Have you have fallen prey to the urban myth that QR Codes are dead? There are plenty of designers and industry pundits who think these 2D mobile barcodes clunky and out of date, but if you look at the data, the death of QR Codes couldn’t be farther from the truth. Consumers are actively using QR Codes to get coupons, access detailed product information, watch promotional videos, and take other steps that move them toward a purchase. And the companies which are finding the right list of banner sizes and placing their QR-codes on them have seen a constant rise in the chatter and sale of the company product. If you’ve “moved on” from QR Codes, you’re abandoning a critical tool for building your business.
Let’s look at three facts about QR Codes that every marketer should know.
QR Code scanning is on the rise.
According to ExactTarget, 34% of smartphone users in the United States have scanned a QR Code while shopping in-store (ExactTarget Mobile Behavior Report 2014). This rises to 46% of those who own tablets. This doesn’t include people scanning QR Codes on direct mail, posters, in-store displays, packaging, and magazines. In fact, when ExactTarget asked about scanning coupons or QR Codes, it found that 43% of consumers had done so.
Can we quote Mark Twain here? “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” As you watch the data, sure, the growth rate of QR Code adoption is slowing. But that’s not unusual for a maturing technology.
QR Code scanning frequency is on the rise, as well.
In 2014, Scanbuy data showed 4.0 scans per person. In 2015, this rose to 4.3. That’s growth of 7.5%.
Among the most common uses for QR Codes are accessing coupons, downloading mobile apps, and accessing product information.
ExactTarget found that 56% of men and 39% of women have scanned QR Codes to gain quick access to information. Scanbuy found that when consumers are interested in a new product, 20% will scan a QR Code.
We could go on and on, but you get the point. QR Codes remain a cost-effective way to reach a high percentage of the mobile population. Here’s how to do it right:
Make the code highly visible on the direct mailer, in-store signage, packaging, or other channel.
Provide instructions on using the code, and perhaps more importantly, the value the consumer will gain from scanning it
We love things that pop, bend, pull and are made of paper, so naturally we were thrilled to be a part of the creation of the Pier 1 holiday pop up catalog!
Pier 1 wanted a way to “craft an unforgettable holiday” by laying out their holiday catalogue differently. As you can see, each page opens up to a different room decorated with a holiday theme. Structural Graphics was involved in the final stages of design process and production engineering, manufacturing and hand assembly.
It didn’t stop at the catalog, though. See below…
This catalog replicated, and was handed out, at the Pier 1 pop up store in Manhattan!
#Pier1popup
Structural Graphics President, Ethan Goller, visits the installation!
The holiday season is in full swing, and hand-in-hand with that comes gift-giving fever. That fever has spread from our holiday hearts all the way to YouTube, with the increasingly popular unboxing videos. According to ThinkWithGoogle.com,
Unboxing video views have grown 57% over the past year, and uploads have grown more than 50%. But it’s not just the growth in the unboxing genre that’s impressive—it’s the sheer volume, too. It would take more than seven years to watch all the videos on YouTube with “unboxing” in the title that have been uploaded so far just this year. And those videos have more than a billion views in this year alone.
Thank you, ThinkWithGoogle. That’s just what we did – we “thunk with Google”, to design and produce their Unboxing box. This was sent to hand-selected YouTube celebrities to promote the Google Store, and designed to have an element of surprise when unveiling each featured technology product. And the response was simply outstanding:
4 million views, with 11 million projected by Christmas.
And also, some sweet comments straight from the Unboxing YouTube celebrities themselves:
“That’s the best part, the packaging. ‘Gavin came in, and he’s like “This packaging is legit.’ And you know when Gavin thinks your packaging is legit, you’ve got a great product.”
Thanks, Gavin & Shay fam! And from Captain Sparklez…
“What?! This is the coolest packaging I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I don’t even want to disassemble this.”
We’re blushing! That’s the highlight, but let’s backtrack (spoiler alert: here’s where we start to talk about ourselves, boxes, and Google, a lot)…
Fast forward to September, when it came time to develop the box for their Google Store Unboxing Launch, they asked us whether or not we do boxes. (Answer: look here, or even here for a bit more luxury.) I mean this is Google, and we’re Structural Graphics, so naturally, we said yes. We practically invented boxes.*
(That may or may not be true.)*
On September 16th was the initial kickoff call to discuss concepts. At first, the sole and simple goal we had to accomplish was, “we need a box to hold products”.
Originally, we started with a white box with clouds. All of these 7 technology products, which can be seen in the Google Store, could have easily been thrown into any old, standard, 8-sided-vanilla-box. But that’s not really our style.
We then started with what any sensible person does in this day and age: we Googled it. We googled the Google products to get grasp on what it would need to hold, specifically the size, and how we could package that up.
As time went on, the inspiration developed. We were given a few more things to chew on:
1. Google presented us with a ‘Mood Board’, basically a brain dump of what it needed to include, and 2. What not to do: not a traditional printing press or corrugate. I mean, let’s be honest here, creative freedom + super cool client = any designer’s dream. Our brainstorm session produced a list that looked like this: Rubik’s cubes, puzzle, with the idea to create more of an ‘experience’ than anything.
Mission: possible. Erik, one of our paper engineers, came up with the puzzle box concept, and that’s when things with the entire team really took off.
As you can see clearly, it was all hands on deck! From a design and materials standpoint, this box was pretty far out of the comfort zone for our group. The materials and scale of this project was foreign. Typically, we deal with folding cartons, but every single person had hands on this project in order to turn around 2 sets of comps and “push the limits of design & engineering”.
On November 6th, upon assembly of the puzzle box, this was their reaction:
“Hubba, hubba!”
“Sweeeeeet, it’s really coming along nicely!”
“Woohoo!”
Of course, we echoed that.
So, the design was complete, but the job wasn’t over. Once these people receive it, what was the user experience going to be like?
There were a few small, yet critical details. First, was a card insert from the Google brand team, personalized & hand done with black Sharpie. Second, there was a little issue with the puzzle pieces, they didn’t quite stay together during shipment. Okay, thought our design team: how can we fix this? Why don’t we put it in gift-wrapping paper? Develop custom Google wrapping paper, which was actually functional. Genius.
Timing was a huge component for this project, considering it needed to drop by Black Friday. The second comp turn-around time was 3 days, and because of timing, we sent a template without sending a second comp. They never received a final produced prototype (only the press proof) before shipping to the influencers.
The night before delivery was crunch time. Gustavo, Vice President, Operations, and Teresa, Director of Business Development, left Mexico at 1:45am for delivery. They had 2 hours and 15 minutes to make it. From there, it was Fed Ex same day shipped, with critical care, and a contract with independent TSA couriers. Anddddddd, *sigh* just in time.
You might notice, if you’ve been paying attention to the timeline, that one of the most impressive parts of this story was the timing it took from concept to influencer delivery: 7 weeks.
“Amazing work under a brutal timeline.”
And just like that, that was it. 7 weeks. 7 products. 24 pounds without products, 35 pounds with products. Lots of hard work, and of course, a little bit of play…
You know, sometimes the last kid to be picked for the volley ball team isn’t always the worst.
And lately, a similar thing is being said about healthcare agencies at the ad industry’s top award shows. 4A’s Partner Award has pushed healthcare agencies into the spot light. We love you, healthcare agencies! (We even liked you before you became cool.)
“While not close enough to rub elbows with the Don Drapers and Peggy Olsons of the ad world, at least they’re being invited. This wasn’t always the case.
Even just in 2013, Advertising Age asked: “Are healthcare agencies and their clients the last group in the ad world not to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (arguably the Oscars of the industry)?”
But times change. And now (drum roll, please) the titular head of the industry itself — the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA or 4A’s), a 98-year old trade association has gone a step further. They’ve added a “Health & Wellness” category to their 2016 Partner Awards.
“And with this year’s Health & Wellness category we have the opportunity to honor the collaboration between agencies and organizations that promote health and wellness. Entries can include campaigns for corporate branding, education and awareness, and OTC, lifestyle, devices and pharmaceutical products.”
It’s a big market. In 2014, healthcare agencies garnered $4.3 billion in revenue up 10.3% from the year before.
Whoa.
Marylyn goes on, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and the rebounded agencies were more innovative and more diverse than ever before. In the interim many shops had changed the dynamics of their traditional deliverables, branching out into areas that emphasized collaboration.”
Essentially, healthcare agencies are the underdog.
All-told, it made for a perfect fit for the new 4As’ Partner Awards. The brainchild of the 4As’ Chief Marketing officer Alison Fahey, the Partner Awards were intended to be a reflection of the times. “We realize there are unique challenges that occur when individuals and companies with different personalities and cultures collaborate to achieve a common goal on behalf of a client,” said Fahey. “We wanted to salute those who put their egos aside for the greater good of creating meaningful work. As evidenced by the 4As Partner Awards 2015 winners, the very act of collaborating can elevate creativity to new levels. The jury did a great job of choosing the best creative collaborations in the marketing and communications industry.”
To enter the 2016 4A’s Partner Awards submit entries by Dec. 18, 2015. Winners will be revealed at the 4A’s Transformation Conference, March 22, 2016, in Miami, FL. For further details, please visit http://partnerawards.aaaa.org/
So, it’s that time of the year again… and even if you don’t love the chaos of the holiday season, there’s one thing we can all agree we love: food! In honor of the upcoming holiday, here are some juicy Thanksgiving food facts to chew on.
Most of us have hobbies or activities that we love that drive us to get out of bed every morning (other than a steamy cup of coffee). For some of us, it’s reading, others, it’s skiing… exercise, playing an instrument, cars… the list goes on. For others, it’s travel, and for those of us that appreciate that finer things in life, a membership to a luxury hotel collection with travel perks is just the ticket.
Comprised of more than 400 hotels in 80 countries, The Leading Hotels is one of the largest luxury hotel collections in the world.
We weekly prepare and distribute nearly 2,000 member kits for new or renewing The Leading Hotels of the World members.
Woah.
The new and renewing members have an taste for elegance, which is why we work hard to make sure that each member receives white-glove service in the form of a hand-crafted welcome kit. Let us show you…
Structural Graphics prints in volume and stores in inventory all common components, seen above:
The images speak for themselves. The details – each component, accompanied by variable data and images – are truly what make this kit so special.
“Structural Graphics has been a vital partner to the operations of our Loyalty Program in the wake of extreme membership growth. The onboarding process was thorough and we felt a strong commitment from the team to making the transition seamless and undisrupted from the get go. The team went above and beyond to satisfy our highly-personalized requirements with innovative ideas that saved us time and money in the end. One of which consisted of recreating an entire image library, assigning a unique image to each of our 400 hotels, which was formerly managed in-house. Because of their unique approach, we were able to start phasing operations earlier than scheduled. Over the last year we’ve experienced nothing but unwavering dedication to our partnership. The team I work with is highly-engaged and responsive; they even hosted me on a site visit to their fulfillment facility in Mexico and at their office in Essex, CT. Bringing on Structural Graphics as our fulfillment partner has been a fruitful business decision, I do not fear that they will not be equipped with the skills and knowledge to accommodate our changing business needs. I look forward to many rewarding years of partnership.”
– Julie Oleskiewicz, Senior Manager, Loyalty Marketing at The Leading Hotels of the World
We’re blushing! Hey Julie, we really like you, too.
Most of us are lucky enough to know the rush of excitement we get from opening a package. First, there’s the element of surprise. But then there’s also that smell of new packaging (you know what I’m talking about), and the *swoosh* sound the box makes when you lift off the lid. Ahhh.
A light blue box wrapped with a pink ribbon.
This is not a coincidence. Paper quality has been proven to have a significant effect on consumer response. Companies, such as Apple, put as much effort into their packaging as they do into their products. More than 50% of the human brain is devoted to processing sensory experiences. Touch, in particular, impacts how we make sense of the world. Therefore, how things feel influences our thoughts and behaviors, our comprehension and retention of information, and our emotional connections.
collection of hand holding paper isolated on white background
We were lucky enough to attend this year’s UCDA Conference in Orlando, Florida. There were some extraordinary speakers, including Daniel Dejan, a widely respected, award-winning graphic designer, art/creative director, production manager and print buyer. His topic was “Haptic Brain, Haptic Brand”, which focused on communications through the lens of neuroscience.
Haptic Brain, Haptic Brand
‘Haptic Brain, Haptic Brand looks at communications through the lens of neuroscience, exploring how media shapes the brain and consequently the way a brand is perceived. This book examines haptics — the study of how what we touch shapes what we feel — and explores the science behind why our haptic brains respond so well to haptic brands. Case studies from three of the world’s best-known brands (Apple, BMW and World Wildlife Fund) highlight the communicative power of touch in action.
“Paper matters for brands that matter. The collective power of this research, along with Dr. Eagleman’s expert insights, show why marketing professionals and the publishers of high-end magazines and books continue to rely on paper as a key ingredient of the brand experience. They recognize, as we do, that consumers are wired to interact with paper like no other medium.”
–Jennifer Miller, EVP of Coated Business and Chief Sustainability Officer, Sappi Fine Paper North America.’
[Source – where you can also request a copy for yourself!]
Here are some main points from each of the three case studies presented in ‘Haptic Brain/Haptic Brand”:
Case Study #1 – Apple
Apple’s entire brand has a serene simplicity and elegance about it. As mentioned in ‘The Communicator’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Touch”, “Critics say Apple’s iPhone seems more like a stone you might find in a stream than a device, similarly, the package it comes in defies traditional notions of what a box can be”.
They also pull a quote from The Gaurdian that makes so much sense, “Apple pays as much attention to its packaging as it does to its products… getting it just right as [an] obsession.”
It’s clear that a brand such as Apple has to be doing something right, and we have a hunch that creating that beautiful experience has something to do with it.
Case Study #2 – BMW
BMW wanted something special for fans if its M6 Coupe, so they had a professional driver take an aggressive, 560 horsepower car and do donuts on paper taped to the road, spraying ink onto the cars rear tires. They used that paper with the tire marks for their upcoming direct mail campaign.
Manuel Sattig, Manager, Brand Strategy & Communication, said “We said, ‘there’s no way to capture the M performance on paper.’ And then we did it.”
Case Study #3 – World Wildlife Fund
In order to make world’s species and places more tangible, World Wildlife Fund created World Wildlife. This magazine includes thoughtful design, first-class printing, and fine paper to bring images to life. This provides a physical touch point to inspire readers to preserve the planet.
Needless to say, the best communicators incorporate touch into their brand experience. How are you adding that extra special touch to your brand? To get some ideas, take a look at our packaging options here.
At Structural Graphics, we are well known for creating highly visually appealing, dimensional masterpieces out of paper. One of our most popular requests are dimensional houses and buildings, which can be great for making an announcement of a new location (restaurant, business, school, etc.), announcing a renovation, creating a cozy holiday scene – the possibilities are endless!
Santa Snack Station
Boston Group, Captivate Network, Fully Dimensional SkyscraperChoice Hotel, Fully DimensionalWoolsey HallProSource Popup PageFisher Communications, Pop Up Building
It’s no secret that when it comes to design and style with some extra POP, Structural Graphics takes the cake (or, in this case, the pizza). Some extra validation never hurt anyone, which is why we are so thankful to have been named winners of the Fibermark’s 21st Annual Specifier Best of Show Gold Award for our Bacardi Limited Dewar’s Influencer Kit.
The awards didn’t stop there, either! We were also recognized for excellent for our Samsung GS3 Mini Small Book Launch Kit, Samsung GS5 Gold VIP Launch Kit, Samsung Gear Fit VIP Launch Kit (see these at TheBoxSmiths.com). A special shout out goes to TracyLocke, the agency who we collaborated with on all of the Samsung projects.
Samsung GS3 Mini Small Book Launch KitSamsung Gear Fit VIP Launch KitSamsung GS5 Gold VIP Launch Kit
And… also, we are very thankful for the pizza party brought to us by the Fibermark team themselves, yum!
Pizza party!
This is the second award that our Dewar’s Influencer Kit has won this year, also winning a GDUSA American Package Design Award earlier this year.
Structural Graphics design team with awards
So often, the response to Structural Graphics is “Oh, the people who do all the pop-up stuff?”
We live and breathe “pop-up stuff”, we practically invented it! Many people are surprised to hear that we are doing way more than that, and getting recognition for it, too.
So, whether you need some pop-up stuff or packaging, you can call on Structural Graphics – anything paper is possible!
Looking for packaging that’s a little more luxurious? Visit The BoxSmiths for luxury packaging that performs.
Most likely, you’ve heard our spiel (and if you haven’t, you’re in luck): “Structural Graphics is the pioneer of the dimensional print marketing industry.”
“Okay,” you might be thinking, “that’s great. But who decided to take a pop-up and turn it into an ad?” Which is a reasonable question — it’s a pretty genius idea. Although it has been said that digital is taking over the marketing space, it’s undeniable that our work really POPS, gets attention and drives to digital.
Believe it or not, Structural Graphics did not start with an advertisement. It all started with a fascination of pop-up books and paper that led us to engineer a new medium for the world of advertising.
Paper house in pop-up book
When asked about how the company got started, Ethan Goller, president of Structural Graphics, had this to say:
“Structural Graphics was the first company ever to introduce interactive print collateral for advertising and marketing on a commercial scale, and so can claim having “invented” the medium for use in that space.” he says.
“I’m often asked, ‘how did it all get started?’ Company founder, Chris Crowell, had a background in the graphic arts and advertising. He also had a passion for movable (“pop-up”) books, and the notion struck him:
‘If you could take the interactivity, engagement and whimsy of a pop-up book and apply it to advertising, it would perform better than traditional (“flat”) print collateral.’
That was in 1976! And as we prepare to celebrate our 40th anniversary next year, stronger than ever in a business that has transformed dramatically to be relevant in a digital environment, we are proud to boast about our place in advertising history.”
Ethan sums it up perfectly. Times change. So does Structural Graphics. That’s why we were thrilled when Google came to us to produce a popup book for their new app, Google Photos. We can incorporate technology in print — videos, sound, web keys, NFC, you name it, or take it all the way back to our roots with our love for pop-up books.
