A Thing of Beauty
There are plenty of unofficial mandates begging to be weeded out of today's corporate landscape. For many, "Do more with less" tops the list. There's little guidance about how to achieve higher profit margins with less manpower, but one thing is certain: Late hours and worrisome nights are a creativity buzzkill. And guess what? Clients notice.
Don't panic just yet. There's still time to reignite the spark of innovation that built your business. Below is a collection of case studies from leading industry distributors sure to inspire your next big project.
Jameson Barrel Rack Display with Dimensional Pole-Topper.
Submitted by David Freundlich, managing director, InnerWorkings Inc., Chicago.
The Client: Pernod Ricard USA, a premium spirits and wine company in the U.S., and the largest subsidiary of Paris-based Pernod Ricard SA, a co-leader in the spirits and wines sector worldwide, and No. 1 in the premium segment. Jameson is a blended Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard.
The Goal: Pernod Ricard USA requested an authentic and impactful display unit to support the Jameson brand during a key selling period. According to Freundlich, the display needed to incorporate the Jameson Barrel icon while tying into the fall tailgating season, and to communicate messaging for the Jameson Black Barrel sweepstakes ("win the Jameson Barrel Cooler for your next tailgate"). Male whiskey drinkers, with an average age of 25 to 39 and a HHI of more than $75,000, comprised the targeted consumer demographic.
The Solution: "The brand (and the field) needed a versatile piece that was scalable, and able to hold product and communicate the fall sweepstakes' message in a way that captured consumers' attention at retail. InnerWorkings developed a die-cut pole-topper featuring an injection-molded ice insert with both Jameson and beer corrugate die-cut bottles that added appetite appeal and reinforced the Jameson and beer messaging to consumers.
"The Jameson pole-topper was designed based on the following specs: The background, header and elements in ice were printed on 100 lb. text (four-color process) and mounted to .050 board and also die cut. The ice was vacuum-formed out of .050 clear PETG and die-cut finished."
The Outcome: "With a display of bottles shelved within a barrel topped with a cooler of iced product, Jameson experienced a 13 percent sales increase during the display activation period. Positive sales team, retailer and consumer response increased demand for this display [even] beyond the fall season."
Printed Pocket-Folder+Academic Calendar
Submitted by Vincent Mudd, owner, Mudd Print & Promo LLC, Edmond, Okla.
The Client: The Language Company, a globally minded organization that provides English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction and cultural opportunities to individuals who are seeking educational, professional and personal enrichment. The company has locations in 15 university towns across the United States.
The Goal: Mudd Print & Promo LLC was tasked with creating "a practical, yet innovative, item for everyday use" for students learning ESL. In addition to providing a "modern, subtle and classy" feel, the project needed to incorporate a celebration of The Language Company's 30th anniversary. Another challenge? The project had to be center-specific, but generic enough that there weren't 15 different versions to produce.
The Solution: "We created a printed Pocket-Folder+Academic Calendar. To start, I contacted Independent Folders and asked for their most creative pocket folder designs. They sent a batch over, and from three versions, we constructed a single prototype, incorporating the client's favorite features. We decided to stick with black linen stock and couple it with silver ink and silver foil to accomplish the goal of remaining 'classy.' We incorporated a full-size inside left pocket with a fold-over flap, for students to hold documents and reports that would not fall out while keeping the overall look 'clean.' We added an inside right pocket that was vertical in nature, so that no pages could fall out of the pocket folder while in use or in transit from class to class. Then, to accommodate the center-specific requirements, we added two sets of business card slits to the inside right pocket so that the director of admissions and a student's individual contact representative could each place cards in the folder.
"To the planner, we created the information and guide pages at the front, then created a calendar section that included 'Expression of the Month,' a space for the student to write the literal translation, and then finished each calendar page with an actual student testimonial.
"On the cover of the planner, we printed the corporate logo in silver, scaled back to 30 percent to create a sort of 'silver shading.' We then embossed and foil-sealed (in bright silver) the 30th anniversary seal. We added corporate contact information to the back, and another shaded corporate logo on the inside right pocket."
The Outcome: "In this modern age of graphic-intensive technology and color (over)saturation, the simplistic approach of the pocket folder/planner garnered enormous praise from the tech-savvy students. They were able to keep all their Language Company study materials and paperwork collected and easily accessible without having to buy additional folders or supplies. They really enjoyed the testimonials and began submitting more because they want us to incorporate them into future versions. This had the unintended benefit of direct feedback from the users without requiring The Language Company to solicit responses."
Blackjack Promotion
Submitted by Art Silverman, president, American Advertising Specialities NJ LLC, Tenafly, N.J.
The Client: An undisclosed company exhibiting at a recent Las Vegas trade show.
The Goal: American Advertising Specialties NJ LLC was asked to create a promotion that would generate exhibit traffic and new sales leads. "Given the enormous size of the trade show, with several thousand exhibitors, the challenge was to come up with a promotion that would catch the eye of the client's target market and be persuasive enough to drive high-value prospects to their exhibit," Silverman said.
The Solution: "Prospects were mailed a postcard in advance of the show providing information on the client's booth location along with an actual hand of blackjack shrink-wrapped on the card. Prospects were encouraged to bring their card to the client's exhibit and unwrap to see if they had blackjack. Prospects with blackjack received a $100 American Express gift card, and all those who presented their postcard were entered into a drawing for $500 in cash."
The Outcome: "This promotion, in addition to generating over 100 new business leads during the two-day show, was directly responsible for the close of a new customer relationship, which our client expects to produce more than $50,000 in monthly recurring revenue."
Pre-printed Stem Tags Featuring RFID Technology
Submitted by Scott Johnson, sales representative, Proforma Progressive Marketing, Bakersfield, Calif.
The Client: An undisclosed rose grower/supplier in the agricultural sector.
The Goal: A rose supplier, selling more than 500 varieties of bare root rose stocks to big box stores and nurseries, presented Johnson with a major supply chain challenge. All rose shipments entering processing and storage were labeled with paper tags. Moisture made the tags difficult to read and as a result, incorrect orders were being shipped. "Someone would think they were buying a white rose, but after it blossomed it turned out to be red," Johnson noted. "The goal of the project was to minimize their loss/return rate due to improper labeling."
The Solution: "The solution we provided was pre-printed stem tags made of a synthetic material that could be wrapped around each stem as they came into the processing facility. The bundles of roses would then have a pre-coded RFID tag.
"Now the forklift drivers can use an RFID reader to find the variety they need to pull from the cold storage facility and load into refrigerated trucks. Not only did this stop the wrong product from being shipped, the added benefit is at any given time, the client knows their inventory count."
The Outcome: "The client is very satisfied with our solution, as we are going into our seventh year supplying stem tags and RFID tags. Their loss/return rate has gone from 40 percent to less than .01 percent. This more than pays for the added expense of the stem tags and RFID tags."
Self Promo or Client Self Promo for Trade Shows, Parades or Fairs
Submitted by Phil Stumpf, sales associate, American Solutions for Business, Glenwood, Minn.
The Client: An undisclosed industrial cleaning company.
The Goal: A client needed a high-impact solution to stand out at a trade show. For this promotion, an interactive giveaway that garnered attention and sparked conversation worked best.
The Solution: "Typically exhibitors at trade shows have small handouts at their booth to thank people for stopping by. I like to take a different approach. Why not have an activity at your booth to attract attention of the attendees? I suggest using basketball stress relievers as handouts. Tossing them to people as they go by builds interest.
"Also, I suggest setting up a small basketball hoop and letting people try their luck at free throws. Sell them the small stress balls, along with stainless steel water bottles as gifts for the free throw contest."
The Outcome: "A booth filled with people. Our client had the opportunity to connect with new prospects."