PURL’s of Wisdom and other Marketing Tools

It seems that every article or post you read recently always begins with “in today’s economy”. Unfortunately, it almost seems a necessity because the economy is affecting almost everything and anything we do including and especially marketing. The importance of marketing in today’s economy has been shouted and touted as much as possible, everyone saying that you have to continue marketing in order to stay relevant in sales and remain at the top of your market. This is as true as any words spoken on marketing and will always ring true.

What is more important now than ever before is getting in front, staying in front and remaining in front of your prospects and clients. Fortunately, there has been a large influx of new marketing tools that fit both the web, print and promotional arenas. These tools if used properly, have the ability to create more awareness and excitement in your products and services than ever before. While many are using Facebook, MySpace and Twitter as a new realm in their marketing endeavors, these are nice, but not measurable or capable of creating long-term recall in your targets mind.

On the Web frontier we have the emergence of PDF viewers and publishers that allow the integration of audio and video along with dynamic links to your current web content. These digital PDF products allow you control over updating content, tracking page turns and even viewership. This tracking includes page views, area zoom and  geographical location of the reader.  A long way from a static, simple PDF file that we are used to reading. For an example click here  Dynamic PDF’s

Another web-based product that is just now beginning to make in roads is the use of PURL’s or Personal URL’s. For those that are unfamiliar with this relatively new marketing tool, PURL’s combine the use of Variable Data Printing (VDP) and a separate hosted website for each recipient. The combination of these two mediums provides a personal message to the recipient’s and the tracking of both the reception of the printed piecel or the viewing of their personal website or URL that you’ve set up. With PURL’s you have the ability to add individual or group messages, invitations to separate events, and the addition of information gathering quizzes or polls. The cost per impression, compared to return on investment is what really makes this particular marketing tool stand out. To view a simple demo of a personal URL site go to PURL Demo.

On the print realm we’ve already touched on one product, Variable Data Printing or VDP. VDP incorporates the use of digital printing by placing personal information in the greeting, body and even pictures of your marketing material. VDP achieves its power by incorporating the recipient’s personal information, as people always like to see their name in print or even the sky… VDP is only a fraction more than traditional printing and more than makes up for this additional cost by increasing readership up to 42% in some cases.  

Our final look is at Print on Demand or POD. Print on demand also utilizes the benefits of digital printing and the web. An E-commerce or print store is set up, where company employees have access to order their own print materials. This includes business cards, letterhead, envelopes, notepads, brochures and more, each piece with the capability of personalization by the person ordering.  POD provides both the benefit of personalization and speed of ordering since it all takes place online. POD, websites can be set up to bill individual departments and provide feedback on usage on a companywide basis and ships directly to each user.
For additional info Web-to-Print

These are just examples of a few of the new tools available to your marketing endeavors. If you would like additional information on any of these pieces follow the links to the right for more in-depth look or to contact us. Standup, standout and keep marketing, the economy will improve and the more you stay in front of your prospects and clients the stronger you will be at the right time.