| Printing quotes is the first thing to look for before you | | | | Content Based Design |
| start working on a printing project. In fact, it should be | | | | If you intend your ads to be informative and act as a |
| something to look into even before you give printing a | | | | print resource, you should consider intentionally toning |
| thought. | | | | down the design. The easiest to read after all is black |
| A word of advice to the hopefuls, printing can either | | | | text on white paper. |
| be cheap or expensive depending on your | | | | This can work well for the more technically inclined |
| specifications. You shouldn't use price to encourage or | | | | customers, who want to know more about quantifiable |
| discourage you to design your print ads, but rather it | | | | data, processes, and features to guide them in their |
| should be used as a tool to adjust your specifications. | | | | purchasing decisions. These prints are far cheaper to |
| Form vs. Substance: How will it meet your marketing | | | | produce and can be given out more readily. |
| goals? | | | | Although they can work well to sell gadgets and other |
| There are two schools of thought. One says form | | | | benefits based commodity items, they do poorly for |
| follows function while the other says substance is | | | | culture branding. These are the products people |
| style. Subscribing to a design concept will have a big | | | | purchase for the sheer pleasure of purchasing |
| on the success of your business and is fundamental in | | | | something luxurious. Think about non-commodity goods |
| shaping your marketing plan. | | | | people use to identify themselves: clothing, vacation |
| Using Style Heavy Design | | | | places, wines, jewelry, etc. |
| A lot of people look for design ideas on the internet for | | | | It used to be that content heavy marketing is targeted |
| anything from business cards to posters and flyers. In | | | | at men while design based advertisement is targeted |
| most cases they end up looking at the drool worthy | | | | at women. Recent studies show however that |
| award winning designs produced by big ad agencies | | | | women influence 80% of the purchase of consumer |
| for their own marketing materials. | | | | goods, changing the dynamics of how advertising is |
| But before you get too worked up with die-cutting or | | | | done. |
| foil printing, remember that these extra effects can | | | | Should this mean hardware stores should start sending |
| easily double up your cost. If you're up-selling your | | | | out catalogs with foil stamped swirls on the front |
| brand it may be a calculated strategy, otherwise twice | | | | page? |
| as much prints is likely to produce better results as | | | | When developing a marketing budget, get printing |
| better looking prints. | | | | quotes for folded postcards you can use to make a |
| A word of caution though, too much styling may take | | | | qualitative survey of the perceptions about your |
| the focus out of your content. Unique styles don't | | | | products. This should guide you in designing your |
| always make the sale. On the other hand, you can | | | | marketing materials or finding your marketing mix. More |
| also make good design using the default choices from | | | | tinkering with your design endlessly, coming up with a |
| your offset printing. But again, it's all a matter of | | | | well-informed strategy sounds like a better plan. |
| preference. | | | | |