We all have company mandated budgets. Budgets for company outings, budgets for personnel and of course budgets for marketing material. While it is important and often required to stay within the budget for marketing materials, top priority should be to produce a piece that will accomplish the goals of the project.
When starting a print project, be sure to identify key criteria such as target recipient, messaging and conversion goals. With these in mind, you can begin to shape the ideal piece that will meet these criteria and result in a strong return on investment. If costs for come in higher than expected and you are forced to look for cuts, be sure to carefully review changes and how this will impact your key criteria.
Recently, we met with a client who required some retail, tabletop signage to promote high-end clothing. They were looking to have their 1 color logo printed on 2 sides of an acrylic sign holder. Simple enough, right? Unfortunately, the budget for this project was extremely tight so the customer inquired about a cling option. While this was a reasonable solution to address the budget issue, it certainly would not help their conversion goals. We pointed out that a cling or sticker option may hurt the perception of their clothing line while a nice, tight screen print would properly reflect quality, professionalism and value. After some reflection, the customer agreed with our assessment and while the screen print was indeed a little outside of their budget, they decided to proceed with this method. Upon completion of the project and placement at retail sites, the signs have met conversion goals and any savings that would have been captured with clings has been overcome.
This example certainly does not apply to all situations. There are times when losing criteria to save money will work out and goals are still accomplished. The key is for the print buyer to carefully review all aspects before committing to a lower priced solution and sacrificing key components in the process. If you’re considering a more streamlined approach to distributing your printed materials, an Online Company Store can be a strategic move, ensuring brand consistency and efficient distribution.
