Direct Marketing Campaign: Manufacturing Company

Client: A major manufacturing company in the North West producing "outdoor" products.

Their Aim: To change the method of print usage from bulk buying to short run variable data print, to increase the response rate to direct mailings, which averaged 6%.

Supplier profile:

     On demand printer

     Capable of handling complex personalising copy from PC databases.

     Maintenance of quality in each job, paramount.

     Able to distribute finished leaflets to various destinations nationwide.

Blackburns Service

Our client used to order 1000's of leaflets to be printed conventionally and distributed to existing and new customers, with an average of a 6% response rate.

Since the introduction of digital print, each leaflet can now be personalised with the clients' name, improving targeting.  This method has increased the response rate to 27%, whilst a decrease in the quantities required has reduced costs and stock wastage.

Blackburns often receive work by ISDN in the morning and distribute overnight on the same day.  This way, the customer can make last minute changes with the confidence that their job will still arrive on time.

Company Branding Re-launch:  Travel Company

Client: A major nationwide high street travel company, with over 300 branches.

Their Aim: Re-branding of the company and complete modernisation of all branches, requiring a printer to co-ordinate print supply with branch facia modernisation rollout.

Supplier profile:

     Able to ensure complete confidentiality.

     Able to provide all business and continuous stationery, (letterheads, business cards, compliment slips and invoices), in-house.

     Able to provide branded products (travel document wallets, luggage tags, holiday information), in-house.

      Facilities for promotional material (mouse mats, labels, branch calendars, leaflets and posters) in variable quantities.

     Able to organise timely provision of all branch products, one day after modernisation.

Blackburns Service

Our client is a current user of our print management service, therefore historical information of branch usage of many print products was readily available from stock records, enabling us to determine future requirements by branch, and organise necessary production of all standard items.

For "new" printed material, orders were placed by the head office, and all delivery dates specified according to individual branch requirements.

The full branch roll out programme, details of which were changing almost daily were communicated via head office to our internal account manager and this determined internal production scheduling.  The five week programme was closely co-ordinated resulting in a very successful re-branding.

Ongoing supplies will be managed through the print management service as before, but with improvements such as on-line order placement and e-mail communication and with the service monitored against agreed service levels.

New Product Launch: Carpet Manufacturing Company

Client: A leading manufacturing company in the North West designing and producing carpets for organisations all over the world.

Background:            The company had developed an internet programme available to selected designers to revolutionise the carpet purchasing industry, allowing designers to select carpet types, re-colour, mix & match, produce and request samples and view a full carpet in a range of rooms.

Their Aim: To generate maximum interest in the product a modern, complex, product launch folder, containing personalised Mouse Mats and Coasters was selected as the chosen promotional launch pack.

Supplier Profile:

     On demand printer

     Production of high quality, personalised mouse mats and coasters.

     Maintain print quality and colour consistency between all jobs.

     Facility for complex die-cutting and finishing for folder.

Blackburns Service

During the design stage of the product launch folder, Blackburns account handlers worked closely with the designer to advise best method of the design in terms of production limitations and budgets.

The Digital department then had one week to complete the folders from start to finish, a process which included printing, lamination, spot varnishing, die cutting, finishing (inserting mouse mats and coasters), checking (to ensure names on the folders corresponded with personalised names on the mouse mats and coasters).

Blackburns attention to detail and quality checking procedures at every stage of the production process ensured that the job was received on time and in a perfect condition.