The Tray Way: 2012

Monday, December 24, 2012

Maximizing Marketing: Integrating Digital with Direct Mail

With the emergence of so many social media platforms and digital marketing enhancements, it is critical to integrate them into your existing direct mail marketing strategy. The popularity of mobile phones and the apps we love we so much has grown so high that for many people, these apps aren’t just popular, they’re necessary to run their businesses and personal lives.

Direct mail is still one of the most powerful, driving forces behind a successful marketing plan. This is an interesting fact to note considering that twenty years ago CD players and beepers were practically ubiquitous in our society.

Now that these are on their way to being completely obsolete, we can see that direct mail is still as prevalent and necessary as it was twenty years ago and beyond.

We came across this study which revealed the following:

“According to research by Mail Print, 85% of consumers sort through and read selected pieces of mail every day while the other 15% let it sit for two or more days at a time. 75% of consumers are saying that they are examining their mail more closely in the recent months to search for coupons and discounts. 40% of consumers say that they have tried a new business after receiving direct mail, and 70% have renewed relationships with businesses that they had previously ceased using.”

With direct mail still being so potent, we recommend putting out direct mail that features hallmarks of creative imagery, captivating information, and clear design – with digital elements. A QR code creates engagement, either through static content or mobile commerce.

Furthermore, QR codes lend themselves well toward tracking purposes, creating a direct mail campaign that engages, follows through on active consumer participation, and makes it easy to clearly track ROI.

Also consider integrating personalized URL’s (PURL’s) which are also effective drivers for websites and mobile platforms. These direct prospects to personalized microsites customized to suit their particular needs to interests. At the microsite, marketers can easily capture individual responses and data.

How will you integrate direct and digital? Tell us in a comment below.

The Tray Way is the blog for Tray, experts in the printing, mailing, logistics and promotional products. You can learn more about our capabilities by visiting our website, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages. For information about the company and its successes, visit www.trayinc.com

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Tray Inc. Sponsors 2012 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

Tray Inc. is a proud sponsor of the 2012 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award! Congratulations to all qualifying quarterbacks, and good luck on making the final cut!

For more information on the award, here is a press release from Weiss PR Associates, Inc.

Narrowed from an original field of 29 of the country’s top college quarterbacks, there are now 10 candidates remaining for the 2012 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

The 10 finalists for this year’s Golden Arm Award are:

Matt Barkley, USC

Landry Jones, Oklahoma

Collin Klein, Kansas State

EJ Manuel, Florida State

AJ McCarron, Alabama

Aaron Murray, Georgia

Denard Robinson, Michigan

Geno Smith, West Virginia

Tyler Tettleton, Ohio

Tyler Wilson, Arkansas

Named after the man many refer to as the greatest quarterback ever to play the game of football, the prestigious Golden Arm Award is presented annually by the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation, Inc. and Transamerica, a leading provider of innovative business and personal financial services.

Candidates for the Golden Arm Award must be completing their college eligibility or be a fourth-year junior, on schedule to graduate with his class. Candidates are judged upon character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities, and athletic accomplishments.

The 2012 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award will be presented on Friday, December 7 at The Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Hotel, 550 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland.

Established in 1987, the award previously has been presented to 25 outstanding young men. Past winners include Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1997), Carson Palmer (USC, 2002), Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2003), Brady Quinn (Notre Dame, 2006), Matt Ryan (Boston College, 2007), Colt McCoy (Texas, 2009), and most recently, Andrew Luck (Stanford, 2011).

Proceeds from the Golden Arm Award help to support the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation. The Foundation provides financial assistance to underprivileged and deserving young scholar-athletes throughout Maryland and Kentucky.

The namesake of the Golden Arm Award has a storied history. Johnny Unitas was an 18-year veteran of the NFL, who played his collegiate career at the University of Louisville before joining the Baltimore Colts in 1958. His career passing figures include 2,830 pass completions for 40,239 yards, 290 touchdowns and throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games.

Unitas was inducted into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame in 1979. The Hall of Fame, in commemorations of the NFL’s 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries selected Unitas as the top quarterback of all-time. In turn-of-the-century listings, he was named to Sports Illustrated’s list of top 10 athletes, Time Magazine’s list of 10 most influential athletes, and ESPN’s series on the 50 greatest athletes of the century

In addition to Transamerica, sponsors of the Golden Arm Award include: Athlon Sports, The Babe Ruth and Sports Legends Museum, Baltimore Sun Media Group, Bloomberg Television, Century Engineering, Coach for America, Comcast, Dunbar Armored, GEICO, HMS Insurance Associates, Inc., Metropolis Funding, Panini, PSAV Presentation Services, R2i.ntegrated, Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Hotel, TRAY, The Scott Garceau Show, Union Memorial Sports Medicine, VPC, Inc., Weiss PR Associates, Inc., Woodberry Kitchen, and Wilson Sporting Goods.

For more information, visit: www.goldenarmfoundation.com,

www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/golden-arm/, or www.athlonsports.com/collegefootball/golden-arm.

Monday, October 29, 2012

The Print Marketing Renaissance

One topic we bring up from time to time, here, is the idea that print marketing is all about standing out from the pack. I know, it sounds ridiculous. But things have changed. The days of opening a mailbox to a flood of junk mail are over. Print marketing today is about risk. It’s about creativity, and it’s about trying something different. We’re not here to talk about junk mail, or sending out millions of generic postcards. It’s time to treat print as a non-traditional marketing source.

Business2Community has recently published an article showing 7 major events in marketing, and why they all point toward a return to the print medium. It’s a great article (which you may have seen on our Facebook page), but we’re going to go one step further. We’re going to give you a few ideas that may inspire you to take B2C’s list to heart.

Broad-Interest Publications are Leaving Print

Newsweek announced earlier this month that they would be ceasing all print publications. Dozens more general interest magazines are leaving print behind, and that means that a huge opportunity for marketers is opening up.

Does your business cater to a niche audience? Send out a brief magazine appealing to their interest. It doesn’t need to be a weekly, or even a quarterly, thing, but what could make you stand out from the crowd of catalogs better than this?

Changes in Consumer Usage Open the Door for Digital Integration

Digital integration is no longer an option for marketing – it’s a requirement. Today’s consumer demands more from marketing materials. More information, more detail, more interesting content, and more bells and whistles. For your next campaign, try including a print component that plays off of your digital efforts. Push consumers to your social media pages, or direct them to your other digital resources. Just don’t rely on QR codes to do the job for you. Innovate!

The Social Web is Crowded, Make Things Personal

Print has always been the most personal form of marketing communication. What do you think makes a better impression with a new client: A direct message on Twitter, or a hand-written ‘Thank You’ note?

Our print solutions can make all of these things possible, and print has not seen consumer interest like this in several years. Take advantage of the possibilities, and give us a call.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Learning From Mistakes

In today’s digital world, all eyes are on you, all the time. The critical eye of the consumer never closes, and the world of social media has created a place where even the smallest branding faux pas is a recipe for complete financial disaster. There are cases of poor taste, such as this May advertisement for Belvedere Vodka. Even worse, there are times when brands can be persecuted for things they have absolutely no control of, or involvement in.

What can you do when your brand is thrust into the spotlight of consumer criticism? Can either of those examples serve as a template for escaping a PR nightmare?

The Skittles Strategy

When details about the tragic Trayvon Martin shooting went public, Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea became unintentional icons of lost innocence. The brands were spoken of almost as often as the investigation itself. Consumers, invested in the horrific details of the killing, began to accuse both brands of profiting off of the tragedy and media exposure. Neither brand had anything to do with Martin’s death, but both were being ripped to shreds on social media for failing to respond.

Image from Ad Week

What did they do?

Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea were forced to act, and responded with letters of condolence to Martin’s family. They said it would be the last word on the matter, and both brands stuck to their guns, refusing to give in to the public outcry.

What went wrong?

Consumers were convinced that both brands were pulling in record profits from the media hype, and demanded financial recompense. It was a bizarre and unfounded complaint, born from a collective desire for closure that court proceedings was not providing. Arizona and Skittles did their best to avoid further scrutiny by keeping silent, and they ended up being seen as uncaring and cold.

The Belvedere Vodka Strategy

In early March, Belvedere began a commendable social media effort, relying on a strategy of casual humor, and easily shared jokes, each one a clever ad for their product. Unfortunately, the casual attitude went too far, and an ad that never should have made it past editing wound up on their public-facing Facebook page.

Image from Huffington Post

What did they do?

The ad was a clear misstep, and the backlash was fast and fierce. Belvedere pulled the ad once the blogosphere had gotten wind of it, and issued a series of apologies. They attempted to save face with a donation to an anti-sexual violence non-profit, but the move was seen as a shady PR stunt, and the brand has still not fully recovered.

What went wrong?

By the time Belvedere had responded to the complaints, any response they made would have been too little, too late. Unfortunately, once that ad was made public, there was nothing they could really do to make up for the damage it caused. Even though Belvedere went one step further than Skittles and Arizona, they were still seen as a corporation saving face, instead of an apologetic brand. They owned their mistake, but it wasn’t enough.

So, what can you do differently?

Any brand of reasonable age and size is in danger of falling into an inescapable faux pas like those above. It’s an unfortunate – but unavoidable – aspect of business. The solution lies in relying on the expertise of a branding agency, and using all of the available tools you have to protect your investment. If the worst happens, you need to be able to rely on a team that is flexible enough, fast enough, and smart enough, to turn the situation around.

The Tray PML Way is the blog for Tray, experts in the printing, mailing, logistics and promotional products. You can learn more about our capabilities by visiting our website, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages. For information about the company and its successes, visit www.traypml.com

Monday, August 20, 2012

The Tray Way: How Do You Trust Something You Don't Know?

What makes us trust a brand? Obviously, the top answer is when a brand does right by you or someone you know. But, that only accounts for a limited number of situations. What about when that first-hand information isn't available to a person. Unfortunately for brands, the criteria can be less concrete.

This is the thought we had after reading a fun study, conducted by beverage company Honest Tea. They researched and reported on honesty of an array of different topics. The results include:

93% of participants were honest
Salt Lake City and Oakland were both 100% honest
Women are 95% honest while men are 91% honest
Boston baseball fans are more honest than New York baseball fans
Redheads are more honest than blondes and brunettes
Motorcyclists were 92% honest while Comic Book fans were 86% honest
Men with beards were 96% honest while bald men were 85% honest

Our first response to this release was that this is was a very clever way to promote their brand (well done, Honest Tea). But, our second thought was that these are some random results and that it is hard to believe that all the people surveyed have decisive (and objective) opinions on all of these topics. What this means is that at least some were just making up the answers based on the mood they were in (perhaps) or some other reason that isn't first-hand knowledge.

This is not good news for brands, especially ones that do everything right but feel like they are getting nowhere. The truth is (no pun intended) that sometimes you can't gauge what customer response to your brand will be, especially if they have nothing to base their decision on. It isn't that you aren't an honest brand that can't be trusted, its that a person, for example, may happen to see a website or a billboard for your competitor at the moment they need to make a decision. The best you can do is treat all current and potential customers the way they deserve to be treated, and continue to convey a message, tone and philosophy that is based around honesty and integrity. From there, marketing yourself in the most positive and strategic way possible to better convey your honesty has been proven to be the most effective means of gaining more business. Is there a 100% success rate? Of course not, but a customer's decision to choose a competitor can be for any number of reasons, whether it be a substantial or flimsy one (and that's just us being honest).

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Tray Way: Does the Olympic "Brand" Mean Something New?

With the ringing of a 27-ton bell, a Chariots of Fire reenactment, an array of literacy characters and dancing teenagers (and lets not forget a parachuting queen), the 30th Summer Olympics kicked off in London this week.

When you think of the Olympics (or at least the Olympic athlete), you think of fulfilling a dream and believing in ones self. You think of a young boy or girl, watching past Olympians compete, and longing to achieve that same level of success. You think of hardwork, dedication, perseverance, all in the name of vying to be the best, representing your country, and having that medal put around your neck.

That is the Olympics that athletes and spectators alike have known for the past 29 summer games. But, like most other things in the athletic community, the Olympics is a business, and according to some, it is the second most valuable brand in the world, which has lead to unprecedented efforts to keep that value safe.

In one of the most aggressive brand monitoring campaigns ever seen, efforts have been taken to insure that no use of the Olympic name is being used for promotional purposes without consent (and sponsorship dollars). This is obviously being done to protect the major sponsors like Visa Europe, McDonalds, Dow Chemicals and others, all of whom invested around $100 million to be a major sponsor of the games, and in return, have been catered to and given sole rights to signage, advertising and even food.

We know as well as any that a brand must be protected, and perhaps in this age of communications and social media, this is the new best practice on how to do it. At an estimated $47.5 billion, there are certain efforts that have to be taken or the inherent value of a brand like the Olympics can be severely diminished (which will go on to hurt potential revenue streams at future events). However, is it a step too far in the case of the Olympics? The Olympics were meant to bring people together in one place in the spirit of competition. It was meant to be an open venue for people from different countries to meet in one of the only truly safe environments left in the world. While this feeling of welcome and positivity will continue to be viewed this way in London (and likely in Brazil four years from now), are we inching down a slippery slope of hurting the "openness" of the Olympic brand by creating an "us" and "them" attitude?

Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Tray Way: Does Social Media Presence = Individual Business Success?

The statistics on social media popularity continue to grow and grow. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn set new benchmarks on a monthly basis, and with the rise of sites like G+, Pinterest, Yammer and others, you might think that there is a social networking site for EVERYONE that could ever want one.

Well, one demographic has apparently stayed away from the fray: Fortune 500 CEOs.

A new, fascinating study by the consulting company Domo indicates that approximately 70% of the heads of the world's largest companies choose not to participate in the marketing juggernaut that is social media. In addition:

38 Fortune 500 CEOs are on Facebook (Michael Rapino of Live Nation Entertainment has the most friends with 1,723).
20 Fortune 500 CEOs who have opened Twitter accounts (5 have never tweeted).
The average number of followers for Fortune 500 CEOs with Twitter accounts is 33,250 (Rupert Murdoch has the most with 249,000 followers)
10 Fortune 500 CEOs have more than 500 LinkedIn connections, while 36 CEOs have 1 LinkedIn connection or none.
Six Fortune 500 CEOs contribute to blogs
Zero Fortune 500 CEOs are on Pinterest.

As an organization that covers all sides of the marketing world, three thoughts came to our minds after reading this:

You can "observe" social media without "participating" - CEOs may not have social media accounts for personal or professional reasons, but having a wife/husband that has an account to keep in touch with friends and family, and a staff member maintain one concerning the business serves the same purpose.
A CEO's fame is different than a celebrity's fame - A Fortune 500 CEO is famous for the mere fact that they head their company, but unlike the Hollywood mantra that "all press is good press," a CEO not only doesn't need to saturate the internet with their every thought to gain fame, but if they do, it can cause unexpected repercussions (e.g. a swing in stock price).
Over the next 5 years, this statistic will inevitably and drastically change - For all that is said about the ability social media has as a marketing tool, the platform started as a communications tool for college students, and then branched out from there. When measured against the fact that well over 60% of current Fortune 500 CEOs are over 50, it shouldn't be a surprise that a majority of these executives have chosen to use more established means to communicate. However, the next generation of CEOs are being groomed right now, and they have made their way up the career ladder partially due to networking, both in-person and online.

This survey, while intriguing from a biographical perspective, is missing a truth. While all these individuals may not be utilizing social media, they understand that others are. So, they are making sure that their companies are using it as a listening tool, a customer service tool, a branding tool, etc. So, while you might not see status updates or family vacation pictures of some of the most well-known business men and women on earth, you can be sure that they know that is how you use social media, and they want to use that to their company's advantage.

Friday, June 29, 2012

The Tray Way: Pizza Box or Mobile Billboard?

Imagine having a client or customer come to your business, and not only take your logo with them to share with the world, but pay you for the right to do so? Not many businesses often have this opportunity, but this is the situation pizzerias encounter dozens of times a day, and yet some (primary small, local ones) don't take advantage of this unique marketing opportunity.


Turn this into a mobile billboard!!

The pizza box is among the most recognized types of containers throughout the world, and whether the pizza inside is being carried by the customer or a delivery person, when that box exits the restaurant, it represents an opportunity to market the restaurant to a wider audience. By putting a logo, menu, website, social media icons or (as our friends at the Pizza Marketplace recently wrote about), a QR Code, this simple device turns into a mobile billboard.

The first thought of many is that this is great idea for the major chains, but many smaller pizzeria's can't afford to customize their boxes (or at least don't see a reason to invest in such an endeavor). Our thought as marketing experts is that even if you are doing it on the cheap (e.g. purchasing stickers/stamps of your logo), you are at least doing something to further your brand (and if you aren't, you may be throwing potential revenue out the window).

This may seem specific to a very niche business-type, but the overall message is simple. No matter what industry you are in, think about how the public recognizes your industry, and figure out how tie your brand to it.

Monday, June 18, 2012

The Tray Way: Has the 50th State Moved to #1 for Green Marketing?

Marketing agencies like ours have been consistently and proactively going out of our way to advance the idea of green marketing. We understand that companies have to promote and brand themselves based on certain budgetary restrictions, but we are always trying to recommend the most earth-friendly and conscientious methods possible as well to let our clients know the types of options they have.

This endeavor isn’t always easy to accomplish on our own, which is why we are always on the lookout for small victories.

This brings us to Hawaii (unfortunately, not physically. Just as a setting). Recent legislation at the state level has initiated a ban on all non-recyclable paper bags and all non-biodegradable plastic bags at store checkout counters,effective July 1, 2015 . While a similar ban exists at city-level in various places across the country, movement at the state-level (despite the exceptions and timetables that have been put in place) makes the point that individual municipalities won’t have to go this alone moving forward.

Many businesses have always seen the plastic bag as a simple, practical and cost-effective way to brand their business beyond their storefront, but unlike many other methods, it is not earth-friendly. This is an opportunity for us, as an industry of marketing experts. Just because this legislation is in place doesn’t mean company budgets are going to expand. So, we will need to help create new, innovative and non-expensive methods to help . It is clearly an opportunity to push more green-friendly products to retail establishments, even to those that will be eligible for the exemption.