Raising Print 2014

Personalised programme with raised print.

Raising Print 2014 held in July in HP's UK Head Office promised to inspire and inform attendees to push the boundaries of print with digital technology. Covering new print and ink technology, personlisation, the age old digital vs print debate and how to use print to add value, the conference suite was full of inspiring new ideas and we all left laden down with samples. The highlight was the clever way HP had worked with Print Solutions Magazine to provide tailored examples of new print, digital and finishing techniques that were personalised to us, our journey and interests.

Personalised die-cutting

The motto for Raising Print was, "The only limitation is your imagination". Julia Cole, UK&I Marketing Manager - HP explained that there were no limits to the future of print, beyond our imaginations and the vision of our clients. By blending the power of physical print with the relevance of online, using integrated, just in time, GEO-specific, customised or emotional print you can significantly increase the effectiveness of your retail marketing campaigns. 

Eye-catching print options

A great example of this concept is Coca Cola's 2013 'Share a Coke' campaign which was rolled out across across Europe to great success. Encouraging teenagers to search for their name and share a coke with their friends, was an ambitious concept that proved more popular than anyone had anticipated. In Germany alone Coca Cola consumption in teenagers had reduced by 52%, with teenagers stating that Coca-Cola was no longer relevant to their lives. Coke rolled out the campaign in four months, with over 800 million personalised labels across thirty-two counties. The most popular one hundred and fifty names in each country were selected in fifteen languages and five different alphabets. Cans and bottles were available in stores, cafes, online and from Coke roadshow events. All labels were printed on HP presses and Coke challenged HP to retain colour consistency across all three product and the thin label film. 

White ink examples

The 2013 campaign was innovative, social and digital, increasing weekly traffic by 106,000 in Germany alone, which was an increase of 1787%. The campaign created 18.3 million media impressions, won a Cannes Lion award and #mycoke was the top trend on Facebook. Consumption in the target market increased by 59%, 10,000 personalised bottles were ordered online per day, equating to 1.2 million personalised bottles over the duration of the campaign in Germany.

Susan Wright, Editorial Director - Earth Island Publishing spoke about the future of digital print, predicting shorter runs, shorter lead-times and the growth of variable data printing. Susan stated that digital print will be dominant by 2015 because of its interaction with online and built in tracking for clear ROI. Print businesses need to work on their online provision as print buyers are searching and ordering online more frequently. At the SPS Group we provide a store ordering facility through our Mauve retail marketing solution, that allows head office to track stock levels and ordering patterns for a more intelligent buying process.

locr personalised maps

Paul Manning, Managing Director - Rapidity Communications presented an engaging update on the new materials and ink technologies available in conjunction with HP. We were shown raised print, clear inks, textured effects, white ink and spot colours in applications tailored to our clients. Creating in-store theatre has never been so accessible or effective and we are bursting with new ideas for your retail marketing campaigns. 

Thomas Schnetter, Business Development - locr GmbH UK demonstrated their personalised maps that can be applied to printed direct mail easily for GEO-specific targeted marketing campaigns. We would recommend the concept for store openings or for targeting new or lapsed customers in specific locations. locr saves hours of individualised map art-working and works with variable data for quick and simple campaigns. 

Speciality substrates

Ian Sullivan, CEO - Paperhat Consorcio spoke about using the print and social media relationship to add value to marketing campaigns and provide accurate measurement. QR codes or augmented reality apps on printed retail marketing can not only provide clear calls to actions but also real-time measurement of campaign success or the customer's journey through your media. This link provides the key to much more responsive and informed retail marketing campaigns. Ian also suggested that printed marketing should utilise key social media topics or stories, for example blog posts or links to interactive content. 

Raising Print was a a slick and inspiring event that presented a range of tailored ideas and facilitated vital conversations between print professionals. HP and Print Solutions created a platform that encouraged us all to consider incorporating new elements to strengthen our service offering and push the boundaries of print technology. This event wasn't prescriptive as are so many conferences, but instead challenged us to shape the future of print with new ideas and embrace the possibilities of digital and print collaboration.

Top tips from Marketing Week Live 2014:

1. The only limit to print in retail marketing is your vision. Challenge us as your supplier to provide innovative and cost-effective in-store theatre. 
2. Think beyond traditional ink by using raised print, white inks or spot gloss.
3. Consider how personalised maps can be used to engage with your target market with clear calls to action.
4. Streamline your print buying process by utilising a solution like Mauve, which provides store ordering facilities and comprehensive reporting facilities to Head Office, such as stock tracking, most and least ordered items, and store ordering levels.
5. Link social media to your printed retail marketing for responsive real-time ROI tracking.

As experts in Retail Marketing and with the Clockworx Design Agency dedicated to app, digital marketing and 3D design, send us your brief today to find out what unique solutions we can offer to solve your challenge.

Maria Parker-Harris

Group marketing Co-ordinator

The SPS Group 

www.spsgroup.co.uk