Creating Digital Counterparts to Your Print Marketing

The digital edition of IMARK Now provides reading convenience and direct access to advertiser websites.

Giving your print marketing materials new life online can enhance your marketing ROI and help build your company’s Internet presence in an ever expanding digital world.

Beyond your typical PDF document, new software gives you the ability to transform your print newsletter, catalog or magazine into interactive digital marketing tool. The latest digital programs allow you to create a publication that mirrors a print version allowing you to turn pages and view information as you would normally in print.

CMA has worked with a number of clients on digitizing their print publications in order to help them increase their reach in the marketplace. While these web-based tools probably won’t completely replace your printed materials, they offer several benefits that should not be discounted.

Cost-effective. Increase your company’s reach and online presence without having to incur the high costs of printing and postage.

Interactive. Taking it to the next level, digital publications are often searchable by key word and provide the ability to link to more information. Connecting content in your company’s brochure to information posted on your website gives your brochure more legs and helps to get your marketing messages across.

Environmentally friendly. More and more of your prospects are environmentally conscious preferring to view materials online rather than receiving cumbersome catalogs or other materials in the mail. Giving recipients the choice lets you save green by being green.

Results focused. The ROI on print publications, or even on traditional PDF versions, can be difficult to track. Web-based publications have built in analytic tools that let you know who viewed what when and how often.

In today’s marketplace, print and digital aren’t mutually exclusive. Maximize your marketing success by integrating both into your marketing mix.

Jeff Barnhart
President and CEO
jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com

CMA Takes Home 10 ASTRA Awards for Marketing, Advertising, PR and Web Communications

Steven L. Lubetkin Photo/Copyright ©2010. Used by Permission.

From left to right, CMA Director of Marketing Services, Erin Higgins, President and CEO, Jeff Barnhart and PR Manager, Kaitlin Friedmann celebrated 10 ASTRA wins at the annual awards ceremony.

CMA recently won 10 awards in 10 different categories at the 2010 New Jersey Communications, Advertising and Marketing Association’s (NJ CAMA) ASTRA Awards ceremony!

CMA received 10 awards for entries in marketing and public relations categories, showcasing the depth of the firm’s creative capabilities and marketing expertise. The judges honored the firm for its advocacy and public affairs work, creation of a comprehensive sales kit, multi-media business to business campaign and corporate logo as well as for the development and execution of a digital marketing and public relations campaign and this blog, CMA Central.

“Our staff continues to work together to create marketing pieces that truly communicate our clients’ messages and position them as leaders in their targeted market,” said Jeffrey Barnhart, President and CEO of CMA. “We are truly grateful to have received these awards and look forward to raising the bar next year.”

For 23 years, clients have relied on CMA for comprehensive strategic programs, high-impact creative communications and time-tested management solutions. The company’s innovative planning process, Marketecture, helps a variety of for-profit and non-profit organizations navigate industry trends and market forces to ensure continued success. For more information, visit www.cmasolutions.com

Marketing Throwdown: Print vs. Digital Newsletters

Many business owners might agree with me that an external newsletter is an effective marketing tool for driving deeper brand recognition and awareness of a company’s expertise, verve for customer care and knowledge of industry trends.

However, if your company produces a printed newsletter, there may currently be an internal debate about switching to an electronic alternative. Digital communication is hands-down the timelier format for news, updates and announcements. It’s about access, speed and convenience. But it’s also about brevity—concise, cut-to-the-chase content—and the savings on printing and postage are obvious.

On the other hand, a printed newsletter provides opportunities for insight and depth—trend analysis, idea pieces and thought leader articles, which are great tools for building brand admiration and credibility. Your company’s e-newsletter hits your recipient’s in-box accompanied by a jumble of spam, other commercial email and inter-office exchanges—a volatile communications environment ruled by a trigger-happy Delete key. What’s more, due to the inherent immediacy of the medium, digital communications do not age well. A high-quality printed piece may sit on a person’s desk to be read or referred to over time, serving as a constant ambassador for your business.

An e-newsletter has true functional advantages over print. The digital ability to instantly link to your company’s website, as well as related information sites or articles of interest can enrich the reader’s experience and regard for your company and its communications.

What’s important to ask yourself is, why not both? A monthly or bi-monthly e-newsletter covering news, promotional programs or new products and services can dovetail effectively with a quarterly printed publication focused on trend analysis and think pieces which position your company as an industry expert by mining and sharing your company’s knowledge and know-how.

Whether it be print or electronic, give CMA a call and we can develop communications that elevate your company’s brand, products and services and position your business as an authority figure throughout your targeted market, ultimately helping to create new opportunities.

Jeffrey Barnhart
President and CEO
jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com