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Building, sharing, and participating in culture isn’t always straightforward. It’s a process that requires nurturing and actively encouraging people to join in and celebrate. Whether you’re hoping to develop a culture around your business, your latest artistic project, or a specific movement, a crucial part of culture building comes from the materials you use to express it.

Something as simple as handing out stickers that have your logo or slogan on it is a powerful way to open the doors to your culture. It’s essentially like giving people a badge to wear – they feel like they belong to a group or that they represent part of a bigger trend.

At our core, we as humans are drawn to culture. It can bring us important social benefits and even contribute to our well-being. With that in mind, here’s how printed media can fuel your culture building efforts.

What is Culture Building?

Culture building is an ongoing practice to help people feel like they have a space in a shared setting (physical or otherwise). In business, culture building typically takes place through activities like games and events, where organizations can demonstrate what their values are and use them to bond people together.

However, culture building also happens on a daily basis through tokens. These tokens can include branded items and gifts that represent a business’s culture. People find these tokens useful or meaningful and so incorporate and display in their life, all the while showcasing their inclusion in the wider culture of the business.

Companies shouldn’t underestimate the impact of culture building among teams either. More than 90% of entrepreneurs and more than 80% of job seekers believe that a healthy work culture is key to success.

So, now that we know why culture building matters, how can you make it a reality?

How does Printing For Less Promote Culture Building?

Here at Printing for Less, we take care to practice what we preach, meaning we use the printed media tools in front of us to promote positive culture. Zach Rienhard, our Account Executive, says that the journey starts as soon as people join, when we give newbies a Printing for Less engraved mug, alongside socks and a postcard.

Fellow Account Executive, Kristi Eby, adds that she received a branded notebook on her first day, while Director of Sales, Katie Young, remembers that a class for training new hires included branded Yeti cups with personalized names for everyone.

These moments demonstrate to newcomers (who can easily feel like outsiders) that they are immediately welcome and seen. 

Culture Building Through Printed Media

Culture building is delicate – it should be done in a genuine way to be a real reflection of the culture people are being encouraged to participate in. When it comes to printed media then, be cautious to produce goods that people actually want and will use.

Katie says that the Yeti cups were so successful because they made sense with people’s busy morning routines. Meanwhile, Account Executive Nathan Gardner, recalls a time when he had a customer who did an internal team building webinar and sent a branded kit to all the attendees beforehand. “The kit had different items that people held up in front of the screen at certain times, so people directly engaged with the printed media and team culture.”

The beauty of printed media and culture is that it creates a comradery among the people working at (or in contact with) your organization. “I’ve had a number of customers use printed media in onboarding campaigns, and others who’ve used it for holidays or ‘thank you’ gifts for employees,” says Nathan. Other clients have taken an alternative route, according to Zack, who notes that one campaign had printed foil scratch tickets. Each ticket had the potential to win a prize, and was one of the coolest and best received projects Printing for Less has been involved in.

The Benefits of Printed Culture Building & Branding

The list of advantages for investing in culture building is extensive. Research shows that culture building can boost retention, ensure a better fit with new employees, heighten teams’ satisfaction, and improve companies’ reputation as a whole.

Culture branding efforts through printed media can specifically engage remote employees more strongly because it gets them excited about a virtual event or reminds them that they are acknowledged and appreciated. All in all, printed media can be a bridge for remote workers who are at risk of feeling isolated from the organization’s culture.

Print media can also help praise people who have achieved certain targets. For example, if someone hits their sales record, you could send them an engraved trophy or glass to cheers with. Remember, culture building doesn’t stop once people seem comfortable in their environment, it has to be maintained and respond appropriately to the various milestones people encounter as part of your culture.

Ready to lay the foundations for your culture? Or add some exciting print elements to an already sturdy culture environment? Take a look at our vast selection of printed products and feel inspired. 

You know the feeling. Your stomach is grumbling, you’re on the cusp of hangry, and you sit down at a restaurant looking around for a menu. The server tells you that you need to scan the QR code, but you either don’t have your phone, the page is taking too long to load, or the sheer size of the menu just isn’t digestible (pun intended) on your tiny phone screen.

While digital menus made sense at the height of the pandemic to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, they’re not a sustainable, long term alternative for customers. Some phones don’t have the functionality to read QR codes, and digital menus aren’t always accessible for people with visual impairments. In fact, a Time Out poll found that nearly 70% of respondents want paper menus to return.

Whichever side of the menu debate you sit on, it’s undeniable that physical menus add a certain something to the dining experience and enable establishments to brand themselves in a more unique way. Here’s why we think it’s time to bring back printed menus, and how to do so in style.

Printed Menus vs QR Code Menus

The Printing for Less team all agree that printed menus offer a little “je ne sais pas” to eating and drinking out. According to Account Executive, Kristi Eby, “even though I’m perfectly capable of looking on my phone, I prefer a printed menu. There’s just something about it.”

Fellow Account Executive, Zach Rinehart agrees, “I don’t like QR codes, and a lot of the older population doesn’t like them either,” he says. “A physical menu is a tactical experience – whereas when you scan a QR code, it doesn’t always load right away which can be frustrating. With a printed menu, it’s immediate, and it’s rooted in the restaurant environment.”

There’s also the matter of politeness. Amy Auble, X our eCommerce Marketer, points out that when you sit down at a restaurant and have to use a QR code, you’re spending time in front of your phone, not talking to the people you’re with. Digital menus can therefore feel like they force people to be rude and disengage from the conversations in front of them. With a printed menu, however, you don’t get that same feeling because it’s less intrusive than staring at a screen.

A Shift Back to Physical Menus

Beyond being more user friendly, print menus are also an opportunity for brands to showcase their personality. Brooke Seidel, our Quad Lead, suggests that companies can add information about the business, their story, and fun facts. Often, digital menus don’t have the same space for these extras, and are made from design templates, so don’t carry the same level of customization.

In particular, physical menus that have a distinct touch resonate in smaller locations. For example, Zach believes that paper menus will make a comeback in Montana. Kristi adds that only a few places in Bozeman still use QR codes, compared to around 80% of places that have gone back to printed menus.

At Printing for Less, we’ve already seen a noticeable uptick in the number of businesses requesting printed menus again – and we celebrate it!

Designing the Perfect Printed Menu

With printed menus back on the rise, companies should seize the moment to refresh their menu’s aesthetic. Zach recommends incorporating features like soft touch, coil binding, spot UV, and other effects to enhance photos and the paper durability. UV coating tends to be more standard than a gloss finish because it better protects the pages from any spills or wear and tear.

Brooke notes that some menus use offset folding too, where there’s one main fold but then a smaller flap within the menu to highlight drinks, appetizers, and extras. “A menu is one of the first things you see when you walk into a restaurant,” Brooke explains. “You sit down, you’re greeted by the server, and handed the menu. What you hold in your hand needs to embody the rest of the restaurant and brand.”

Nathan goes further, noting that “aside from a customer’s meal, the menu is the most tactical element of dining out. The menu should therefore be an extension of the business. If you have a cheap looking menu, customers will have lower expectations about your food. Just think about what you’d expect from a takeout menu versus a restaurant menu. They’re different for a reason.”

Still, businesses that opt to print their menus in bulk need to be aware of quantity, Zach adds. “The biggest issue we run into with menus is the order volume. Typically, businesses order 50 menus, but if you want a menu with special features like smart flex, or extra large in size, you’ll have to meet minimum quantity orders. At Printing for Less, that’s 250, as we can’t print in small quantities unless it’s a coil bound menu.”

In summary: long live the printed menu. We’re envisioning a world where we go out for food, taste-buds ready, and get to feel our way through the menu. If, like us, you’re hungry for 100% in-person dining again, check out our menu printing features. 

Ever since the rise of digital media, people have wondered whether the end of print is near. As a company that has successfully been working in the print industry for more than two decades, we’re here to tell you that this is not the case—print is still going strong. Print media and marketing tools, such as business cards, posters, flyers, brochures, and merchandise, are not only still popular, but they are also still highly effective for targeted advertising and customer outreach. What has changed in recent years is that businesses must find clever, new ways to integrate print and digital into a cohesive marketing campaign. 

Print is Not Dead

First thing’s first, let’s, once and for all, clear up the misconception that print is dead . While it is undeniable that email marketing and online adverts have increased exponentially, there is evidence that print can be far more engaging and effective than its digital counterpart. For instance, print has a higher brand recall rate than digital media (we’re talking 77% compared to just 46%). And printed mailers generate a significantly higher response rate—as much as 30 times greater—than email.

But why is this? 

The continued relevance of print can be explained by a few things. For one, people are becoming overwhelmed by the inundation of digital ads and online marketing content they encounter every day. Whether it’s the dozens of promotional emails in your inbox or a webpage with multiple advertisers vying for your attention, the digital space is saturated. With print, however, it is easier to stand out and grab someone’s attention. 

“Print is more disruptive,” explains Tyler Diebold, National Account Executive at Printing for Less. “We’re so used to seeing digital ads that we just tune them out. When you actually receive something in the mail, you stop and read it for a second.” On top of that, print has the benefit of being tactile. When a person is holding a newsletter or brochure, they have already made a connection with it and it engages more senses than digital. This makes it easier to focus on the content at hand and encourages the recipient to read about your product or services.

And let’s not forget that not everyone is online. Certain demographics are not as connected to the digital world as others. Integrating print marketing into a broader strategy ensures these people are not left behind. National Account Executive Nathan Gardner elaborates on this: “You can miss a large demographic with online marketing. For example, older generations don’t spend as much time online, and print works well to target them.”

Integrating Print & Digital

That’s not to say that print is the only avenue for marketing. Print and digital media should be used in combination, with each supporting and even enhancing the other. Ultimately, integrating print and digital marketing campaigns strategically will ensure that all your bases are covered and that a wider, more diverse audience is being reached. 

Using print and digital marketing seamlessly means understanding what each medium’s strengths are. While both have the same goal of promoting your business, each requires a slightly different approach. For example, digital marketing is a great and cost-effective way to reach a broad audience. It is also highly adaptable, enabling you to test out and evaluate different marketing styles or tactics.

Print marketing, for its part, has the potential to be more memorable than digital because the consumer interacts with it physically. You can also target audiences with greater precision using print. For example, you can place printed adverts where they will be most relevant, such as a product info card strategically placed in retail locations, or an attraction brochure placed in a local tourist office. In short, you meet the customer where they would be most interested in your offering.

Print, particularly direct mail, is also unique in its ability to build strong relationships with high-quality leads or existing customers. Customized mailers or merchandise can show prospects your commitment to them in a real, tangible way. “Marketers are quickly narrowing down who gets which type of mail,” adds Printing for Less’s Wes Kirk. “Focusing on smaller sets of higher quality prospects and on better engagement with existing customers.”

The Key to Remaining Relevant

Today, print marketing remains relevant by embracing digital media. That means not only should both factor into your marketing decisions but they should also be unified. Fortunately, there are several ways to do this.

“QR codes are one of the best ways to drive traffic from print to online marketing,” Gardner says. QR codes printed on posters, brochures, postcards, and more provide a direct link to your business’s digital resources. From the client’s perspective, this means easy access to a wealth of relevant information about your product or service. QR codes are also trackable, giving your marketing and sales teams vital insights about potential prospects and allowing them to gauge a campaign’s success.

Another innovative way to bridge the divide between print and digital is discount codes. By including a discount code on a printed ad that can be exclusively redeemed online, you can drive potential clients from the printed page to your website and increase the potential for new sales. Moreover, people are more likely to spend time reading a printed ad if a discount or deal is involved. It’s a win-win.

The link can be made in the other direction too, with digital engagement leading to custom mailers. For example, a digital campaign and landing page can invite the user to submit their information and address to receive a free gift. The data shared not only shows the prospect is interested in your business but also enables you to vet them as a lead. From there, you can send printed merch or kits that increase in value the higher the lead quality. You can learn more about the value of printed merchandise here.

A Cohesive Campaign is a Hybrid One

In the end, digital hasn’t killed print: they are both stronger when they co-exist. Printing For Less’s Tyler Diebold sums up the importance of integrating print and digital perfectly: “A cohesive campaign is really important. Your print and digital strategies really need to speak to one another, because the best results happen when digital and print are working together.” 

Are you looking to merge high-quality printed products with your digital marketing campaigns? We can help! 

The modern world loves marketing. Well, businesses have always loved marketing but in the digital age, it seems the love has seemingly turned into an obsession as most marketing tactics have moved online. And it makes sense—a lot of us spend a large chunk of our time on social media and checking our emails, so brands will naturally try to speak to us there. That said, we also still live in the real world. We drive past billboards, we ask people for their business cards, and we see flyers in the cafes, restaurants, and events that we go to. 

Similarly, your marketing campaigns shouldn’t be solely confined to the digital realm. Doing so means missing huge opportunities to promote your company and resigning your interactions with customers to only the moments when they’re using their electronic devices.

The most effective marketing campaign strategies combine a mixture of online and offline initiatives, ensuring that people cross paths with your messaging as many times as possible, without being overly loud or aggressive. That journey starts with print, and here’s why.

Why Use Print Campaigns?

More than half of people say that they find print marketing to be the most trustworthy type of marketing. Whereas digital marketing can be easily modified according to how people respond to it, print marketing often takes a lot of in-depth research, where brands have to really spend time getting to know their customers. They also have to create and be confident in the campaigns that they deploy in print, especially because it’s expensive and time-consuming to make changes retroactively.

The result is that print campaigns tend to be carefully put together, based on a lot of background knowledge, and extra creativity. Compared to a website or email format, where brands are confined to a digital platform, print campaigns have total freedom when it comes to aesthetics.

We’re not saying that print is the only way forward—digital campaigns are undoubtedly impactful too—but that print campaigns are a springboard for any comprehensive marketing strategy. As our National Account Executive, Tyler Diebold, says “creating a multi-channel campaign that includes print is the best way to set yourself apart from others.”

Ways to Incorporate Print in Your Campaign

Nathan Gardner, another National Account Executive on the team, explains that print campaigns should be part of a larger campaign. “It’s unlikely that you’ll see a high ROI from sending one set of postcards, but if you create a list of highly desirable prospects, target them with multiple channels of marketing and send them engaging content—and you’ll see results.”

So, let’s put things into context. Say a company is targeting insurance agents in the US. They send 10,000 postcards to agents asking them to scan a trackable QR code and enter their details to view exclusive content. With this information, the company can send engaged prospects emails and newsletters, or contact them via phone. From here, they can then mail the top 1-2% of insurance agents a branded kit with printed goodies. This entire funnel gives the company a competitive advantage because they’ve invested in the best-fit prospects both online and offline and have shown their value with unique rewards.

The Benefits of Print Campaigns

There’s no shortage of perks when it comes to print campaigns. Not only can print techniques be seamlessly integrated into people’s daily lives, but they do so while also capturing people’s attention. Think of it like when you get a surprise letter in the mail—it’s not uncommon to get a letter, but when it’s personalized, it feels like the sender has really thought about you, and that memory sticks in your mind.

Tyler breaks things down further by saying that “you’ll likely catch more of a prospect’s time in a print marketing campaign.” In the over-saturated digital space, people’s attention spans are shorter than ever, and a digital ad can easily be skimmed over. A physical print item, however, demands more time. People tend to read what they have in their hands or something that addresses them directly in the offline world. Print marketing has a special way of, in Tyler’s words, “cutting through the digital clutter”.

Who Should Use Print Campaigns?

There’s enough print for everyone! In the same way that businesses across all industries can use digital campaigns, any company can tap into the world of print marketing too. Naturally, software and tech-based companies prefer to use print in tandem with multi-channel campaigns, but they generally find that their print approach really resonates with users because it’s different from what they expected.

Tyler also recommends print campaigns for companies that cater to a specific area like landscaping, restaurants, or businesses that can use local mail services to reach people in a timely manner. Additionally, healthcare companies pair well with print marketing because they can send important information directly to large groups of people, including demographics that may be most at risk but don’t go online much.

In short, a successful marketing campaign needs to make space for print. Print tactics add that little layer of care and customization that makes a brand remarkable.

So, are you ready to make strides in your print campaign? Check out our direct mail services, and discover how we can help you create an ROI-positive plan for your next marketing strategy.