Distributors can increase sales of printed products by mixing business with pleasure.
Regardless of the economy, the weather or world affairs, people love to be entertained. From sporting events to music and theater, there would be no audience without printed products.
Distributors who aren't pursuing this often-overlooked niche are doing themselves a disfavor, say manufacturers. In addition to big-name national events, there are literally hundreds of entertainment-related activities happening in every community. Some are annual events, such as arts festivals, county fairs, 10K runs, or home and garden shows. Others may be one-shot events to celebrate a town or company anniversary or team championship. Some are open to the public; others are invitation-only affairs. Tickets may or may not be required, but they represent an obvious need.
Secure Ticket Orders
"Security features are big on tickets for sporting events," noted Dave Wandling, vice president of marketing for The Flesh Company, St. Louis. Features such as foil stamping, holograms and printing visible only under ultraviolet light may be necessary to ensure the legitimacy of high-demand tickets, but are only as effective as the ticket-takers.
A simpler and more effective security measure is bar coding, Wandling said. Bar-coded tickets are scanned at the stadium or theater entrance and handed back to the patron. "You'd have to know not only the symbology they were using, but also the sequence of numbers for that day to forge it," he said. "Plus, a bar-coded ticket is easier to verify."
Despite an obvious need, security measures on tickets are often overused, he noted. "Sometimes, an end-user wants security features on tickets when there really isn't a need—for instance, businesses that give tickets away in order to get people in to buy the concessions," Wandling noted. This may be the case for a second-run movie theater with inexpensive seats that profits primarily from snack sales.
A variation on this is offered by Stuart Boyar, president of distributorship Cooley Group, Rochester, N.Y. "One of the products we've sold as a giveaway is a compressed T-shirt that was used at a local festival," Boyar said. The shirt was printed with festival information and the name of the sponsor, a local pizza parlor. Each time attendees wearing the shirts came to the pizza shop's booth, they received a discount on purchases; meanwhile, the shirts served as walking advertisements for the retailer.
The same concept works for trade shows and conferences. Distributors could pitch show organizers and prospective exhibitors on promotional items to be redeemed at the booth for discounts on the spot or on future orders.
In many cases, Wandling noted, tickets are bought at ticket agencies for theater and sporting events, and are often generic products supplied by manufacturers specializing in tickets. Even if that door is closed, he said, distributors could approach local universities to provide tickets, fliers, programs and promotional items for their sporting and entertainment events.
Theater management and production management companies also often oversee ticketing and marketing needs for venues regionally or nationally. Subscribers to any event series held at the venue will receive mailings for other events. "That printing is not generic like the tickets," Wandling noted. "It's four-color process because they're advertising to offer subscribers first crack at seating."
Who Ya Gonna Call On?
Name badges, programs and banners may be needed by meeting planners and event organizers. Distributors should approach local chambers of commerce, state and county convention centers and visitors bureaus, and departments of business and economic development for leads. Non-profit organizations, museums, nature centers, historic sites, art galleries and fire departments all plan events as fundraisers, or to celebrate their heritage or promote the arts.
Such contacts can produce business not only with the individual organizations planning events, but also with the county or state office. Annual or seasonal calendars of events, and brochures and booklets mailed out upon request or available at local festivals, can provide repeat business. Each events calendar in itself is a gold mine for the distributor, providing information on hundreds of upcoming events, along with contact information for the sponsoring organization.
Many times, small organizations or non-profits have a mailing or membership list, but can benefit from a distributor's in-depth knowledge of one-to-one marketing techniques to hone their messages about upcoming events with personalized digital printing. Distributors could also design a short postcard survey to be distributed either in advance or during the event to capture needed demographic and psychographic information for use in future mailings.
If a city or regional magazine exists in the area, call on the editors, who often compile lists of upcoming fundraisers and black-tie events. Check with area caterers and party planners for opportunities—making a good impression with unique invitations, programs or promotional products generates good word of mouth.
Distributors should also make the rounds of local radio stations, which often plan events and promotions to build their listener base. Radio stations may also need giveaways for booths at local festivals or may promote public events of their own.
Corporate Meetings
Corporate meetings and awards dinners can also provide opportunities for creative distributors. Boyar recounted one instance in which a company was bringing in more than 100 employees from four states for a meeting and wanted an eye-catching and memorable product to get attendees excited about the upcoming agenda. "We produced pillowcases with glow-in-the-dark letters spelling out the agenda, and everyone saw them when they went to bed that night," Boyar said. Such creative ideas can spice up sales of other printed products, such as presentation folders, pens, plastic bags, notepads and apparel.
Sales meetings and other employee gatherings can generate opportunities for products that provide rewards, whether instantly or in an incentive program. Scratch-off cards and games offering cash prizes are popular, as are pre-paid phone cards, manufacturers said. Raffles can also be used in-house to motivate employees, at trade shows to drive traffic to a booth, and at public events. "We've done raffle tickets for a local school fundraiser—20,000 one-color tickets, just a basic product," said Douglas Marecek, sales manager for Integrated Print and Graphics, South Elgin, Ill.
From fundraisers to sporting events, festivals and the fine arts, entertainment and events present both challenges and potential profits for distributors that work to make the show go on.
By Janet R. Gross
- Companies:
- Cooley Group
- Integrated Print & Graphics
- People:
- Dave Wandling
- Stuart Boyar