Hal Hinderliter

Marketing spend? Microscopic!
November 1, 2007

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Question: What do printers spend on marketing? For many industries, marketing spend is between 1 and 2 percent of sales.  For some consumer products companies it can be as high as 10 percent of sales.  I get the feeling for the printing industry it's probably pretty low...

Doug Wegman, Marketing Manager
Hammer Packaging

Answer: Doug, you’re right. According to Ed Gleeson, PIA/GATF’s Manager of Economic & Market Research, the 2007-2008 PIA/GATF Ratios Studies show that printers spent on average only 0.44% of their sales on advertising expenses. Profit leaders, those in the top quartile, spent only slightly more: 0.45%.

For the record, the PIA/GATF Ratio Studies define “advertising costs” to include the cost of mailing lists bought or compiled; the expense of preparing, printing, and mailing the firm’s advertising; the cost of newspaper, radio, or television advertising or promotion; as well as directory, novelty, and other forms of advertising.

Leading by example: Westamerica Graphics
For Doug Grant, CEO of commercial printer Westamerica Graphics in Foothill Ranch, CA, making the effort to effectively market his company just comes naturally. “My background was in Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing, so it’s just the way I’m wired,” revealed Grant.

Although he has implemented a number of different programs during his 28 years with the company, Grant feels that customer outreach via educational programming has been his most effective tool. “We call our client education seminars ‘WAG U,’ short for Westamerica Graphics University,” chuckled Grant. “We run 3 to 4 sessions per year, and it gives our sales staff an excuse to contact people and offer something of value rather than just ask if they need any printing.”

Color for the customers
One recent customer education event was geared specifically towards designers and marketing professionals. WAG hired internationally-known color guru Lee Eiseman for a WAG U program that included catering for 120 as well as an elaborate printed invitation that looked like a Pantone swatch book. Total cost: $20,000.

“We use multiple points of contact – email, printed invitations, and phone call follow ups,” Grant noted. “People have told us that it differentiates us in this crowded, competitive Southern California marketplace.”

The right stuff
Westamerica’s most successful marketing campaign to date might be a recent personalized mailing that featured PURLs as well as a three-dimensional pop-up rocket ship. The “Blast Off with WAG” campaign promoted the firm’s new CAD system and diecutting equipment, and was mailed to 1,100 recipients. “We got over 10 percent response rate, that translated into almost a half million dollars in bid opportunities,” Grant noted proudly. “That one campaign resulted in over $100,000 in confirmed projects and a projected $250,000 per year in on-going revenue.”

Posted by Hal Hinderliter on November 1, 2007 | Comments (0)