fashion. Sometimes, using the past for inspiration can result in novelty in the present.
Teaching New Processes New Tricks
In the same vein that we can look to the past for ideas, we can use technologies from the present in new and unique ways to capture the attention of our audience as well. For example, the other day I was sorting through my mail and a letter caught my eye. Overall, it looked like any other general letter I'd seen in my mailbox before, but the use of a script font for the addressing made me take another look before I made a move for the recycle bin. Ultimately, I saw that it was a variable data-printed advertisement and not a hand-addressed letter as it first seemed, but when it comes to marketing, getting your potential customers to give your product or service just another split second of their attention is everything.
When it comes to making your piece stand out, it can be the subtle changes that can make all the difference between being ignored and reaching a high level of engagement. Simple changes, such as a business card that is a slightly different size, or a brochure that folds in a slightly different manner are the kinds of changes that can produce the greatest results.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, not everyone can build wildly creative campaigns or promotional pieces, but hopefully this post gave you a few ideas of your own. It doesn't take a wealth of creative skill to come up with something great. And if you have an idea but just need some guidance about how you can translate it into something concrete, we at L+L are here to help! Feel free to contact any of our friendly sales reps and we'll have you on your way with your final product in hand in no time.
