Marketing Services Done Right

With offset printing volumes declining, there are a lot of people, including me, lining up to give superficial advice to printers. The usual recommendations include:

Printers must embrace digital printing!

Variable data printing is the future of marketing!

Printers need to evolve into marketing service providers!

Direct mail should be part of a cross media strategy that involves, print, email, web and social media!

Use Personalized URls and personalized QR codes to increase response rates and improve trackability!

I believe strongly in all of these points.  But each of them are easier said than done. Buying and installing a digital press doesn’t automatically generate business suited to digital printing. Managing a cross media campaign that includes variable data printing requires skills, processes and tools that are not abundant in the typical offset print shop.  As a result, there are a lot of digital presses that are underutilized.

Concentric Marketing Solutions is a new marketing services company that recognizes the complexity of the challenge and have organized a team of skilled marketing and printing professionals to offer “a new marketing paradigm.” They offer brands, agencies and printers a powerful multi-channel, data driven, approach to campaign management that both generates and measures results.

Here is how the Concentric Marketing Solutions website describes their difference:

“We concern ourselves with finding the best growth opportunities for our clients and partners, not just with producing relevant dialogue. We don’t just execute better campaigns. We find and implement the right strategies across all marketing investments.”

Concentric is new and time will test their innovative approach.  I have spoken many times with Barry Esslinger, the VP of Business Development at Concentric and believe strongly in the path they are taking.  The creativity in the design and messaging on their new website reinforces my belief that they are going to make difference in our industry.

How aggressive has your company been in the transition to providing marketing services?

What companies or websites do you consider great examples of promoting marketing services?