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.






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

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.

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

The Tray Way: Will Greenwashing Ever Be Scrubbed Out?

Greenwashing is the marketing practice some businesses undertake to represent themselves as a “green” company in order to attract specific demographics and create a unique persona within the marketplace, when in fact, they are not "green" at all.

Is it illegal? Not technically.

Is it immoral? Probably...but, that doesn’t stop companies in industries ranging from travel to baby care to non-profits (and, depending on with whom you speak, a beloved Dr. Seuss character may even be involved also) from developing certain messaging promoting themselves as forward-thinking when the truth is that their internal or external policies prove otherwise.

However, this practice is backfiring on companies, and while some individuals have strong opinions as to the backstory about why greenwashing continues, we choose to ask the question, "how can it be eliminated (or at least minimized)?"

The fact that a term has been invented to describe these types of negative strategies is a very good first step, and helps raise awareness. The second is to give companies credit that are trying to do things the right way, whether it be in a small or large capacity. For example, as an organization that has been certified and commended for being an authentic, environmentally-aware business, a company that chooses to use Tray for their print marketing needs should be able to present themselves as "green" organization for choosing to partner with a reputable firm. By encouraging those that are making any effort, we can  help build momentum towards a stronger, long-term solution. And, we are happy to help lead the charge towards scrubbing out greenwashing.

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.
information about the company and its successes, visit www.traypml.com

The Tray Way: Where do we stand with the QR Code?

Over the past couple weeks, we have shared a series of articles on our social media pages on how the QR Code technology has been evolving to allow organizations to take more strategic advantage of their power. While there are number of examples, here are a couple of our favorites:

The Inaudible QR Code:

SonicNotify, a start-up company, has developed a technology that will enable a smartphone - through an app - to receive data via high frequency sound inaudible to the human ear. According to a recent article:

The signals would be sufficient to transmit, say, a web address that could be automatically opened by your smartphone. These frequencies could be embedded into any audio being played through a speaker, and provide contextual information to the user. So, museums and art galleries could effectively transmit detailed information on their exhibits via their apparently silent PA systems.

The Product Logo QR Code

For those that like the visual aspects of QR Codes, but not the mystery of what is behind it, there is an answer. Mobile Visual Search (MVS) is QR Code technology 2.0. The concept is similar to the previous, but instead of sound, it simply entails taking a picture of a logo to get more information. The mobile technology would recognize images (specifically those related to a brand) and lead the user directly to more information. Some of its advantages include…

MVS will have wrap-around and three-dimensional recognition capabilities. Even traditional advertising will be revitalized with MVS. For example, picture an interactive print campaign that incorporates MVS as part of a competition or game. Marketers can offer instant gratification in the form of videos, mobile links, coupons or discounts as incentive for taking the best pictures of a particular product or logo.

The idea behind the QR Code as a marketing tool has been very intriguing over the past several years. You see that black-and-white square on signage, and there is an air of mystery about what is behind that code. What website will it lead to? What message will I be privy to? The concept has worked to some extent, although the fact that only about 14 million mobile users in the U.S. have utilized a QR Code indicates that its popularity has not reached the extent of other technologies.

However, as we as marketers predicted, the current QR Code technology is very much a transition to something more safe and appealing. The current QR Code technology has the ability to hide spyware or fraudulent information behind it, and is therefore becoming more untrustworthy as a communications mechanism (although, when used to supplement a marketing campaign, it works beautifully. Here are some examples). However, as with many other things, if the QR Code's negatives can be fixed, and its positives enhanced, then this is just the first generation of a marketing technique that has the ability to be very, very profitable.

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.
information about the company and its successes, visit www.traypml.com

The Tray Way: What it Means to Create an Award-Winning Best Practice

It is hard for us to be disappointed with how our 2012 started.

Last week, the Print on Demand Initiative (PODi) announced that our organization won their Best Practices Award for digital printing, in the category of Marketing Resource Center for the DOT 2.0 project we did with DoubleTree by Hilton™.

We are extremely proud about the finished product, which was judged based on measured results, value proposition, functionality, scalability, relevance, creativity, and innovation. However, to get to the level of being a "Best Practice", it takes something extra, specifically a client / vendor collaboration that has a common goal of creating something that has the capability of being special.

The team of companies that worked on the "DOT 2.0" project had it in their mind to revolutionize a basic process for DoubleTree that many companies take for granted: Building a comprehensive, single-source, web-to-print toolkit for their international brand. In less than four months, the project team streamlined the collateral printing process of the entire company by creating a toolkit for each hotel property to utilize to develop their own specific promotional materials (e.g. door hangers, menus, key cards, conservation cards, stationery, vehicle signage, etc.). This process allows DoubleTree branding to stay uniform, but also allows for individual franchises to use unique add their unique information when necessary. Additionally, instead of two weeks for delivery, the printing and mailing takes closer to two days.

The goal, which we achieved, was for GMs and Directors of Sales to Directors of F&B and Front Desk Managers (or any hotel employee with the proper access) to order the items he or she needs – and any employee at all can reorder an item that was placed previously. This is especially important in an industry with a high employee turnover rate where the person who created a piece of custom collateral may no
longer be with the organization.

In all, to be recognized with an award for the development of a product that we worked hard on - and came out so successfully - is wonderful. However, beyond the outcome, it was the collaboration with the the client, and the fact that they were as pleased with the outcome as us that truly resonates, and in our mind, makes us a best practice.





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.
information about the company and its successes, visit www.traypml.com

The Tray Way: Where will Marketing be in 2012?

The end of the year is approaching, which brings with it the end of procrastinating on planning for 2012. While we have a lot of great things to remember about 2011 - especially on the award front, we are looking forward to the opportunities that are ahead of us. So, what is the marketing community thinking about for this upcoming year? There is lots to read about, but one item that caught our eye was a recent press release out of the Midwest regarding forecasting marketing budgets.

According to research by Under the Radar, a Chicago-based firm, most U.S.-based marketing brand managers intend to increase their budgets in 2012, as well as plan to develop even more innovative marketing strategies. Other predictions include:

• Brand marketing managers are quite optimistic about the first half of 2012 and increasingly even more optimistic about the second half of the year.
• ROI will be a key focus, with results surpassing “brand image” in regards to how the budgets are broken out.
• The winners in 2012 will be those brands that can capitalize on innovative experiential marketing opportunities and treat each prospect as a unique customer.

Working with clients in many industry sectors, we agree that 2012 will see a demand for increased focus on the actual dollars-and-cents return that marketing investments are having. For some, this will mean finding the newest technology or platform and jumping full-board into it in hopes that it is the "silver bullet." However, we see this as an opportunity for an experienced firm that has an expertise in all forms of marketing processes to test new, innovative strategies on proven platforms. By continuing the process of integrating one or more current marketing techniques (print, web, social media, etc.), it allows marketing experts to be marketing experts and push a strategy forward, as opposed to research and learn about another platform that is based around potential. Additionally, by evolving and learning from what we know, this will allow for the opportunity to bring tried-and-true marketing processes back to the forefront.

In the end, if 2012 can keep pace with 2011 in the marketing landscape, we are in for an exciting year.

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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.

The Tray Way: Is There a Downside to Small Business Saturday?

For the 2nd year in a row, the unofficial holiday of Small Business Saturday was celebrated, falling between its more famous siblings of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The day is meant to give attention to small businesses in cities and town across the country and provide them a chance to compete for the billions of dollars spent during this long weekend. In truth, small businesses employ half of all private sector employees in the country and should be recognized for their contribution to the economy and society.

The event received tremendous support - as expected - from business organizations across the country, and even President Obama endorsed the movement. However, some found a problem with this ideas for a simple reason: Small Business Saturday was created by a big business, namely American Express.

The question then became whether this seemingly altruistic movement was truly a scheme to promote the advantages a multi-national organization can offer. As marketing experts that work with businesses small and large, our simple response is, "Yeah, and....."

In our last post on the Tray Way blog, we discussed how NBC saw increased ad sales revenue during GreenWeek, begging the question of whether improving profits and being socially responsible is ok. This situation is similar. American Express, through an intelligent marketing strategy, discovered an opportunity to help themselves by promoting others, and not just others, but a niche that many Americans support. This effort is similar to how many feel about Valentines Day, and how certain industries take advantage of the concept of love and relationships for financial gain (sure, the greeting card and flower industry are benefiting, but who is going to be against love?).

In truth, the marketing strategy that American Express created was so smart and clever that it feels like there should be something wrong with it. But, we would like offer this thought: Be OK with it. Small businesses across the country were helped this past Saturday, and if that meant that American Express saw a benefit also, well maybe they deserve it for leading the charge.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw gigantic numbers this year, and while it is difficult to determine the exact success of Small Business Saturday, the fact that the phrase and hashtag saw tremendous use in the days and weeks beforehand means that "word of mouth" was extremely strong. It is our hopes that this movement continues, and we hope to be an even bigger part of it next year.

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The Tray PML Way is the blog for Tray, experts in the printing, mailing, logistics and promotional products. You can learn more about our organization's capabilities by visiting our website, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Tray Way: Navigating the Mobile Renaissance

Sixteen years ago, in 1995, text messaging was still in its infancy. The technology wouldn’t become widespread for almost a decade, and wasn’t picked up by marketers for a few years after that. It seems like SMS and mobile marketing are still buzzwords thrown around by every agency, so how can we consider this the decade of the mobile rebirth?

Smart phone technology, led by the love-it-or-hate-it iPhone, has completely changed the way marketers can interact with consumers. Check-in apps, augmented reality, mobile websites, QR codes, and yes, SMS marketing, are but a handful of the advertising methods that have opened up to mobile marketers in the past few years. In 2010, the mobile market saw jumps in numbers that left many researchers stunned. Three studies, published in March and July of this year, share some of those statistics

The Growth of Mobile Marketing

• Of the world’s 4 billion mobile phones in use, 1.08 billion are smart phones, and a whopping 3.05 billion are SMS enabled.
• By 2014 [if current rates continue,] mobile internet should take over desktop internet usage.
• One half of all local searches are performed on mobile devices
• On average, Americans spend 2.7 hours per day socializing on their mobile device. That’s over twice the amount of time they spend eating…

For marketers looking to reach a large audience, there are few better avenues than smart phones. As an interactive medium, mobile marketing already has a leg up on passive ad strategies such as television and radio. In fact, of those that react to a mobile ad, “42 percent click on the mobile ad; 35 percent visit the advertiser’s site; 32 percent search for more information on their phone; 49 percent make a purchase and 27 percent call the business.”

Where Does Print Come In?

Since 2010, one of the most common buzzwords in print and mobile marketing has been QR codes. For an integrated marketing campaign, QR can be the glue holding everything together. Like Personalized URL (PURL) codes, QR codes allow smart phone owners to snap a quick photo with their mobile device, and in return, be presented with near-limitless information. QR codes can display text or images, or they can link directly to any URL, video, song, or other online resource. There is no need for the consumer to remember a URL, or write down a phone number, everything is done automatically, as soon as they click their camera button.

All of this means that you can easily print a customized QR code (which are completely free to generate) onto postcards, promotional products, posters, or letterhead. Then it is a simple step for the consumer to leap from the print ad to an online offering.

Even better, while marketers may be completely sick of hearing about the things, consumers are still impressed with the instantly gratifying reward that QR codes offer. The only thing better than a coupon is a coupon you don’t have to cut out, print, or download, right?

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The Tray PML Way is the blog for Tray, experts in the printing, mailing, logistics and promotional products. You can learn more about our organization's capabilities by visiting our website, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages.