Webinar: Wide-Format as Marketing, Promo Tool
PHILADELPHIA—December 9, 2013—In the latest Webinar "Emerging Markets: Wide-Format Goes Cross-Media," hosted by Printing Impressions, In-plant Graphics and InfoTrends, and sponsored by Heidelberg, Collins Inkjet and EFI, more than 500 registrants learned how wide-format digital printing is becoming an even more powerful marketing and promotional tool.
Some of the key topics addressed in the Webinar included the various strategies for getting consumers to interact with "smart" signage, displays and POS/POP using their mobile devices; how QR codes, texting and Augmented Reality (AR) are being effectively integrated within wide-format output; and the measurable results being delivered to organizations. Presenters included Barbara Pellow, group director of InfoTrends, who served as the moderator; Maureen Gumbert, marketing manager, KDM P.O.P. Solutions Group; Nick Jerome, marketing products manager at FASTSIGNS; and Val DiGiacinto, president of Express Printing Services.
According to Pellow, marketers are spending billions of dollars on out-of-home advertising and point-of-purchase displays.She also reported a few key findings from FedEx Office: 76 percent of consumers say they have entered a store they have never visited before based on its signage, while 68 percent of consumers surveyed have purchased a product or service because a sign caught their eye.
"InfoTrends projects that wide-format—just the retail value of the print—is going to grow at a 7.9 percent CAGR. But revenue is growing faster when you make that signage interactive—such as with mobile codes, mobile messaging, NFC (Near Field Communication) and Augmented Reality."
Gumbert also relayed the importance of blending print with technology in-store, and why it is important to KDM's customers. "There are 30,000 SKUs introduced every year. Consumers are hit with 3,000 messages every day from all marketing channels, and it just takes three seconds to make an impact in a store."
Jerome added that FASTSIGNS consults with its clients when coming up with the best cross-media solutions for them. "While we sit down with our clients to see how they would like a QR code to display on graphics or signage, we also test the QR code signage and make sure it's going to a mobile location that really makes the engagement with the end user more powerful."
DiGiacinto added that campaigns that incorporate QR codes and mobile marketing elements allow Express Printing Services to speak to a different group of clientele—not just traditional print buyers and brokers, but marketing and C-level employees of a company. "We noticed creating a brand of QR code increases scan rates by up to 25 percent or more. People feel more comfortable scanning it because it is usually tied to the ad or placement of a QR code."
Registrants reported positive feedback to the Webinar. Here are just a few of the comments:
"The importance of social media, not only for today's campaign, but its echoing influence over time. Also loved the Near Field Communication demos. Some uses I had not thought of."
"Interesting to hear what's out there more than linking QR codes to a static Website."
"I appreciated learning what resources were out there and the direction marketing seems to be taking."
