Are you looking for a promotional marketing medium that breaks through the clutter of today’s competitive market place, is hard to ignore or throw away, is viewed by the public as a “product” not an advertisement, and costs just pennies? It may sound too good to be true, but the fact is promotion stickers are working in a sticker marketing capacity for an increasing number of companies looking for creative, cost-effective ways to reach customers and prospects.
Do you attend trade shows? Do you sponsor events? Do you use direct mail? Do you have sales reps? If you are in business to make money you should not ignore the power and incredible value of sticker marketing. “Stickers” aren’t just for kids anymore – marketing stickers are powerful sales tools that need to be a part of your marketing program.
This sticker marketing report was written to help you maximize the effectiveness of your promotion stickers. These are important considerations and tips when working on the design, printing, and distribution of any promotional sticker.
Although any sticker with your name or logo on it is “promotional” to a degree, the focus of this report is to step beyond custom stickers which are used simply for labeling and signage. The proven sticker marketing uses we will be discussing are as powerful handouts at trade shows and special events, mailing pieces, gifts or incentives, etc.
You need to disregard any preconceived notions of “stickers” and begin to consider them as a potentially powerful marketing medium and a distribution vehicle for information and brand building.
By linking these two sticker marketing functions you can instantly see the cost advantages and effectiveness of promotional stickers. You have information that you want to put and keep in prospects and customers hands. If you want to build your database, perhaps, print a survey, entry form, or subscription card. If you want to mail announcements, news, and advertising, the back of your promotional sticker is a format that won’t be ignored and costs little to mail. By using well designed promotional stickers in a sticker marketing campaign you can easily accomplish these goals and more.
There are two separate design objectives your promotional stickers need to address. Both involve grabbing the attention of your prospects:
The design of your sticker must work in both of these capacities. The sticker design must be eye-catching from two feet away while still on it’s backing paper as well as eye-catching (and legible) from a longer distance.
Effective sticker marketing with promotional stickers must be very simple in design. It needs to convey an impression quickly, clearly, and often from a distance. Advertising and further information belongs on the back of the sticker or in other marketing mediums.
The answers to these sticker marketing questions are essential in determining the most effective choices for sticker color, copy, size, shape, and graphics. It is also important to remember that the backcopy can be changed to fit any number of purposes. It is important to examine these purposes when designing the front of the sticker so as not to eliminate possible uses. For example, if you produce a large bumper sticker you no longer have the option of using it as a sticker postcard, sticker hang tag, or sticker business card.
Tip: We have found the strongest promotional stickers are usually less than 16 square inches, are printed on white vinyl, and are often die cut.
Utilizing a strong sticker design, in a versatile size, and an eye-catching shape adds to the perceived value of promotional stickers. This increases the percentage of stickers applied in visible locations, which in turn means more impressions for your organization.
Once you have strong, simple, attractive promotional stickers produced you can consider ways the sticker marketing medium can deliver additional information to your prospects and customers.
We have already discussed the importance of utilizing the space on the back of your promotional stickers. This is where many companies’ stickers fail to meet their full potential. Unfortunately this oversight is often due to some misconceptions about back copy such as:
“How can you choose the right back printing for all stickers when the sticker will be used/distributed in a number of marketing capacities?”
Tip: The important answer here is that YOU DON’T need to choose. You have flexibility when it comes to sticker back printing which helps achieve multiple objectives. Copy changes on initial print runs are very inexpensive. Or leave some blank – print back copy at a later time at a local print shop (if square cut).
Let’s say, for example, you want to print stickers with coupons on the back which you will be inserting in a publication. You may also want to hand out promotional stickers at special events with product information or a limited time offer on the back. And, you may want to leave a portion blank on the back to perhaps be printed later for another event or mailing (or used as a profitable retail item). You can easily accomplish these goals with several simple copy changes on your initial sticker printing while still leaving many options open for adding appropriate information or advertising in the future.
You don’t need to place multiple sticker orders – just pay a low copy change charge of around $55. (for each copy change) and your sticker marketing can work in various capacities.
Tip: Perhaps you don’t have anything to say, sell, or data to gather by using the back of your promotional stickers (this is hard to believe). You have another valuable option available – to sell or trade the backing paper space to another company looking to reach your target market. This can lower the cost of your stickers (even have them paid for in some cases) or open up other cooperative benefits.
For example, a company selling bicycles could let a bicycle magazine put subscription information on the back of their sticker. This could be paid for outright, traded for ad space in the publication, or perhaps the promotional stickers could be cooperatively distributed to each other’s customers. Both companies benefit.
The main point to remember is that the back of a sticker should be used in some capacity to reap the greatest sticker marketing benefits and the best value.
Consider, once again, the many possible opportunities promotional stickers present beyond arming the public with an identity building mini-billboard:
What do you currently hand out or mail out to customers and prospects? Which of these could be strengthened by being coupled with fun, eye-catching promotional stickers?
Another factor that often limits a sticker’s marketing power is simply executing the design, writing, and production of the stickers. There are a lot of “custom stickers” out there, but not many effectively designed, identity building, promotional stickers. Promotional stickers deserve the same attention to detail, design, copy, and integration in the marketing mix as any other print mediums.
This means that marketing folks, sales personnel, and designers need to be involved in sticker production. If stickers are treated like simple freebies or office products ordered by a secretary or intern, the result will be a simple freebie that does not tie in with your other marketing efforts and/or misses valuable opportunities to promote and sell.
Step One of the design process is to decide whether to work in-house, with an outside ad agency or designer, with the company from which you will be purchasing the stickers, or a combination of the above. It is best to work with someone who has designed promotional stickers before and can take your suggestions and ideas and effectively work them into a strong sticker marketing campaign.
It is important to note that in many cases when buying custom stickers you will not be working directly with the manufacturer. This is a good thing, however – The best and biggest sticker manufacturers concentrate on printing quality stickers and leave the sticker designing and selling to other professionals. If you are working directly with the manufacturer, keep in mind they may have limited production options and their focus is mainly on selling a commodity product, not on what may be best for your brand and marketing.
What this means to you is that you need to find out who you are working with and make sure they have your marketing interests in mind. Many catalogs and promotional product suppliers are just that, suppliers and ordering houses. They may not have an interest or enough background to help you create the strongest possible sticker marketing piece for the best possible price.
Step Two is to ask questions to help find a company that can create and manufacture your promotional stickers
Step Three when obtaining information and pricing on promotional stickers is to be sure to ask about:
Tip: If your marketing stickers are being designed in-house or by an agency there should be close contact with the company you have chosen to handle the sticker production. This will not only ensure all production requirements are properly followed but that design is evolving effectively in the sticker format.
I can not think of one business that couldn’t in some way benefit from the use of custom promotional stickers.
Here’s why:
Jeff Nicholson is the founder and Creative Director at Freely Creative, Inc. and Websticker a marketing company specializing in the design and production of promotional stickers, decals and labels. Since the writing of this report he has done extensive research and writing culminating in the publishing of the #1 marketing book about promotional stickers; Stick This! Using Promotional Stickers To Build Identity, Create Word Of Mouth and Grow Sales. A free copy of the book is available to non-profit organizations, designers and marketing professionals.
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