C'mon...Add Some Depth to Your Print!

Ever notice how once you see or hear about something, it is suddenly everywhere you look? That's the case with QR (two-dimensional or quick-response) codes. While scurrying about for BPI client visits, they seem to pop up on billboards. While flipping through a magazine in a lobby while waiting for a meeting, they dot the pages of print advertising. Check your mailbox, and you'll see them popping up in sale papers too.

Go ahead, scan this QR code. I dare ya! You'll just need a QR code reader on your phone such as ScanLife, BeeTagg or QuickMark.

QR codes made their big US debut last year in Black Friday ads offering promotions, coupons, etc. Look for them to return this year with even more of a presence. This is especially true since we are a mobile society who can't part with our blackberries, iPhones or Androids, but this is the beauty of it--we don't have to. 37% of U.S. smartphone users have made a purchase on their phones in the last 6 months (Source: Compete, Inc.). This has caused a boost in the number of mobile sites created where a site can be easily navigated on a smartphone rather than on their image-heavy counterpart viewed on a desk or laptop.
We've had customers incorporate QR codes on their actual products to show product details, on a flyer to promote or register for an event, on posters linking to a video, and even one customer who is planning to do a walking tour of a cemetery by including QR codes on markers to give a new meaning to a virtual tour. Way cool stuff!
So, why add a QR code to your direct mail piece or catalog? You can track it and know where sales are generated! For a quick view of how that works, check out BPI Media Group's Sales Tool. This type of integrated campaign can easily be used to track your ROI and meshed with social media outlets. Think about it: communicate with your customers the way you communicate--mobily & socially.

Two-dimensional codes aren't the only dimension to print. Check your mailbox for BPI's latest postcard featuring this cool lizard.

Check it out, the postcard is printed on our digital press, a Kodak Nexpress, using dimensional coating. Try incorporating this effect on your next direct mail piece. I've got really simple instructions for you graphic designers-just ask me for that. This coating will be sure to gain attention because everyone wants to "feel" it. After all, isn't response what we're all after?

So, the next time you think dimensionally, you don't necessary need the goofy 3-D glasses, you just need to think outside the box and include these cool aspects of print in your marketing campaign. Both of these dimensional options are budget friendly and do one thing: get your company noticed. Give me a buzz or drop me an email, and I'll be glad to chat with you more about ways to incorporate dimension into your printing.