CB sales blog

The May/June Anro Marketing Advisor newsletter is mailing today

cbfodalo — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:18:27 +0000

The May/June Anro Marketing Advisor newsletter is mailing today, This issue – printed with variable data on the Indigo 7000 – focuses specifically on 1:1 marketing and PURL campaigns. The newsletter also invites each recipient to visit their own PURL and complete a short survey. Each respondent will be entered into a drawing to win a $500 American Express gift card.

Print: Enviromental Good Guy!

cbfodalo — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:52:52 +0000

Print is a responsible, sustainable choice for your communications, and it’s friendlier to the environment than you may think. Here’s why:

Using paper doesn’t kill trees; it saves them.
When people use more paper, suppliers plant more trees. When we use less paper, tree farming declines, taking with it important wildlife habitat and a host of other ecological benefits.
Paper is sourced responsibly.
This means that the harvesting of the wood used to make the paper did not threaten ecosystems, nor contribute to the destruction of habitats or displacement of indigenous people. You can increase the sustainability profile of your printed pieces by working with printers that are certified to print on responsibly harvested papers.
We replenish what we use.
When timber is harvested for paper and other wood products, trees are replanted after harvest to replenish what was used. In fact, the U.S. has virtually the same number of forested acres today that it had in 1920, despite our enormous increase in population and per capita wood use.
Paper is recycled more than any other product.
According to the EPA, 57% of paper consumed in the U.S. is recovered for recycling. And, of the fiber that goes into paper, about 38% comes from recovered sources. Paper made with recycled content uses less energy to manufacture, costs roughly the same as virgin paper, and is of higher quality than ever before.
Printing inks are made from natural materials.
Today’s inks are friendlier to the environment than ever before. Contrary to popular belief, vegetable-based inks are recognized as being more environmentally friendly than soy inks because they are not restricted to one crop and they don’t compete with the thriving market for biodiesel fuel, which is made primarily from soybean oil.

Green Initiatives at ANRO

ANRO is no newcomer to environmentally friendly initiatives. Our award-winning recycling program has been in place for decades, capturing more than 93% of total waste which translated to over 1,273 tons of paper and 10 tons of aluminum last year alone. Printing plates, ink cartridges, cardboard, pallets, solvents, and even shop rags are all recycled or reused.

In addition to our status as an FSC-certified printer, all ANRO offset inks and varnishes are vegetable based and have a very low VOC content. Also, our standard offset coating for the past ten years has been aqueous (water based).

Our state-of-the-art facility in West Chester benefits from numerous energy-saving and other green technologies as well, including three HVAC units equipped with Energy Recovery Units that reclaim heat generated by our manufacturing equipment.

Lets talk about your marketing collateral and how we can help you improve your environmental impact.

Call or email me anytime.

Charles Billings

Charles.billings@anro.com

609-513-3404

The moments in a beautiful morning

cbfodalo — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:05:11 +0000

I am determined to hold back the racing mind, control it, focus it on the moment. I woke up this morning, tired, emotionally hungover, but determined not to wallow in the self pity and the illusions of my own thoughts. It was dark at 6:15 when I loaded my bike on to the back of my little orange crush, I smoked a cigarette and drank a cup of coffee while I let my mind debate the issue, should I go or should I stay! I ended the internal debate with a calm and thoughtfull decision, go, be free, ride and enjoy the cold, the pain, the effort to see something beautiful and free. I got to the refuge at 6:30, slowly mounted my bike and started the 8 mile loop, it is lighter now, the orange glow of the rising sun is on the horizon to the east, slowly I peddle, annoyed at the disturbing sound my tires make on the gravel road, disturbing the peace of the quite and still morning, I keep my mind focused on the moment, soaking in the surroundings, gently pushing back any thoughts of the future or the past, but lovingly enjoying each moment, each new sight, as I ride into the east, the sun slowly but suprisingly quick at the same time breaks through the veil of the horizon and rises to its full glory. I remember a line a friend once told me as I witness this timeless and consistent beauty, no matter how bad you think things are today or right now, the sun will still rise tomorow, I am thankful for this morning, I am thankful for this moment to share these thoughts with those unfortunate enough to take the time to read this. As I ride along going west now with sun on my back warming my neck and casuing a me to sweat even though I am cold, I realize that this ride is going to be worth every bit of the challenge of the approaching hills. As I ride, I come across a small group of stunted little white tail deer, they do not know what to make of me so they continue to trot ahead, stop and look back, once they had enough of this I was blessed with the site of them bounding effortlessly over the marsh and into the woods, my path now is taking me uphill, out of the salt marsh and into the woods, and fields, I am astounded by the site I see, a herd or group of white tail larger then I have every seen in my life, I feel as though I am not in South Jersey, but on some african plain, there must have been 30- 40 deer in an overgrown rough field to my left, some where watching me as I peddled up a slight hill, and others where oblivious to my intrusion, a small group of these sometimes silly creatures decide they have seen enough and race towards the marsh and some scrub pine to my right, their path takes them right at me and they leap across the road not 10 feet in front of me, what a site, these excited and energetic young deer leaping and racing towards me and then right in front of me as I slowly ascend the hill. I pick up my pace as I sense the end of the trail, and for the first time look at my watch and realize that all these beautiful moments which seemd to last for hours happend in a little over an hour, my ride is over, the precious moments are gone into the past, but are not forgotten for I have recored a very inadequate rendering of the beauty of this morning here for all to see. Thank you for taking the time to read this and God bless each of you. The moment.

How to cut through the clutter and stand out!

cbfodalo — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:32:03 +0000

HOW TO CUT THROUGH THE CLUTTER AND STAND OUTOn a daily basis, we are presented with sales and marketing material that is meant to get our attention and prompt us to make a response. In truth, the vast majority of this material is lost among a crowded field of competing literature, with most of it failing to generate any recognition or mind share.Luckily, there are several easy-to-implement, yet often-overlooked considerations that can greatly improve the effectiveness of your company’s sales and marketing materials:

Make them stand out physically. A traditional 8.5 x 11-inch sheet will easily blend into a pile. Consider using different shapes and sizes to make your pieces “harder to lose” and easier to notice.
Give them some POP! Try utilizing various print and finish elements to make your message “speak louder” than that of your competitors. There are a host of options available- embossing, spot gloss coatings, etc. – that we are happy to discuss with you.
Make them compelling. A common mistake many companies make when creating their materials is that they focus on the features rather than the benefits. If your materials don’t quickly answer the “what’s in it for me” question, then there’s little chance that the rest of your material will garner any attention. Interesting aspects, such as testimonials and case studies can help draw a lot of attention to your materials.

If you’re utilizing direct mail to deliver your message, consider a study by G.A Wright Marketing. The study found that the use of high-quality paper and color applications alone can increase your response rates by nearly 50%. Specifically, it showed that a four-color promotional mailer printed on a heavy gloss paper stock had more than a 40% higher response rate than an identical three-color version printed on a lighter matte paper stock.

Even the smallest improvements in effectiveness can significantly impact your company’s success. If your marketing materials aren’t delivering their full potential, it might be time to revise them using some of the ideas above. We’re happy to assist you with this and any other project considerations you might have.

MAKE THE POWER OF PRINT WORK FOR YOUThe Digital Revolution has dramatically transformed how we communicate, but it hasn’t diminished the role of print in the overall marketing strategy. Just as you keep up with the latest technology, commit the time to educate yourself about advances in the printing industry.

You can create dazzling special effects that make readers want to touch and feel your message thanks to a new generation of papers, inks, varnishes and coatings. It’s a tangible dimension that electronic media can’t impart.

And throw away what you think you know about traditional direct mail. The new direct mail grabs readers’ attention by delivering customized messages that can link to a corresponding Web component. It’s all much less complicated and less costly than you might think.

Companies that utilize the full spectrum of marketing channels realize exponential increases in brand identity, prospects, sales and ROI.

Contact ANRO today to learn more about all the exciting, unique ways you can make your message stand out in the crowd.

Casino Gaming One 2 One marketing potentials

cbfodalo — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:45:03 +0000

Imagine your weekly database marketing campaigns in a one 2 one digital workflow world, here is a workflow possibility.

1. You log into your digital production portal ( INSITE) and create marketing project.

2. INSITE, notifies, agency, creative team, printer etc, all relevant contacts are notified that project has been created and is waiting for files.

3. Abency Uploads artwork, Insite normalizes all files to PDFs and generates color accurate proofs and notifies all reviewers that proofs are available for your.

4. Proofs are built with versioning from database marketing rules, all version related variable content and data can be managed through digital portal.

5. You personaile each mailer with profile from your database marketing department.

6. You and your authorized review team, approve proofs, and projects either enter our digital production workflow or notifies your vendors that approved files are ready for pick up.

7. Mailer, Email or sms text message is processed and delivered to client.

8. Client receives mailer, logs into personalized URL, where you receive immediate feedback from client.

9. you now offer intermediate offers via email, increasing your client touches in a method and voice your client approves of.

10. Your client profile is updated on the fly, you receive real time conversion reports from live data allowing you to refine your marketing campaign immediately.

“Weapons Grade XMPie”, right now, no kidding!

cbfodalo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:48:33 +0000

database marketing, its time to target, stop throwing

out a net, and start hunting with a laser beam.

Database marketing professionals, you have all heard about one 2 one marketing, multi channel marketing, versioning, variable data, variable content, etc.
ANRO is providing “Weapons Grade” XMPie web based multi channel marketing services right now. We can help you streamline the production process through digital workflow and creative collaboration tools while increasing the effectiveness of your direct mail marketing through the use of targeted one 2 one multi channel programs. We are offering “ Best in Class” web based marketing and collaboration tools. We change the conversation from cost to create, print and mail, to cost per conversion. We will provide the tools and reporting that will allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, real time, no more mystery mailers, lost in your clients overflowing inbox or mail box. You will begin to speak to your clients in their voice, about things they are interested in, things they want, the way they want to be communicated with.
Call me or email me anytime to schedule a web demo.

charles.billings@anro.com
609-513-3404

Retail Brand Managers, you job is hard enough!

cbfodalo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:40:40 +0000

Retail Brand Managers, Do you know exactly how many of each POP element is used in your chain? Is it easy for you to manage a new campaign? Do you have one place to look for the status of all your campaign projects? How many category managers do you need to collaborate with, how many vendors, executives and agencies? How long do you have to wait for color proofs? Are your PDF Proofs colors accurate? Is your inbox getting filled with project related emails, questions, changes etc? I know most of you struggle with these issues, I can help.

I have over 8 years experience managing production, fulfillment, kitting and distribution to the retail market. We at ANRO have “Best in Class” web based creative project collaboration tools, retail brand management portals, fulfillment and digital production tools. We can customize an easy to navigate web portal that will help you manage all your digital assets, improve your creative and proofing collaboration, manage your store configuration lists and streamline the fulfillment process. If you interested call me to schedule a web demo. We can help you streamline your production process, make it easier for you to manage all the details, and provide a more cost effective marketing campaign.
Call or email me anytime;
Charles.billings@anro.com
609-513-3404

Retail Marketing Portal

cbfodalo — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:14:20 +0000

ANRO, Inc. in West Chester PA, offers “Weapons Grade” XMPie web based multichannel marketing portals to its client base. XMPie is part of a comprehensive suite of marketing and creative collaborations tools ANRO provides to its clients. Creative and production workflow from Kodak Insite, True one to one mmultichannel marketing with XMPie, web 2 Print, eFulfillment, retailers have a whole suite of tools to make their marketing collateral and POP materials easier to produce, laser beam targeted and more cost effective.

Break the bid cycle

cbfodalo — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:14:32 +0000

Print buyers have a responsibility to cut cost. We share that same desire when it comes to the items we purchase to resell or to manufacture our finished goods. Ok, so why the price rub, the bottom line is, we have to respect the buyers time, and help them find ways to cut costs while maintaining the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. The key is to respect what the buyer is trying to do, and help them succeed. We must be willing to ask questions, to stop harping on the next order, and present ideas, and solutions that will sell the clients product. We need to think of the buyer as a client, a customer. We must help them get beyond the three bids and a cloud of dust. We can help ourselves while helping them. I do not know many corporate buyers looking for more PO’s to cut, and process more orders. Bundle services, streamline order processing, make cost saving sugestions, we are the print experts, lets start acting like it.

Print Sales in a tough economy

cbfodalo — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:45:01 +0000

Print sales is a tough sell in any market or economic condition. We know this, we live it everyday, but lets look at it from a different angle. Our job as sales professionals is to help our clients sell their products. We must become the marketing resource our client looks to for solutions, advice, help. We need to identify what our clients make money selling, who buys it and when, then we need to bring the marketing help the client needs to sell more of those products. We must be innovative and think of the clients needs, all clients do not have the same exact needs. Our job is to identify what the client needs, and then tailer our services to meet their needs while helping them develope more cost effective marketing solutions. This is really more about asking questions and researching your clients market. Get to know their business so you can use your years of marketing experience to help them find more cost effective ways to sell their product.