Archive for August, 2010

School Printing Services

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

I am an administrator in a local Primary School in the North East of England. I am very happy in my job and the daily challenges that it brings; from lost children to ordering Sandpits. I was recently assigned the task of sourcing and creating our Record of Achievement Folders for our kids. Our old supplier had gone bankrupt and we had no lead on where to get one.

As I am an old-fashioned type, my first stop was the local printers to ask about options for folders, but while they were keen to get the work, they were outsourcing it from someone with a litho printer. I assumed that we could get them cheaper if we found a printer with litho capabilities so I began an internet search to see where I could find such a printer. It turned out that there were quite a few printers in our area with the technology required.

Before I got in contact with any of the shortlisted printers (I sound so well organised!) I decided to get a few quotes from online companies to gauge what was acceptable. I was very impressed with the online companies that gave me quotes and when I went to the local companies their prices were so much higher than the companies online, that I decided to go with an online company. I think the local printers put the prices up because it was a “school job”, it happens to us all the time.

I assumed that I would basically pick a colour, hand over our school’s crest and wait for the delivery, but the company we used had so many little options to make our product better – card holders that were modified as name badges, brass corner protectors, CD pouches – we thought they would be handy for a CD photo album at the end of term. They were very impressive and we ended up with a hand tailored product.

It was important to us to get this project right because a pupil’s Record of Achievement Folder will stay with them until they are sixteen at least, it could even be presented in their university application, so it has to look good, and we made sure it did.

This task could have been a run-of-the-mill task, find a printer, give them the school’s crest, collect the record of achievement folders, job done. However with a bit of research and a bit of effort I found a great price and a great supplier; we’ll definitely be using them again.

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Easy Breezy Advertising

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Joe and I had been running our side-line business for a few years. In that time we had resorted to web advertising as well as advertising in Newcastle, our local town. However in our line of work as graphic designers we’d found that Online advertising was the way to go.

See, Joe and I had been friends for a long time but we both worked at different companies where we felt under paid and under valued. Which was the reason we started our own side-line business over 5 years ago. The work, while steady, wasn’t a thriving a business and most of our clients were friends that we knew and very few that we’d met through social networking. We were happy in our setup and little did we know that all this was about to change.

In 2009 we both lost our jobs. Yet we didn’t fret and even congratulated ourselves on our business ‘nest egg’. However it was time to step in up a notch. It was time for our business to take centre stage in our lives and we didn’t have the foggiest as to putting our name/brand out there.

Which was when Joe told me about Pixel Ads. A form of advertising whereby you pay for as many pixels as you use. Pixel advertising has been around for a while now, and it’s really starting to take off. Compared to Internet or Website Advertising, Pixel Website Advertising is so much more affordable especially since we’re still a growing business without any sort of advertising budget!

In short, for roughly £2.77 a month we have the potential to be seen by millions!

Within our first two months of Pixel Advertising hits to our website went up 27%. This was more than we expected as, to be honest, we didn’t really think that Pixel Ads would work especially since we hadn’t done Website Promotions elsewhere.

Joe and I are now on to much steadier work and we’re on the cusp of moving out of our rental workspace and into our work unit.

For Joe and I this has by far been the most cost-effective and sure fire way in which to get the word out there. As an added bonus it’s an innovative way in which to promote and advertise our business which also reflects on the kind of work we do as artists. If you’re a new business, we recommend you try it!

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To brand or not to brand

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

In this post I want to take a look at the difference that a little bit of branded stationary can make.

Think about your company’s stationary for a second. What sort of a message does it send? Is it all mismatched? Colour coded? What about all your files and folders? Do they have neat labels? Where’s your logo? These are important questions to raise.

Let’s imagine for a second that your home computer has broken down, you want to have it repaired locally and you are aware that there are two local guys who have set up their own computer repair shops, they can both do the job and they will charge the same fee. They both come round to your house to give you a free quote.

Wizz kid number one rings the bell and when you answer your door your first impression is NERD – he is wearing faded jeans, a denim jacket, his hair has not been brushed, nor his spectacles cleaned. He is carrying a scruffy ring binder with paper falling out of the sides. He does the job and gives you a quote; you escort him to the door and watch him drive away in his Robin Reliant.

Wizz kid number two comes along (by now you are not expecting much) and you are pleasantly surprised. The first thing you notice is that he has a tax disc holder with his company’s logo – impressive. Alas when he gets out of his car and you see his denim jacket and faded denim jeans you think NERD. But then you notice that he is carrying a folder with his company’s logo embossed and later you see that he also has a pen featuring the same logo and his quote is taken from a clipboard, which, again, features his logo. So now instead of (or as well as) thinking NERD, you start thinking, professional nerd.

A little bit goes a long way in marketing. You will of course choose Wizz Kid number two; even if his price was a little higher, you would still choose him. His image was of someone who has pride in his company and looks professional. All companies should exude this pride in themselves – it’s great for business.

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