Monday, December 31, 2018

2018—That’s a Wrap

Before jumping into 2019, we want to take a look back at what we are proud to have accomplished together during the last year.


crafting your storyCrafting your story

Guided clients through 405 hours of strategic planning, developing brands and setting projects up for success.

Curated 1,700 news stories for use online.

Facilitated the sending of 3,686 email campaigns with a 32.3% average read rate—well above industry averages.


print is alivePrint is far from dead

Assembled 1,133 newsletter and magazine pages in 135 different publications.

Printed 499,093 marketing pieces. Of those, we mailed 407,655 pieces to over 100 curated mail lists. This includes direct mail, newsletters, magazines and more.


in this digital worldIn this digital world

Planned, designed, wrote, developed and launched eight responsive websites that look great on every device.

Enabled clients to send 1,116,490 text messages communicating necessary operational information.

Managed successful digital marketing campaigns with per month spend ranging from $1,000 to $40,000+.


the gold standardThe gold standard

Took home 3 awards—one National Agri-Marketing Association Merit Award on both the regional and national level, and two from the Cooperative Communicators Association.

Attended 12 skills-building workshops and conferences to keep our knowledge and techniques at the forefront of the marketing industry.


we love what we doWe love what we do

Most importantly, we partnered with 138 clients to take their marketing to the next level. We couldn’t feel more blessed to work with so many outstanding, forward-thinking companies!

Thanks for making 2018 terrific! If you want to take your marketing to the next level in 2019, schedule a conversation with David or Laurie at 844-453-9261. They, along with our top-notch team, will help you develop a strategy and integrate your marketing channels to generate more traffic, leads and sales in the new year.

Source Here: 2018—That’s a Wrap

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Print Is Dead! Long Live Print!

For the past several years, I have been anxiously awaiting the official demise of print. After all, it’s been widely predicted. So, because I have worked in the print medium most of my adult life, you can see why I might be concerned.

Oddly enough, I keep getting a lot of print items in my mailbox. We’re still creating plenty of newsletters here at VistaComm and our portfolio of magazine clients has grown. At the same time, our digital business—the purported angel of death for print—is also rapidly expanding. What was I missing here?

Although the demise of print has been predicted, print newsletters remain a viable marketing tool.The answer came to me in the strangest of ways—in the midst of assembling one of those out-of-the-box pieces of furniture. Any good kit has all the parts, instructions and a list of the tools you should have. This particular set required a drill, a hammer and a screwdriver. Now, suppose I had looked at those instructions and said, “This is nice, but I don’t need the drill or the screwdriver. I have a hammer!” No.

The point is, I need all those tools for a successful outcome—and all the promised parts, too. The same holds true when creating a cohesive, effective communications program. Every tool—print newsletters, direct mail, social media, websites, email—have their place. Each has a specific use that, when combined properly, produce the desired result.

Where does print fit?

Have you ever wondered why you get all those newsletters and promotional mailings every day? Simple. They are effective, or no one would use them, especially in this digital age. As part of an integrated marketing campaign, print has certain qualities that other media can’t match.

VistaComms' Direct Mail Piece

To over simplify, advertising wins in creating awareness. Digital delivers immediacy. The strengths of print are touch, time and impact. Only print engages the sense of touch—it requires the recipient to literally handle it. And, studies have revealed that ink on paper make a deeper impression on our brain than the same message in digital form*.

As to time, people spend an average of 11.1 seconds considering an email. They will spend as much as 30 minutes on print pieces that capture their attention. It’s true that overall print usage has declined with the advent of digital communication. That is a point in favor of print. Marketing experts have noted that print may now be the “non-traditional” component of an integrated marketing effort, thus increasing the comparative impact of print pieces.

The lure of long-form

When acknowledging the ongoing value of print, it’s also useful to understand that not all print vehicles are created equal. Direct mail, for example, is a highly-effective cross between advertising and email, generating awareness and calling for a response. Targeted direct mail boasts a 4.4% response rate, compared to email’s rate of 0.12%. And four-fifths (79%) of consumers will act on direct mail immediately compared to only 45% who say they deal with email right away. (MarketingTech.com, July 2016)

Newsletters and magazines occupy a unique, and different, place. Because they have the capability of telling a more complex story and providing more detailed explanations of products or programs, these examples of long-form writing tend to engage the reader at a different level. The more time someone spends with your marketing tools, the more likely they are to buy from you or refer business to you. Newsletters and magazines have a power to build relationships with customers and prospects that complement and provide credibility for digital communication.One reason the demise of print hasn't occurred is the great shelf life of print pieces.

Print also comes with an almost unlimited shelf life. As marketers, we do desire an immediate response to our communications. But what if the recipient isn’t ready to buy—may not even be in the market for what you’re selling. Your customers buy when the time is right for them, not when you would prefer to sell. An interesting publication can wait patiently for months until the recipient has time to read it—or when they unexpectedly have a need for your product or service.

At VistaComm, we regularly receive calls from prospects who received our publication, filed away our information—either mentally or literally—and gave us a call when they were ready to move in a new direction.

The bottom line? Print is far from dead. An integrated marketing strategy utilizes both digital and print appropriately to engage, inform and retain customers while moving them toward purchase decisions. VistaComm can help you master both the online and offline worlds to increase your marketing power. Contact us today to discuss our approach.

*Center for Experimental Consumer Psychology, Bangor University, Wales, 2009.

Source Here: Print Is Dead! Long Live Print!