Who knew I’d be visiting Cushing’s River North office several weeks later to interview for an open marketing manager position?

There were many reasons I was interested in the role. Foremost was the opportunity to collaborate with a diligent and exceptionally close-knit team.  Secondly, this print and digital communications leader works with a bevy of innovative organizations.

One of these groundbreaking companies received high praise in the latest edition of Crain’s.

BucketFeet is on a mission is to find different artists to design every shoe they produce and their co-founder was recognized as a Focus 20 In Their 20′s. We’ve had the opportunity to assist this innovator with trade show graphics and postcards – just to rattle off a couple of projects.

We had to post a little shout out and congratulations!

Wonder which Cushing client will show up in the pages of Crain’s next?  

• 20 years ago you would never have had a color inkjet printer at home.  The idea that you could print in color off your laptop or print 4” x 6” photos from a phone or desktop was inconceivable.
• 15 years ago the cost of a large format (36” wide output) digital printer started at six figures — monochrome was essentially the only option.  Full color wide format printers were completely out of the reach for an average office.

Canon iPF 710 Large Format Scanner, Printer

Today anyone who wants a color inkjet printer for home use can choose from a variety of models with all the bells and whistles.  AND if you want a large format color scanner/printer in your office, some of the best names in the imaging industry are looking for your business!

Last week, three Cushing staff members spent a full day in training on the Canon series of full featured Large Format Printers. You would expect that technology to be great – from one of the leaders in the industry – but there more new features:

• Poster Artist software can be used directly with Canon hardware – this enables the user to design promotional pieces, banners, and posters with print-ready templates.  If desired, all you need to add is appropriate data and graphics.
• Canon’s improved nozzle design has 15,360 addressable nozzles! (competitors have 5,000).  This means that in addition to being able to change ink “on the fly” without stopping a project, if there is an obstruction in a nozzle the software will automatically reassign others to replace them, preventing skips in graphic output.
• Built in tracking software will record the amount of material and ink used on your equipment from day one, enabling you to project your supply requirements and evaluate the overhead on the printer.

Of course, we want to manage your Large Format printing needs in our full service shop, but we know there are times when a quick print is all you need. However, if you need a large format printer for a project, satellite office or just for the convenience, we want to be the partner who supplies that for you.  We have print for pay programs, machines for outright purchase or equipment that can be leased for the life of your project.

Give us a ring and we will be happy to answer your questions!

All we need to do is show up at our table and client orders tumble in, right? Oops, must have been daydreaming again.

Actually, we are organizing materials, coordinating details and strategizing the best way to draw potential clients to our table.  And you know what?

There is a lot of to think about!

After sharpening our pencils (yes, we still use pencils at Cushing) here’s a short a list tips we hope come in handy for your next appearance.

• Promotional Direct Mail Obtain a mailing list of attendees (sometimes there is a fee) and invest in a mailer. Offer an incentive to visit your booth or add a cross-media element (such as a QR code or PURL) with a short survey to see if they are potentially seeking your product or service.

• Put Aside Business Cards for the Show After forgetting these for a show several years ago, I started packing up specific show cards, labeling the box and placing them in an obvious spot in the office. It’s also better than shoving a bunch of business cards in your pocket at the last minute, so they don’t get bent, folded etc.

• Bring a Fishbowl and Raffle a Prize Make it easy and let attendees drop in their business card to be eligible. Pull the winner during the show. No one likes feeling as if they were tricked into dropping in a card.

• Bring Graphics to Enhance your Space Almost goes without saying but there is always a sparse booth or table with a laptop and nothing else.  You are there to promote your brand and encourage foot traffic among potentially hundreds of exhibitors – you don’t need to be a peacock but catch their eye!  This could be table tents, banner stands or a branded tablecloth. Don’t have these? Cushing can assist.

• Don’t rely on WIFI Chances are, complimentary WIFI is offered at the venue but often, coverage can be sporadic with so many people accessing it.  If you need internet access for presentation purposes, it probably makes sense to pay the additional fee.

• Bring Name Tags Yes, I have forgotten these.  Not everyone will look at them but it helps when a prospect doesn’t catch your name (and may be shy and doesn’t want to ask again after an introduction.)

• Bring Rack Cards, Brochures or Sales Material Conversations are great to collect information and sell a prospect on what you do.  Information is essential.  Give them something to remember you.  Don’t have these either? We can assist.

• Share Tweet and post to your Facebook wall while at the event.  No matter if it is industry trends, new products and services or interesting connections you have made, share the info!

• A ‘Post Trade’ Show Blog Summarize your experience with a blog after the conference or show, summing up top items you experienced and learned.

• Checklist Organize all these items and mark them off as they are ready to go!

What are some of your trade show tips? Share them in the comment box.

If you have an upcoming seminar, conference or trade show graphics you need assistance with, give us a call or request a quote.

In a self-fulfilling prophecy, neither of them was ever able to experience that kind of loyalty and devotion that I have seen in our Staff members over the years.  It was an in-law family member who hired and embraced Carl Hansen over twenty years ago, and he became a key member of our company, management team, and ultimately our family.

Beginning in sales, and moving through production management, budget responsibility, and human resources allocation, Carl became woven into the fabric of Cushing. Armed with a High School education, a love of reading and an unquenchable curiosity, he began working at a variety of jobs while still young.  He honed his personal skills with an eye on being a successful business partner, selling everything from irrigation services to insurance until discovering his niche in the engineering printing industry.

And that is how we met – he targeted Cushing as a potential customer and we targeted him as a potential team member.

In many ways, we all “grew up” together.  The industry changed, technology changed, our company demographics changed, and on a personal level we began raising our own families.  We celebrated birthdays, contracts and successful years.  Eventually Carl became the first non-family General Manager of Cushing and ultimately Vice President of Operations.

As we turned the corner coming out of the recession of 2008-2009, it was Carl who crafted our “new” budgets, committed to increasing our Web presence and expanding digital press print on demand services. Carl always said he was in for the long haul, working on seeing the reinvented world in which Cushing would thrive.  And he was right – that new model is rising in front of us as we marry traditional services with investment in high quality collateral print products in all formats.

But Carl couldn’t stick around to see it with us.  It seemed implausible when he confided in the late fall that he was suffering from an inoperable cancer and would have to take some time to “deal with it.”  Even more impossibly, the cancer took him sooner than anyone could believe. To the end he was comforting those who were with him – his wife, sons, family, and friends – by insisting that he had enjoyed a wonderful life filled with love.

Our sadness at his loss is still too raw, but I wanted to post a tribute to him.  He was more than an “insider” – he was part of the heart and soul of our company.

And our lives and history are that much richer for having known him and had him in our family.

Our workshop was devoted to Emotional Intelligence, and was put on by female members of the Chicago Family Business Council at DePaul, an organization that I am proud to have been a part of for over fifteen years.  The Family Business Council exists to support the leaders of family owned and closely held businesses in the Chicagoland area through regular forum peer group meetings and investigation of emotional intelligence and best business practice based on shared experience.  Using the tools we practice in our forum meetings, we met the women in the program in small groups, practiced some very fundamental listening and communication skills, and got to know one another a little better.  It was fun, educational, and ultimately empowering because no matter what our roles are in the day to day world, for that short time we focused just on our own ability to listen and hear “behind” the words — a skill that can subtley change the way we interact at home, work and with family.

It was great to step back for a couple hours, and change gears with other people who are also struggling to “right themselves” coming out of the recession, and network a little with people outside our normal boundaries.  Everything that makes you more capable gives you a better toolbox to meet the world head on, and as spring slowly creeps into the city it feels good to marshall our energy to make headway!

Incidentally, if you or someone you know might be interested in the Chicago Family Business Council, please follow the link above for more information or feel free to contact me directly.  I can say without hesitation that without that support I wouldn’t be the business person I am today!

Toys to Avoid Noise

Smartphones, handheld devices, library books (OK, we threw in that last one to see if you were paying attention), in today’s frenzied non-stop world, people have myriad options to choose the content they want to consume.  As a result, most folks block out advertising & marketing messages pretty easily; usually with the touch of a button.

How do you reach folks with their heads in the iCloud’s?

Direct Mail Marketing, of course!  It’s time take a closer look at the direct mail piece with a modern twist.

What if you received an eye-popping direct mail piece relevant to your interests, business needs and an exciting call-to-action?

Let’s take this a step further.

What if this beautifully designed marketing piece was customized with a personalized url (PURL) that included your name?  For example, trackmymarketing.johnorjaneqpublic.com.

Chances are you would notice, open a web browser and visit your PURL (Look at that; it’s all about you!)

Depending on your industry target, direct mail marketing that incorporates a PURL can potentially generate response rates from 13.88% to 29.8%!

Compare this to an industry average of 1.3% (traditional direct mail minus a PURL.) 

Personalizing the messaging for a prospect (or current customer!) is almost guaranteed to trigger more than a quick glance of your marketing collateral.

Once online, here are just some ideas to engage them:

• Ask them to take a survey about a new product you are offering
• Create a link to an exclusive video about your company
• Request they join your email list in exchange for an exclusive industry report (that you developed.)
  
  Don’t forget to track engagement!         

Have some fun and ask yourself a few of questions:

• Have you ever personalized a marketing message?

• When was the last time you engaged your prospect with a valuable call-to-action?

• If you have used traditional direct mailers (with traditional results), what are you losing by trying an out-of-the-box campaign?

Cross-media, multi-touch marketing; no matter the buzzword, engaging your prospect with personalized messaging essentially guarantees an increased response rate.

Connect with Cushing and let’s customize a marketing campaign to generate results!

We’d love to hear about your experiences with cross media. Have you tried a campaign in the past? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Jon Davis
Marketing Manager, Cushing

Last year, we had privilege of assisting Whimsical Candy launch several elements of their storefront, including floor, wall graphics and signage.  To our delight, their retail shop was recently profiled on 190 North, a local television program.

Check out the Whimsical Candy’s video on North190.  Don’t forget to look for services Cushing provided  at: 36, 1:06 and 1:20.

We can’t guarantee your mouth won’t start watering when you see some of the tasty treats available at Whimsical Candy!

In this spirit, our development team created our Web Upload application which provides you with a quick and easy way to submit digital files to our shop.  Since its release in June of 2009, we have received over 20,000 uploads and we thank you for making it such a hit.  It’s certainly helped our production department to fulfill these orders in a timely manner.  In the meantime, we’ve continued to think about how we can improve job requests when it comes to more complex color work.  From color management to media and finishing options, getting color presentations right brings a whole new level of challenges and the opportunities can seem daunting.  Rather than relying strictly on phone calls and emails to facilitate these orders, we felt there should be an easy-to-navigate, and always available, web interface to walk you through the ordering process for many of these products.  After getting great feedback from many of you, we’ve now introduced our new Color Order Wizard.

Not the most creatively inspired name, I’m afraid, but what it lacks in moniker, it gains in simplicity.  From Inkjet Poster printing to Banners and Fine Art work, this new web interface walks you through each of these product’s available options, while often providing quick descriptions of how choices can enhance your work.

Do you have more than one product to order?  No problem.  Simply walk your way through each product type individually and build multiple orders in one session.  Once orders have been submitted, the production department not only receives a confirmation email alerting them to the request, but also has the complete order digitally delivered to their Cushing Order System for fulfillment and delivery.  We believe this will go a long way toward meeting your expectations for reliability and timeliness.

So go ahead and give it a test drive.  You can reach our Color Order Wizard by clicking on “Place an Order” on our homepage, or learn more about it at:

http://www.cushingco.com/workflow_onsite_solutions/color_order_wizard.shtml

I look forward to hearing your suggestions on how we may improve this utility; or, indeed, any other ideas you have on how we can make your experience working with Cushing a rewarding one.  Keep your visions coming …

David Parkes
Director of Information Technology

Have you tried placing an order with Cushing’s new Color Order Wizard?
Tell us about your experience in the comments area!

Developers of this building wanted people to know the plans for the currently empty space and choseinstallation project to comminicate that.

Another installation shows the use of window graphics to advertise, and provide a privacy barrier for guests at the restaurant.  In this instance, the graphics are installed on both the door and sidelight windows.

Just another solution set driven by our customers.  Let us know if you would like to liven up your empty windows.

Two of those concepts that I have been intrigued by for the past couple years are memjet printing (blazingly fast digital imaging that leaves traditional toner based printing in the dust) and digital papers (think Harry Potter’s newspaper).  It is probably a good thing for my old brain that these things are years in development because it takes me about that long to understand what the ramifications of these new technologies mean for the imaging industry.

We’ll leave memjet alone for now – it has actually hit the ground in North America and is being engineered to compete with the currently available competitors and will no doubt be adopted by established manufacturers.  Maybe food for thought later . . .

But the digital paper offerings are getting more interesting by the month.  The video from Paper Tab, released in conjunction with CES, shows how the user can interface with the paper thin “tablet” by flexing the sheet rather than tapping or swiping – very intuitive!  This particular demonstration involves research by Intel, Plastic Logic, and Queens University.  I confess that I can’t really imagine many real world application — especially for the “multi-sheet” applications in the demonstration — but I know that there will be.  And it seems to me more user friendly as an eReader than as a method for inputting information — but if the user could use a speech to text tool maybe that would be an option.

More things to come every year, but this is just another example of other ways to convey information in print without paper.  Wonder what the grandkids will think when we tug out our printed book treasures?