Coffee Stop demo – Order business printing online

Posted on July 13, 2018July 13, 2018 by Ed Entecott

For clients with multiple business locations, a remote sales force or office staff needing access to up to date documents and artwork templates, Burst Digital offers a dynamic solution that allows you to order business printing online through your own secure storefront.

With our online print ordering solution you have the ability to access, create, edit and print your latest marketing materials or documents quickly and efficiently; including everything from Business Cards to Roller Banners, Giant posters to hanging POS displays. It helps maintain brand consistency, prevents costly mistakes, and allows you to order your print materials instantly with a minimal amount of fuss.

So the next time you send 6 emails and spend over 2 hours searching for, updating and ordering a simple set of business cards remember; you could have your own branded storefront with your entire range of marketing material ready and waiting.

Access the demo site here and order business printing online> https://store.burstdigital.co.uk/demo

So what is Coffee Stop?

Coffee Stop is a fictional coffee chain we have developed to show off the benefits and functions of our online print ordering system. The demo site allows you and your colleagues to self-register and fully test the various product configurations and capabilities ahead of implementing within your own business or marketing team.

Individual store managers can log on to one central location where only the correct versions of approved materials can be ordered. This means marketing managers can sleep easy at night safe in the knowledge that their brand is safe and nobody is ordering that business card design from 1997. Store managers are happy that they can easily order items out of hours without the hassles of going back and forth with head office about a simple set of store-cards. Even the accounts team is happy because they receive an itemised list of spending each month against valid purchase order references. Finally, you shouldn’t have any issues with people ordering the wrong item or not including the correct partner logo because you can easily set up approval workflows allowing checks to be made by appointed people before orders are sent for production.

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of a coffee store using the system, we have customers in both the pharmaceutical and defence industries using this to help their organisations function better.

Inventory Products

This is the really simple stuff that doesn’t require editing/changing on a regular basis like Headed Paper or Promotional Pens. For these items you simply select the product, quantity and delivery address and we process the order. In order to achieve greater savings we can hold a stock of your items within our secure warehouse and process orders as you need them, when stock falls below a certain level we will produce more for you automatically.

Editable Products

This is where the real benefits of the system are found. There’s a few ways to handle editable products so we have given an example of each below.

1- Drop down list products

These are products that can be edited with strict limitations set by you to prevent users from ordering the wrong thing. We’ve used the example of a store card which can be ordered by individual store managers. You don’t want them to be able to change the layout, font types, sizes, colours or logo so they are simply able to select their location from a drop down menu which automatically inputs their address and contact details. If a new store is added, or contact details need amending this is done at an admin level making it impossible to order incorrect items.

2- Form fill products

Using an employee business card as an example, this time the key elements of the design are locked down, but the individual details are inputted in the required columns. This is great for items that can’t be handled with a simple drop down list but you still want to keep control of your branding and what elements can be edited.

Currently paying for artwork amends, or employing designers to carry out relatively simple tasks? This feature allows unskilled workers to make simple amendments themselves without having to use costly design software and free’s up your skilled designers to work on more beneficial projects.

As will all products on our web-to-print system, approval processes can be setup so that all designs are checked and approved prior to printing.

3 – Design online products

Using the systems built-in online editor you can design and layout a vast range of documents without having design software stored locally on your PC; meaning you edit, create and order print runs from anywhere at any time. As with the previous product types you can still lock down settings and image libraries, the real difference is the flexibility that the editor gives you.

For demonstration purposes we’ve used a pull up banner, which would usually require professional design. You can drag and drop pre-approved images, upload your own images and change the text before approving the design for print.

Once you’ve finished editing your products you simply add them to the basket and place the order. Orders can be purchased by card or using Purchase Orders that are billed to your accounts team, notifications are sent out letting you know the status of the order and confirming once it has been shipped to your chosen destination.

So, now that we’ve covered the various products types below is a sample of products/documents our customers are currently using on the system:

Business Stationery
Personalised Event Invitations
CD Artwork
Name Badges
Tabs & Dividers
Presentation Folders
Printed Envelopes
Posters
Outdoor Banners
Retail POS

Order business printing online – what are the benefits?

With such rich functionality, there are a wealth of benefits that helps organisations streamline processes, reduce costs and step-up employee productivity.

Time Saving – It is estimated that on average, a marketer or creative will spend an hour a day fielding requests or searching for files. This is valuable time that could be spent on the more important business activities that will actually make money. Additionally, these inefficiencies can be detrimental to time-sensitive projects and deadlines. Order business printing online and you could save time.

Efficiency – Web-to-print software drastically improves efficiency by keeping all valuable media files accessible. Therefore, the routine task of managing large collections of assets is taken care of. Order business printing online and you could increase efficiency.

Save Money – One of the biggest expenses relating to the production of assets is the use of a graphic designer. Brand Centurion makes it easier to edit pre-approved templates and re-purpose files. This is a much better use of resource then creating an asset from scratch. Additionally, it provides a secure storage system for all assets so organisations don’t waste money repurchasing licensed files. Order business printing online and you could save money.

Online Accessibility – Brand Centurion is web based which means there is no software to download. This means that the portal can be accessed 24/7, anywhere in the world. All you have to do is upload your pre-approved design templates and brand assets, choose who has access to the portal, and then request print runs whenever you need them.

Reduced Errors – One of the biggest headaches related to marketing and branding is employees not sticking to brand guidelines. With a brand asset management portal, this headache can be alleviated as employees will only be able to work from pre-approved templates. Order business printing online and you could reduce errors.

Ready to order business printing online?

Email Dan Patience on dan@burstdigital.co.uk or call 01293 660722.

The Changing Faces of Branding: Technology, Audience, Trends & Tastes

Posted on September 27, 2016December 19, 2016 by Ed Entecott

Branding can be hard at the best of times, especially when there are so many different elements to consider. It can also become a little overwhelming when the market is constantly changinging. With new technologies entering the market and trends starting weekly, brands are having to adapt rapidly.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at some of those changing elements that have the biggest impact on brands.

Technology

Ten years ago, digital marketing was very different. For many brands just having a social presence was enough as the market was still developing. And when it came to choosing your social channels, only a handful of popular options were available. However, there are now over 2.4 billion active users of social media around the world and this has meant brands are now having to compete more fiercely for just a few seconds of an audience’s attention.

Today’s consumers now expect to be, and are, engaged with brands on many different digital channels and touchpoints. This has made the customer journey a more involved one and with wearable tech such as the Apple Watch and Google Glass becoming more mainstream, marketers once again have to grapple with new technology. Declared as the next big thing, wearable technology can help reduce the time between intention and action.

Given how quickly the wearables market is developing, marketers need to start preparing to target consumers through this new channel. Currently 1 in 7 people in the UK own wearable technology and the trend is set to continue. As a result, consideration needs to be taken into making marketing messages more glanceable so that messages can be delivered on smaller screens with enough relevant information to encourage someone to discover more by clicking through on their smart phone.

This is just an example of things to come but the point is, technology is constantly evolving so marketers need to be constantly aware of how they are going to reach consumers through these new channels.

Audiences

Every brand has an audience but as any good marketer will tell you, audiences evolve constantly. Everyday their needs and wants will change and people today don’t have the same concerns or needs as they did say 5-10 years ago. This can make it increasingly difficult for brands to target their consumers in the same way that might have appealed to them last month.

After major events such as the 2008 recession and more recently Brexit, people are becoming more savvy with their money. There have also been wider divisions in politics, culture and taste across generations more recently. Therefore, brands need to consider the value of their products more than ever before. Not just in terms of money, but also in terms of what their brand represents.

In the past, consumers have been broken down into “lazy” segments such as ‘millennial’ or Gen Z’ but there are potentially 15 year age gaps within these segments. To get a better understanding of audiences, these segments need to broken down even further. Brands need a clearer understanding into the nuances that make each consumer an individual. By understanding their consumers beliefs, values and needs; they can effectively reach out to their audience in the most appropriate manner.

Tastes

As consumers, we are a very fickle bunch. Our likes and dislikes are constantly changing resulting in endless new products hitting our shelves to help feed our appetites.

When certain goods go out of fashion or people’s tastes and preferences no longer remain favourable to them, the demand for them decreases. The level at which a customer desires your product not only affects your demand curve, but essentially your overall success as a brand. One way to stay ahead of the curve is by altering the product or service. This ensures the demands of consumers are always met meaning they don’t have to look towards other brands to get what they want.

Apple is a brand that is very good at “reinventing” itself. They very quickly realised that to stay at the forefront of technology development, they needed to listen to their customers and adapt. With Apple bringing out a new iPhone more or less annually, they have been able to add/change/remove the elements that their customers like and dislike about their products. They have blown all competition out of the water and now you will struggle to find a household without an Apple product.

Trends

Trends come and go and it can sometimes be difficult to work out which ones are going to stick around. As we discussed in our previous blog post (5 Trends that Should be Shaping your 2017 Marketing Budget), live video is one trend that we think will be making waves in the next couple of months.

Another trend that has stuck around is documenting every waking moment of our days. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the bits in between documented on Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words and brands should embrace this power.

People like to get to know the ins and outs of a brand – they’re not interested in just seeing the curated marketing content that has been planned for the past 6 months. By sharing moments as they happen, brands can start building a personality that their consumers can relate to. In turn, this turns consumers into advocates and they begin sharing your story. John Lewis is one brand that has nailed this and they are constantly producing share-worthy visual content – no wonder they are one of the UK’s leading brands.

Brand Centurion

With the elements of branding changing constantly, it can be difficult to manage your brand successfully. With Brand Centurion, you can create marketing and branded-materials in-house and distribute them in a timely manner, allowing you to react quickly to these changing elements. To find out more or to request a demo, call us on 01293 660722.

Written by Liam Beauchamp for Burst Digital, 26/09/2016

Packaging Innovations: The Future is Digital

Posted on June 27, 2016December 19, 2016 by Ed Entecott

The potential of digital print is constantly broadening, and its benefits for packaging are only just being realised. In terms of customer engagement, personalisation, and re-usability, digital print has opened up a whole new world of opportunity. As the print quality has improved, the advantages of digital print have become clearer. In 2016, we will see more digitally printed packaging on retail shelves than ever before.

With millennials now considered the most influential generations, the behaviour of brands is changing. Packaging is consistently identified as one of the major influences on everyday purchase decisions and with generations engrossed with anything visual, packaging design characteristically outweighs the practical attributes of a product.

The challenge that is faced by brand owners now is how to leverage digital print to drive profit from innovative marketing campaigns. With customers desire to connect with brands on all levels, brands have to work harder to get their market share by offering consumers a truly special experience with their product.

Personalised Packaging

Personalisation is the latest buzzword and has become a novel way to reach out to the masses. We have seen this from big brands such as Coca-Cola, Nutella and Marmite who have utilised digital print technology to personalise their bottles and jars.

In 2013, Coca-Cola started their infamous ‘Share-A-Coke’ campaign. The campaign saw them print 100,000 of the most popular names on the Coke bottle labels all over the world. This delivered a 6.8% increase in their global Facebook community and their values sales have increased 4.93% year on year since the campaign started.

Personalised packaging has proven popular amongst brand owners. It can give brands more direct contact with customers and strengthens the relationship that they are trying to build. Digital print has enable personalisation on a scale that wouldn’t be possible using the more traditional printing methods.

Interactive Packaging

Packaging has always been interactive. The look, the colour and the shape are just a few elements that subconsciously impact our perception of a brand. As mentioned, the design of the packaging for many is more important than the actual product attributes itself. With this in mind, digital print has allowed brands to explore interactivity with use of electroluminescent inks and conductive inks.

Oculto, a lager blended with beer aged on tequila barrel staves recently unveiled two new interactive packaging innovations. These included a first-of-its kind illuminated bottle design that featured smart label technology. The smart label was created using electronic pathways, paper batteries and LED lights that were activated with a pressure switch. The switch was placed where the thumb naturally falls while holding a beer bottle, and once pressed; the LED light began to shine. This technology was a clear demonstration of how packaging and marketing can give customers a full sensory experience.

Brand owners aren’t just concerned with marketing gimmicks though; they are much more concerned with the practicalities interactive packaging can offer. Packaging for prescriptions could soon connect to your phone to give you a reminder when you need to take your next dose. Researchers are also working on an early-warning system that enables packaging to sense changes in the condition of the packaged food. Smart labelling and colour changes would be used to transmit those changes informing the consumer their products are no longer fresh. This development in intelligent packaging could dramatically reduce food waste.

Multi-Use Packaging

As a nation we have become more conscientious about our waste and the UK now has the fastest growing rates of recycling in the UK. With that in mind, brands are working to transform packaging from otherwise useless receptacles into useful items. Last year saw Ogilvy and Mather Tokyo turn Pizza Hut’s cardboard box into a working film projector. Powered by the user’s smartphone, the box contained a small lens which was inserted into a perforated hole in the side. When the user’s smartphone was placed in the box, the screen was displayed onto the wall.

Brands are also striving to make new technology accessible to all through their packaging. When Google released Cardboard, its paper-and-velcro VR headset, the guys over at McDonald’s Sweden noticed an opportunity. In March of this year, McDonald’s began selling a limited number of Happy Meals in special boxes. With a little construction, these could be transformed into VR headsets. By tearing eyes and nose holes and inserting lenses, kids got free a VR headset. Customers who bought one were then also given an access link to download the Happy Goggles VR game, an animated skiing-race game called ‘Watch Out on the Slopes’. Investing in this new and exciting technology has proven a smart way at making consumers feel involved with a brand.

Retail continues to change at a dramatic pace and the demand for personalised and engaging experiences call for new approaches to packaging. With end users making the move to digital, print is now the major player in bridging the gap between physical products and the digital world.

Written by Liam Beauchamp for Burst Digital – 27/06/2016

Burst Digital

We are constantly pushing the boundaries with print. We also house some of the latest digital print technology that will allow you to produce dynamic and personalised marketing print assets that will open up channels to your customers and products.

How to Utilise Your Strongest Asset: Brand Consistency

Posted on May 9, 2016December 19, 2016 by Ed Entecott

Whether you like it or not, every business has a brand and it has the potential to be one of the strongest assets you own. Your brand represents everything your business does and is the impression people have about your brand. For that reason alone, it is vital to nurture your brand and make it a priority. Your brand should convey what you do, what you stand for and what makes you unique. This collection of interlinked attributes essentially give your business its identity.

Now caring for a brand is often easier said than done. I’m afraid to say it but there is a lot to consider and a lot of work required. Putting your logo on all your marketing materials or using the right pantone is a step in the right direction but it simply doesn’t cover it – building a good brand takes time. Strong, consistent branding reinforces your identity and creates a positive sentiment. This can only be done though by aligning the look, feel and tone of voice throughout your brand messages.

But why is it so important?

Consumers trust brands that they recognise and can get to know of a more personal level. We all know that making a purchase is more of an emotional decision than it is a practical one. John Lewis is one of the UK’s favourite household brands and it is all down to their strong brand identity. The brand resonates and this has allowed customers to connect with the brand. As a result, this has implanted a real sense of loyalty and trust for the brand.

We buy the same brands because we know what to expect, feel at ease purchasing and know we like the product. This same concept can be carried across all our marketing channels to ensure there is a seamless look and feel on all our customer touchpoints. Consumers will feel more comfortable with your brand and are more inclined to become a lifelong customer.

‘Just Do It’ is one of the simplest, most recognisable slogans of all time and is a line that Nike has used for the past 15 years. Compare this with major competitor Reebok though who has changed their slogan 14 times since 1988. Nike’s strong branding has enabled differentiation against the competition as it has allowed people to identify Nike’s products and services at a glance. And it seems Nike’s consistency has paid off as it is now the global market leader in the sports shoe market. Consistency goes far beyond a slogan or a logo though.

Consistency Equals Dependency

Whilst a CMO may have the final say on what marketing content is released, it is at that point that they lose all control. With the array of social media platforms, review sites and blogging sites, customers can constantly talk to each other and share their opinions (both positive and negative) about your brand. People love telling others about the brands they like and this can very easily sway another person’s opinion. Strong brands create followers who are not shy about sharing their stories and these endorsements are extremely important in building a brand’s trust factor.

Coca-Cola is an outstanding example of how brand consistency increase company value,

Without brand consistency, you lose the ability to cut through all this noise and position your brand positively in the consumers’ minds. Consistency across all your marketing channels and customer touch points is essential as brand inconsistency immediately leads to poor brand experiences.

Consistent branding doesn’t mean that all your communications should look exactly the same, far from it in fact. But it does mean you should strive for cohesion by sticking to a set of visual standards that can be developed through your brand guidelines. Keeping your visual identity consistent will help effectively distinguish and give your brand recognition. As a result it creates the ‘desirability’ factor for existing and potential new customers, supporters and stakeholders.

Written by Liam Beauchamp for Burst Digital – 09/05/2016

Burst Digital

We can help control your brand consistency through a dynamic asset management portal. Brand Centurion allows business with multiple locations a portal to access, create, monitor and print their latest marketing assets quickly and efficiently. This includes everything from posters to leaflets, business cards to digital assets. Brand Centurion can maintain your brand consistency; prevent costly mistakes, save money in reduced design and artwork time and enable you to order your branded print marketing materials instantly.

Ready to up your marketing game? Talk to us today!