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Standing in the liquor aisle, there is no shortage of options. So how does one decide what bottle to choose? Sure, some will head straight to the biggest brand names without looking twice. But many people scan the shelves for a label that catches their eye. If that particular bottle can further captivate its audience with a story, there’s a good chance it will be leaving the store with the customer. All that to say, branding—and particularly print branding—is hugely important to drink producers.

Willie’s Distillery, an independently owned business out of Montana, understands this better than most and has succeeded in building a strong client base not only through its high-quality spirits and liqueurs but also through its creative and highly narrative style of branding and advertising. Printing for Less is a close partner of Willie’s Distillery, delivering a variety of printed brand products that help distinguish Willie’s spirits from the competition and share its message with local markets.

Welcome to Willie’s Distillery

Based out of Ennis, Montana, along the banks of the Madison River, Willie’s Distillery has been producing high-quality liquor for over a decade. The company prides itself not only on its production methods, which rely on world-renowned stills, top-quality oak barrels, and choice local ingredients but on its small-town Montana roots as well. Willie’s Distillery makes a point to infuse Montana culture and history into each of its products and is the state’s premier destination distillery.

How Willie’s Uses Drink Advertising

It goes without saying that much of Willie’s success in Montana and the broader American West is due to its exceptionally smooth, rich spirits. But there is more to the story. Branding and drink advertising have played an important role in presenting Willie’s Distillery to consumers and building a loyal client base. 

It doesn’t take long to identify a theme across Willie’s products. While each bottle has a unique design that expresses its contents, they all have something in common. Something that is at the core of Willie’s Distillery’s brand: they all evoke the American West. 

• The blue, snowy mountainscape of Willie’s Snowcrest Vodka matches the spirit’s clear, smooth flavor and references the wild mountains of Southwest Montana. 
• The bottle of Montana Moonshine puts the distillery’s hometown front and center, indicating the flow rate of the Madison River and the temperature in Ennis at the time of bottling. 
• The award-winning Choke Cherry Liqueur tells us it is made from wild-grown local fruits and ties the rich color of the drink into the label’s design.

Willie’s drink advertising also goes beyond bottle labels. Custom hang tags printed by Printing for Less have become a signature of the distillery. These small tags accompanying a selection of Willie’s products provide customers with extra information about each bottle and feature drink recipes. 

They have also proven to boost sales. “We have found that the Montana Moonshine sells better when we have the hang tag on the bottle,” Shanna Mae Swanson, Willie’s Distillery’s Brand and Graphic Specialist  says. “Our hang tags feature drink recipes and a little blurb about the spirit or a short story. With the Huckleberry and Coffee Creams, for example, a lot of people don’t know how to make cocktails with these spirits, so it helps give them ideas on how to drink them.”

The Evolution of Our Advertising

Another key element of Willie’s drink advertising strategy is the Sales Sheet. Each spirit or liqueur has its own Sales Sheet—a one-pager that includes a visual of the bottle, social media details, pertinent legal info, and a selection of drink recipes. Willie’s Distillery gives these out to bars, restaurants, and liquor stores that stock its products. 

When the distillery tried to give these Sales Sheets out at tasting events, however, they were less successful. “We had people reject them because they were a full page,” Swanson explains. But the Willie’s team took the hurdle in stride and designed smaller, quarter-page sheets in cooperation with Printing for Less. 

“We started making Quarter Sales Sheets because people at tastings are far more likely to grab a smaller sheet and put it in their pocket or purse,” Swanson added. Now, the Quarter Sales Sheets are an integral part of its drink advertising and can be found next to Willie’s products at select liquor stores. 

Our Best Advice When it Comes to Drink Advertising

If Willie’s Distillery has one piece of advice about drink advertising, it’s to tell a story. “The most effective advertising I’ve seen is that which tells a story,” Swanson shares. “If you can convey a narrative through a picture or short blurb, you have a better chance at making a sale.” It makes sense: for many, spirits themselves are tied to experiences and personal stories, like celebrating a milestone over a glass of whiskey, or going out for a drink with a friend you haven’t seen in a while. 

Having a strong narrative attached to your product can therefore create more connections with the consumer and form a memorable experience. Willie’s gold-medal-winning Devil’s Brigade Whiskey is the perfect example. On the front label, the whiskey’s name is emblazoned in a military-inspired font and behind it stands a devil with a knife in its teeth and a “USA/Canada” patch. The back label contextualizes the branding, telling the story of the real-life Devil’s Brigade, an elite unit in WWII made up of 60% American and 40% Canadian men.  Fittingly, the whiskey is made from a blend of 60% American Bourbon and 40% Canadian Whiskey.

The true story of the Devil’s Brigade inspired the whiskey and each batch that Willie’s makes is dedicated to an original member of the special military unit. For Willie Blazer, the distillery’s co-founder and an armed forces veteran, having a product that pays homage to these men was important. “The story matters. It is a part of Montana history, United States military history, and, since we have added the names of the original members of the Brigade, familial history as well,” Blazer says. In the end, having a strong story has had two results: Devil’s Brigade Whiskey is one of the distiller’s most talked about spirits, and more people are learning about a fascinating corner of American history that they can in turn tell their friends about over drinks.

How Printing for Less Has Helped Willie’s

Printing for Less has worked alongside Willie’s Distillery to bring its unique product stories to life. “Printing for Less has played a huge role in our drink advertising,” Swanson concludes. Together, the Montana-based businesses have created high-impact advertising—including stickers, hang tags, and Sales Sheets—that not only help Willie’s bottles stand out on the shelves but also share the distillery’s unique story and vision with consumers. 

You hear the letterbox ding, the soft fall of paper on the floor, your dog barks. You’ve got mail.

No matter how old you are, or how often you receive mail, there’s a certain excitement around the delivery. It sparks curiosity, makes us feel important, and simply put, it’s just fun. It’s why even in a digital world, brands are still using the mail as a marketing channel. Studies show that nearly 80% of consumers will act on a piece of direct mail as soon as they get it; while, 70% of consumers say direct mail is more personal than online interactions.

But brands aren’t writing out individual names and addresses on flyers. Instead, they’re adopting smarter strategies to get visibility at scale. Two of the most popular approaches are Every Door Direct Marketing (EDDM) and Direct Mailing. “What’s the difference?” we hear you ask. All is revealed below, as told by our paper protagonists at Printing for Less.

Every Door Direct Marketing vs Direct Mail

Everyone receives mail, but not everyone understands why they get that particular mail.  Quad Lead Brooke Seidel breaks it down: mailers that don’t have a name or address on them are from Every Door Direct Marketing, meaning they are sent to everyone on the block. Any mail that has a name or “current resident of” written on it, is from direct mail.

Kristi Eby, an Account Executive, says that Every Door Direct Marketing is part of the postal service, “a sender can select a certain postal route area, and deliver the same mailer to every door.” She goes on to explain that the mailer must fit certain size requirements – which Printing for Less can help with. Most people opt for a postcard but there are other options, provided that they comply with the size restrictions still.

For James Casey, a fellow Account Executive, the biggest selling point of EDDM is that the sender doesn’t need a list of recipients. “If someone wants to saturate their target area at an affordable price, EDDM is perfect.”

On the other hand, direct mailing is where the sender creates a list of contacts to get the mailer. This list is usually curated around audience segments for a more tailored campaign.

Katie Young, our Director of Sales, adds that EDDM is more effective to reach a specific area. “Whereas with direct mailing,” she says, “you can get more specific with your demographic, honing in on age, profession, title, and so on.”

Why Use One Over the Other?

It’s a time-old dilemma: whether to use EDDM or direct mail for your business marketing. But the answer depends on what your objectives are. 

If you’re opening a business or have a small business that needs to target one specific area (e.g. the place where you’re launching), EDDM makes more sense because your audience’s most important attribute is where they’re based. Not to mention, EDDM doesn’t require postage or an address, so you have more room to design a unique mailer. 

Our Account Executive, Nathan Gardner, comments that it’s good to think about direct mailing as quality and EDDM as quantity. “With EDDM, you can be less specific about who you are targeting because you simply want the mailers to go to every door. Direct mailing, though, demands being more precise about the characteristics of the people you want to reach, so is generally a smaller pool than EDDM.”

Amy Auble, our eCommerce Marketer, sums things up by saying that “the biggest distinction is to use EDDM when your campaign is location dependent. A direct mailing campaign is best when more detailed factors like age, gender, income, marital status, and so on are the priority.”

If your business aim is to grow and contact as many people as possible, opt for EDDM. If you already have a good user base but are interested in expanding into a new segment, direct mailing is the way to go.

Examples of EDDM & Direct Mailing

OK, but what do EDDM and direct mailing look like in action?

Well, an auto dealership may use direct mail to reach people in the area close to their dealership, who make a certain income and have a history of buying a certain car. Using direct mail enables the dealership to really narrow down the people who are more likely to purchase a car.

Tyler Diebold, another Printing for Less Account Executive, offers the example of a lawn care company that would opt for EDDM because they want to speak to everyone within their vicinity. Likewise, a new restaurant would want to encourage people close by to come and eat there. Meanwhile, Tyler states, “a healthcare company hoping to influence people of a set age and gender, would choose a direct mailing campaign.”

How Printing for Less Can Help

You don’t have to navigate the world of mailing alone. The experts at Printing for Less can support you with various elements of postal marketing. For instance, if you’re unsure about the size requirements for EDDM, we invite you to give us a call and we’ll walk you through what does, and doesn’t fit (literally). We’re always readily available, and encourage you to come and visit us in person.

We can additionally help customers build lists for direct mailing purposes – something that’s extremely valuable for brands who know the type of demographic they want to reach, but don’t have the individual contacts themselves. We can curate these lists (although we aren’t able to share them with clients due to privacy laws) and automate them, so customers can access them on a one-off basis, multiple times throughout the year, or have year-round annual access.

So, are you ready to tap into the marketing power of the humble postal service? Get in touch with us beforehand, and we’ll give you a hand to ensure that big things really do come in small packages. 

Is that a lingering ghoul around the corner? No, it’s October 31st! Time to grab your witches’ broom, cut eye holes in bed sheets, and justifiably eat the family-sized bag of candies you put out for trick-or-treaters. 

While Halloween doesn’t always get the same attention as Thanksgiving and other holidays, it’s still an opportunity for businesses to celebrate alongside customers and seize the moment for some playful marketing. Below, the marketing monsters at Printing for Less explain why Halloween should be an important date in your business agenda, and how to tap into some scarily effective customer tactics.

Why You Should Be Using Halloween to Promote Business

Halloween is one of the biggest celebrations in the United States and is generally regarded as an occasion to get creative. With people and businesses hanging up decorations and putting out candy, it’s a prime time for businesses to take part in the fun and re-engage with customers. Think of Halloween (and other holidays) as like calling up an old friend you haven’t spoken to in a while to let them know that you’re thinking of them.

Tyler Diebold, an Account Executive at Printing for Less, says that Halloween definitely has the potential to boost brands’ relationships with customers. Our Quad Lead, Brooke Seidel, adds that it’s important to kickstart your campaigns early because the closer you get to Halloween, the slower it’ll be to mail anything.

It’s worth noting too, that not all companies opt to run Halloween campaigns, so the ones that do can get a competitive advantage. Any time you remind a customer they’re on your mind – even if only to say “have a great Halloween,” you’re establishing a deeper connection with them. And of course, it’s a window to offer discounts and goodies, and increase your brand awareness. 

Ways to Market During Halloween

There’s no shortage of roads to go down when it comes to Halloween marketing. The versatility of the day means brands can choose to go for a creepy aesthetic, a cozy fall message, or opt for a retro vibe. In particular, print media is a cool canvas to carry all your Halloween ideas. These are a few of our favorite freaky options:

Printed Candy

A staggering 600 million pounds of candy are sold during Halloween each year, meaning there are plenty of snacks to stamp your message on. People don’t usually expect their candy to come with words, and doing so can be a unique way to ensure hungry customers remember your business.

You could go small and simply add your logo to individual pieces of candy, or you could write out a promo code that people have to scan to access exclusive Halloween deals. Alternatively, you could add a Halloween question to candy wrappers and ask customers to contact you with their answers and be entered into a competition. 

Stickers and Window Decals

Stickers are the classic car of marketing – they’re timeless, they look cool, and they always catch people’s eye. For Halloween, businesses could go the traditional route and add their contact details to a pumpkin, zombie, spider, or bat, or you could promote a Halloween-themed event or product that you’re having. Whatever you decide to do, try to stick to the basic orange, black, and purple colors that are typically associated with Halloween to really drive home the context of your marketing.

Another powerful technique is to get window decals printed. These transparent stickers can be sent to customers and proudly shown in their windows, and are temporary so they can easily be taken down once the Halloween festivities die down. Designs that we particularly like include the moon, the boogeyman, clowns, and creepy-looking castles.

Postcards and Holiday Cards

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel come Halloween. Postcards and holiday cards are a nice surprise for customers, especially if they can include them as part of their Halloween decorations. Stick to a scene from an eerie fairytale or a more cutesy image, or you can choose a card that changes the picture as you move it up and down. On the back of the card, include details about a new line of items, an event that you’re hosting, or simply share a mysterious message that customers have to go to your website to understand.

Halloween Campaigns We Love

If you’re in need of more haunted Halloween inspiration, take a peek at these campaigns.

Heinz’s Tomato Blood

The ketchup champions leaned into their staple red color one Halloween and rebranded as Heinz Tomato Blood. The campaign also included a social media competition where people were asked to send in photos of their “blood” stained clothes. An excuse to eat ketchup and have a food fight? Perfection.

Crest’s Candy-safe Toothpaste

As good as candy tastes, it often means a sharp increase in cavities during the next trip to the dentist. That’s why Crest took preventative action for Halloween and launched a line of toothpaste promoting good dental hygiene and extra protection against sugary foods on October 31st.

Skittles’ Zombie flavors

On Halloween 2019, Skittles released five new flavors, including mummified melon and boogeyman blackberry. However, one of the flavors was a “rotten” Zombie flavor, so hungry trick-or-treaters had to choose wisely before diving into their snacks.

M&M’s interactive ghost stories

You have to tell ghost stories on Halloween, it’s the rule. M&Ms got the goosebumps started with its social media campaign featuring a weekly installment of a ghost story. Each story had two possible endings, and the brand asked customers to vote for their favorite. The outcome? People were clicking their preferred narrative direction, then hiding behind their hands eagerly awaiting the next chapter.

Fanta’s scannable spooks

Fanta has chosen to repeat its successful Halloween campaign a few times, where customers scan the packaging and unlock Halloween filters on different social media platforms. By blending physical and digital elements, Fanta draws a strong association between its products and people’s online presence (not to mention, some paranormal activity…).

Halloween is coming. A door creeks, the wind howls, and a shadow darts across the room in the corner of your eye. It’s time for your Halloween marketing plans to materialize. Get started before it’s too late – take a look at our printing phenomenons.

There really is no place like home, and for Printing for Less, that’s Livingston, Montana. Located in the southwest region of the state, right on the Yellowstone River, our outdoorsy backdrop serves as inspiration for our team and our business. We believe that great things come in small (paper) packages, and that’s why we prioritize carrying our small city vibes into how we work—from ensuring employees have a healthy work-life balance, to taking the time to stop and chat with customers like we would neighbors at a store.

We’re proud of our little slice of paradise and how it influences our daily activities. Here’s why Printing for Less loves Livingston, Montana, as told by our team.

What We Love About Living in Montana 

Livingston is one of those special places that seems to have it all—rich history, vibrant culture, picturesque natural environs, and a friendly community. The quality of life here is unrivaled, and whether you’re looking for a new adventure every weekend or a wholesome spot to share with your family, Livingston can provide it.

Our Director of Ecommerce, Katie Younge, says that she loves the culture of Livingston, which combines an Old West ambiance with a host of modern galleries and boutiques. 

Visitors and locals alike here can get lost in the selection of quaint bookstores and antique stores, as well as stopping to refuel in the city’s—perhaps surprisingly—highly-rated eateries, ranging from hearty breakfast spots to high-end, seasonal restaurants.

And of course, Livingston is famous for its natural landscapes. Printing for Less’ Director of Customer Success, Wes Deen, says he loves the ability to share the outdoors with his family. “Livingston is a wonderful place to raise a family! We go camping, cross country skiing, hiking, and float on the Yellowstone River.” 

James Casey, our Customer Advocate, worked in Yellowstone National Park for years and believes the nation’s first national park is an important part of Livingston’s charm. “Backcountry hikes and fishing trips [in Yellowstone] provide memories for a lifetime.” Other Printing for Less team members agree, all mentioning the breathtaking beauty, scope, and uniqueness of Yellowstone. They stress that visitors should remember to be bear aware, carry plenty of water, and take a map—especially since they’re free. Oh! And don’t take selfies with the buffaloes please—known affectionately as fluffy cows.

Beyond cool things to do and the awesome ambiance, Livingston has a history of being a community for artists, painters, and writers. People like Jim Harrison, Russell Chatham, and Thomas McGuane have all spent time in and were influenced by Livingston. Not only can you browse their works at many different points in Livingston, but you can also experience the strong community presence they helped create in the city today—so visitors should expect a warm welcome and the occasional stranger to strike up a conversation.

Local Favorites

There are plenty of resources to learn about the offerings available in Livingston, but rather than repeat the better-known hotspots, the Printing for Less team tells us their favorite pastimes in the city.

James says that summer is the best time to visit and take advantage of the Yellowstone River and national forests, “You don’t have to spend much money either,” he notes. Simply pack a bathing suit, a picnic, protection from the sun, and you’ll be ready to soak up all that the stunning landscapes have to offer.

For Wes, Paradise Valley is a must. “There is public land just by Mallards Rest fishing access where you can camp next to the river. From there, you can drive out to Pine Creek Lodge and catch some live music, as well as get up and dance while the sun goes down!”

People in search of an alternative outdoor escape can make their way to Natural Bridge Falls near McLeod, Pine Creek Lake, and Glacier National Park—all fun treks that reward visitors with some of nature’s most stunning gems. For something a little less intense, Fairy Lake has a cute campground and short hiking trail that leads to a lake to cool off in.

National Account Executive, Nathan Gardner, recommends even more outdoor fun in Chico hot springs. The hotel and resort are open year-round, and have gorgeous views of pine tree-lined mountains, set against the steamy blue waters of the regenerative outdoor pools.

Katie additionally suggests checking out the farmer’s market that takes place along the river banks every Wednesday in the summer. Here, visitors can browse offerings from local vendors who travel from surrounding towns with affordable, high-quality produce and crafts. Driving the Beartooth Highway and venturing through downtown Livingston and Bozeman are other favorites for Katie. 

Once you’ve worked up an appetite, Customer Advocate, Spencer Puckett, says Campione is the answer. The local restaurant has the feel of an authentic Roman kitchen, complete with a rustic interior, ideal for chatting with friends, enjoying a glass of wine, and people-watching the Livingston locals. 

Printing for Less & Livingston

It’s not a coincidence that Printing for Less has set up shop in Livingston. We know that where we work, impacts how we work, and we want to ensure that both factors align with our teams’ well-being and the high-quality services we strive to offer our customers.

As James says, “when people are enriched by the environment they live in, they extend that into the workplace and make more memorable experiences for customers.” He continues, highlighting how the nature, culture, and community of Livingston enable the Printing for Less team to live in a way that lets them embody and drive the company’s purpose statement:

To change lives for the better by connecting people to people through authentic moments.

Not to mention, Printing for Less contributes to employment in many households across the city, and takes pride in supporting the community that it’s a part of. We provide affordable and convenient childcare for employees, donate to on-the-ground organizations, and provide print credits to local businesses. 

Our team members and the business as a whole appreciate the value that we get from Livingston, and we strive to consciously invest back into Livingston, Montana so that locals and visitors alike can continue to enjoy it as it is now.

With so many incredible offerings, it’s no surprise that Livingston attracts wonderful, diverse people. At Printing for Less, Spencer sums things up nicely, “I have never met a friendlier group of people to work with. The capacity they all have for one another is the closest to a work-family I have ever felt.”

Are you ready for a visit to Livingston yet? The door’s open, come on in.     

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.