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FERRANTE & ASSOCIATES, INC. AND MAGICOMM, LLC FOUNDERS TO BE GUESTS ON “MONEY MATTERS AFTERNOON EDITION”

Discussion topics include strategic marketing, social media and integrated marketing communications trends.

Weston, July 14, 2010 - Audrey Ferrante, President of Ferrante & Associates, and Rick Littrell, President/CMO of Magicomm, LLC will join host Denis Vaughan, on this Friday’s (July 16, 2010) “Money Matters Afternoon Edition” at 5:00 PM EDT.  These experienced and award-winning marketers will discuss the expansion and trends of marketing channels and their impact on the return on investment.  Key highlights will include individualized messaging, marketing automation, social media, and the future of marketing communications.

“Money Matters Afternoon Edition with Denis Vaughan” is part of the highly rated Money Matters Radio Network.  It is broadcast Monday through Friday from 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM on WBNW AM 1120, WESO 970 and WPLM AM 1390 in Boston.  In addition a live audio and video stream is available at http://www.moneymattersboston.com and you can call in questions on +1 888-205-2263 if you want to join the conversation.

 

 

About Ferrante & Associates, Inc.

Established in 1988, Ferrante & Associates, Inc. is an integrated marketing communications service provider that delivers marketing strategy, creative services, integrated production services and response tracking. The Ferrante & Associates teams are a network of skilled marketing, communica­tions and production professionals who are known for exacting project coordination, absolute accountability and a single point-of-contact approach.  Specialties are turnkey high level marketing strategies and implementation across multi channels for medium to large companies, integrating traditional and web-enabled programs that add value, reduce costs and increase efficiencies for clients.  For more information please visit http://www.ferranteassoc.com or call 1-781-891-4328.

About Magicomm, LLC

Founded in 2004, Magicomm, LLC is an innovative and award winning marketing services firm based in Amesbury, MA.  Magicomm, LLC began partnering with Ferrante & Associates in 2009.  Magicomm, LLC provides integrated marketing communications solutions, including variable data print, customized emails, variable video, personalized urls (pURLs), social media, and web development, through a high level strategy of personalization and cross media implementation. Their core expertise expands to the ability to offer document and communications workflow consulting that delivers solutions for web enabled information production automation.   For more information please

Contact:  Ferrante & Associates

Audrey Ferrante

1-781-891-4328

aferrante@ferranteassoc.com

Posted in Announcement, Integrated Marketing | No Comments »

Online Print and Fulfillment Solution for Hologic, Inc.

Challenges

Hologic, one of the world’s leading providers of health care solutions for women, wanted to develop a more efficient way for its customers to order marketing and promotional materials that help promote its services. At the time, hospitals and doctors’ staffs were calling the company directly to order materials or requesting electronic files to print locally. This often required a huge amount of time to fulfill the many requests that came through on a daily basis. When customers did print locally, their costs were often higher because of smaller quantities and at times, branding or print quality standards were compromised. Therefore, Hologic was seeking an alternative process that protected its branding requirements and reduced the costs of order processing. They decided to look into online solutions, which they felt was the only way their requirements could be met.

Solutions

Hologic selected us to develop and implement an easy-to-use web-enabled print and fulfillment store. The store, incorporated directly into Hologic’s corporate website, maintains the “look and feel” of their corporate branding. Customers can use either a major credit card or submit a purchase order for payment. The customer can also buy static or personalized items directly, as well as accessing digital file downloads within a secure environment. The digital file downloads include customizable templates for press releases, letters, technology white papers, and PowerPoint presentations to utilize for their marketing efforts. Customers are able to add their facility names and contact information to the personalized pieces while maintaining Hologic’s branding guidelines.

With the online store now in place, handling customer material requests is fully automated. Hospitals and doctors are now ordering personalized marketing and promotional collateral that includes the latest branded corporate promotional materials and product literature to promote their business development efforts. Within 3 days the order is shipped directly to the customer’s door. By providing an online store, Hologic reduced the time needed for program administration, maintained brand standards and reduced costs by streamlining production. Full visibility of program costs and activities for ROI and forecasting was achieved with comprehensive 24/7 reporting tools, along with a monthly status meeting. Most importantly, Hologic’s customers receive their materials efficiently, affordably and when they are needed.

Features/Benefits

  • An easy-to-use web store with customized ordering capabilities to enhance customer experience
  • Maintain branding  as determined by corporate guidelines
  • Reduce waste leading to lower costs.
  • 24/7/365 access to corporate materials from any location, through a secure centralized hub that supports print production, ordering, assembly, fulfillment, inventory management and distribution, reducing costs and streamlining logistics support.
  • Cuts administrative overhead costs by reducing the time spent by internal administrative resources.

Customer Testimonial

“Audrey, President of Ferrante & Associates, worked with us to fully define our needs and budget requirements and assembled a ‘best in class’ team to design and implement our new web store for print and marketing collateral, order processing and fulfillment. Her attention to detail and strong communications skills proved invaluable to pushing the program to the success that it is.”

Nicole Athanas

Corporate Marketing Communications Manager,  Hologic, Inc.

Additionally, one of the marketing collateral pieces that is available on the web store is the “Hologic MammoPad Select Customer Program” which recently won the 2009 MM&M Medical Marketing and Media Gold and Silver Awards for Best Direct Marketing to Consumers and Healthcare Professionals. The integration of superior design and technology made this program a winner for all involved.

Congratulations Hologic!

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

Posted in Case Study, Communications, Internet, Print, Print On Demand | 34 Comments »

Personalized urls are NOT the magic “success” bullet for a direct marketing campaign!

It has been interesting to watch the ongoing discussions about the use of personalized urls (pURLs) and how many say that the usage of them will increase your response rates by double digits. I DON’T believe that. So there, I’ve said it. Doesn’t make me a bad person, does it?

What REALLY causes double digit response rates are strong messaging, great execution, and a well defined target market. The pURLs are only the enabler for the response from the initial outbound effort, whether it is using email or variable data print (VDP). The added value of the pURL is that it provides for the “real time” feedback on how the campaign is progressing, what the reaction is of the responder, and when you combine it with a response outbound such as email, it is a powerful tool for marketer to use to satisfy their customers’ goals for the campaign.

A cross-media campaign that includes print, email, pURLs, and social media can be a VERY powerful campaign…PROVIDED the messaging, execution, and market segment definition is well defined. Most people forget that it is NOT the media that makes the message, but it is the message that makes the success! Don’t be one of those who forget this.

By remembering these fundamentals, you can develop strategies and cross-media campaigns that can succeed beyond your wildest expectations.

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

Posted in Communications, Integrated Marketing, Internet | 10 Comments »

Integrated Marketing…What is the right combination to use?

Corporations are increasingly asking their agencies to provide them with an integrated solution when discussing their marketing requirements. It only makes sense to develop a plan that is more holistic in nature than the traditional approach to place a newspaper or magazine ad (do people still do that?), or run an ad on TV or radio. With the increasing importance of integrating your internet strategy with your outbound and, of course, inbound efforts, the options available can become overwhelming for most of the traditionally trained marketing specialists. What is the right media mix? How should you allocate your budget between the different implementations? How does social media play into the mix? How should search engine optimization be included in the mix? These are some of the questions that must be answered during the development of the strategy.

First and foremost, it is important to understand that people have a certain bias towards, or against, the various media. Many people today will completely ignore any of the advertisements that are placed in the traditional print media, such as newspapers or magazines. Additionally, there are recent studies that indicate that banner ads are losing their impact. There was a study published in 2004 by “The Chartered Institute of Marketing” that determined that we are exposed to over 1,500 advertising messages every day. Is there any reason for us to assume that number is lower today? We think not! We have all developed a mental screening of these ads now and their effectiveness is declining accordingly. Determining how to be the “One” that gets through is the tricky part.

There are two key elements in any integrated marketing strategy: 1) Recognize that the goal is now to develop a “pull’ strategy instead of a “push” strategy. This means that it is important to incent the consumer to WANT to interact with you and not just shove the message into their face from every direction for the goal of developing brand awareness. This is where social media is becoming increasingly used; 2) Develop a workflow that makes it easy and quick for the consumer to interact and communicate during the response phase of the process. These two strategies recognize that people don’t have enough time, or attention span, and different people will use different media in the process. Some like email, others will only interact using the telephone, and still others will only use the internet as their response mechanism of choice. Therefore, your strategy should be developed using multiple media for both deploying the message and the response to the call to action. You must make the messaging more relevant to the individual to incent them to take the time. Once you include these elements in your strategy, you have a much better chance of succeeding at your goals.

Remember, recognize that people have many options to choose from when communicating and that their time is valuable, so the communications must be relevant and add value to their lives. The options have become almost endless, but a careful evaluation and definition of how your target market communicates will increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and help you meet the goals that you set…You do set goals, don’t you? But, that is a discussion for another day!

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

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Posted in Communications, Integrated Marketing | 24 Comments »

Don’t miss the opportunity to integrate print and internet…It’s a winning combination

Much has been discussed about what is the right mix of media (or shall we call them channels?) when developing an integrated marketing strategy. There are lots of options, including print (both static and variable), email, search engine optimization (SEO), social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube to name a few), billboards (both digital and static), TV, radio, magazines, and newspaper advertising that companies can use. Should we add sky writing to the mix? As you can see, our customers have a lot of choices and are many times confused on what is the right mix for them to use to meet their business objectives. With many declaring that “Print is dead!”, it makes you wonder should you even consider using print? The overwhelming answer from the market is YES!

Print is still a viable solution for many marketing requirements, but we all have to think differently when we consider using it. A workflow, or shall we say strategy, that many use today is based on a more database driven implementation for both the print and web components. You probably have heard about personalized urls (pURLs), but you may not have leveraged this technology yet. Just to recap, a pURl is a microsite that is connected to a database and allows for the web pages to be dynamically reconfigured based on what is in the database or how the responder interacts with the microsite. Therefore, many campaigns are using variable data print (VDP) that includes a pURL for the recipient to go to as a response mechanism.  The internet will provide the responder the “immediate” interaction that a printed product can’t provide. According to the DMA, over 30% of people respond to direct mail by going online. And I could argue that this number will increase as more people use an integrated marketing strategy.

Bottom line is that direct mail is still viable and becomes a stronger solution when integrated with the internet. Both are here to stay, we just need understand the best way to use them together and how  consumers ultimately want to get their information and interact with your company. The two provide more value when used together than each can when they are used by themselves. I leave you with this thought…”Integrated marketing strategies are the ONLY strategies to use to grow your business opportunities!” To use any media as a standalone solution is short sighted and will limit your opportunities. It all becomes very simple when you start thinking like this. So, go forth, integrate and grow!

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

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Posted in Communications, Integrated Marketing, Internet, Print | 41 Comments »

How will Print be used in the Future (Now?)

It has been interesting watching the shift that is going on in society (yes, it is a society level change, not just affecting the print industry) with how people perceive and use printed material. Companies are reducing the inventory (run length) of their printed marketing collateral, shifting their marketing efforts to more of an internet focus, and using more personalized print that is much more targeted than in the past. More and more catalogue companies are reducing, if not eliminating – like Penneys and Sears have – their page count and using the printed product to push the consumer to their web site for transactions. Then add social media marketing efforts into the mix, and you have reason believe that print is not long for this world? NO…NO…A thousand times NO! It’s just going to be used differently than in the past and that is ok and it is the right thing to do.

What print has to offer, that other media don’t, is the tactile sensation of the feel of the paper and specialized finishing techniques, the expanded color gamut with the use of special inks and color separation technologies, and the permanence of the media. People use print to show the value of their relationship to the recipient. Print and mailing cost more than sending an email to someone (if they get it through their firewall and/or spam filter!), therefore it must be more valuable…right? The perception in the market is an overwhelming YES! BUT….there is always a “but”….you have to ensure that the media is delivering a relevant message to the consumer. If the message has no connection or meaning to the consumer, then you might as well send an email.

The key is use print for what it is best for. Don’t waste your time and hard-earned money on a wasteful strategy such as “spray and pray”. That’s the old way and not the “smart” way of the future. We all need to be smarter on how and when we use the different media that are available to us today.

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

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Posted in Print | 10 Comments »

Random thoughts about the changing Print (Communications?) world in 2009 and 2010

“The Times They Are a-Changin”…Was Bob Dylan thinking of the print industry in 2009, and moving forward into 2010, when he released this song in January 1964? Probably not, but it certainly seems to fit the situation! Here are a few of our thoughts on what happened and where print is going.

Mergers of vendors (or rumors of upcoming mergers…Heidelberg & ManRoland?) continue and will increase in frequency. Will the Big Three (Kodak, Fuji, Agfa) become the Big Two in 2010? Very possible…

Consolidation of the Print Service Providers (PSP) accelerates, but will provide a much needed cleansing of the market of both weak organizations and obsolete technologies.

Transitioning from a PSP to a Marketing Service Provider is harder than most thought, but many consider it critical for survival.

Shifting of marketing dollars to internet and electronic (Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Email) is growing, at the expense of traditional print methods.

Newspapers and magazines struggling in their transition to internet business model. Less will be more in the future.

Public concerned about maintaining their privacy on the internet and becoming more reluctant to provide personal information on the internet. This will impact ability to provide relevant information to the consumer.

Print runs continue to drop, forcing PSPs to become more efficient and automated. If they don’t, they join the dinosaurs.

Web-to-Print (Web-to-Ondemand-Print?) is becoming the preferred workflow for customers and PSPs.

Commercial printing moving closer to a commodity due to increased access to web-to-print solutions from retail focused organizations (Vistaprint, 48hourprint.com, Mimeo.com, Fedex/Kinko, etc.)

Web-to-Print becoming “Web-to-Everything” within the PSP’s workflow, continuing to confirm that web-based workflows are boss and it’s more than print when planning a communications strategy.

Print sales professionals are struggling with the transition to “Solution Selling”. Many won’t make it, but a select few will become “Stars”, when they think of helping their customers instead of selling to them.

Training for print professionals is not as readily available as it should be (more interactive web based solutions on the way!). Have we lost our ability to train for print due to reduced resources available and expansion of hybrid (offset and digital) and cross media workflows?

Inkjet grows in popularity as an imaging technology…thinking it will take market share away from silkscreen, offset and toner-based solutions. There are still some quality and speed issues, but those are slowly being overcome.

Wide format inkjet solutions growth accelerating. Marketers are learning how to best use the wide range of media available.

Personalized URLs do not guarantee success of a marketing program. It is best integrated with print component and automated email responses and alerts.

Integrated marketing solutions (print, email, web, video, etc.) are becoming the norm. An ONLY print strategy has become obsolete.

Book publishers are struggling with transition to eBooks and digital rights management is becoming a bigger issue.

Libraries are seeing increased usage due to the economy. Used for both access to print material (books, magazines, etc.) and to the internet for those who don’t have access at home.

United States Postal Service (USPS) is struggling with pension funding and reduced volumes while trying to break even (maybe even make some $$$). Trend will continue without RADICAL change in structure and service offerings.

Lots to think about when looking back and learning from the past as we move into the future. “The Times They Are a-Changin” and opportunities are everywhere, if you are willing to change with them.

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

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Posted in Print, Print On Demand, Wide Format Print | 33 Comments »

Using specialized finishing and printing techniques to enhance the “Print Experience”

It has become readily apparent that providing high quality print using ONLY four color processes is not enough to separate your printed product from your competitors. Using different finishing methods and media such as embossing, die cut, and/or specialty inks (glitter, scent, metallic, etc.) on your marketing collateral will make it stand out from the crowd and give you a competitive advantage.

Print’s advantage to other media is the feel of the paper (or shall we say “media”, given the wide range of materials that can be printed on), the visual impact of expanded color gamut (using specialized inks and separation techniques), and the permanence of it (compared to electronic, which seems to be fleeting at best). We all have the pesky filing cabinets that we keep material in that we want to save for the future. By using specialty processes and materials, print can provide an experience to the recipient that no other media can provide.

While reviewing the holiday cards that we received during the holidays, the ones that used these specialized techniques were the more impactful and memorable. (BTW…over 58% of them were more that 4/C printing) We got a lot of email greetings, but very few were special in any way and were remembered even less at the end of the season. The printed holiday cards were openly displayed for all to see throughout the holidays. How many emails can you say that you did that with? NONE!

We know that holiday cards are a special print breed unto themselves, but you cannot disregard the impact that they had on you when you opened them. We expect to see an increased use of these specialized techniques with marketing collateral in the future. When the goal is to stand out from the crowd and get noticed, why wouldn’t you? Especially if you are promoting a high end product. One extra sale can easily provide the ROI that you must get from your marketing efforts.

Bottom line…Print will increasingly use specialized finishing and media to increase its impact on the recipient. It only makes sense…Use print in ways that other media cannot replicate. Integrating high value print with your electronic marketing efforts will give you the advantage that you need to grow into the future. Remember, it is a multi-media world and all media has its place!

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

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Posted in Print | 32 Comments »

What does “web-to-print” mean and why do I care?

We’ve noticed that “Web-to-Print” and “Print-on-Demand” are used almost interchangeably. It almost should be “Web-to-Print-on-Demand!” That’s more to the point, but much too wordy.  Still, the connection cannot be denied. So let’s go on to discuss “Why I care…”

The WORLD is now 24/7/365. Companies from overseas can order our product or be our vendor partners. The internet is ALWAYS on (except when Comcast/Verizon/”Put your ISP name here” goes down…Which is a HUGE pain!). There is ALWAYS business being done somewhere in the world.  Why shouldn’t you use tools that are 24/7/365 and have access to the world?

It is absurd these days to even think of running a business that is not leveraging the power of the internet.  Enlightened print buyers and print service providers use the internet in their purchasing and ongoing communications to achieve high quality printed products. Now integrate this capability with the ability to monitor your printed inventory and you really have a powerful tool at your disposal.

Just by having a secure web portal for your inventory that you can monitor, you can interact with and place orders with your print service provider on your timetable, not on the provider’s business hours. If they are really savvy, the print service provider will integrate the ordering portal with their preflight and production system, to process the order faster.

So remember…” Web-to-Print-on-Demand”…It may just catch on and you will be able to say that you saw it first here!

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante
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Posted in Print On Demand, Uncategorized | 18 Comments »

Why you should use print-on-demand

Print-on-Demand (POD) has now become an essential business tool for all enterprises that use printed materials (which is EVERYONE!). Ordering printed products through a secure web portal, with automatic pre-flight and scheduling, is an efficient and effective way for both the enterprise and the print service provider to process these orders. As print run length requirements continue to drop, reducing any handling or logistic costs is imperative for print to maintain its viability and relevance in today’s communications food chain.

I think that the key words to focus on are “…on-demand”. That means that the requestor controls the beginning of the transaction. And this applies to all printing, digital or offset. Providing access to the print ordering system from the client’s desktop (or laptop) is powerful. It makes it easy to do business with each other, because users can request a quote or a print job any time of the day, anywhere in the world that has a internet connection. (That’s pretty much everywhere, isn’t it?)

As mentioned earlier, shorter print runs are now the norm. This allows the enterprise to reduce inventory costs and wastage. A side benefit is that a central repository for your documents will be established. Organizing and publishing the latest version of a document in an easy to access environment provides for a more “user friendly” (and error free) process for ordering product.

Print-on-Demand = Web-to-Print = Flexibility + Savings. What else do I need to say? Oh, don’t forget to consider it for both digital and offset applications. The benefits provided are a Win/Win for everyone.

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante

Posted in Print On Demand | 15 Comments »

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