Question:
People won't take free samples and free gifts because of the stereotype that "freebies" aren't the best products. Isn't this technique a little obsolete?
Answer:
Familiarizing potential customers with a new product or product category is an effective technique for any market. The biggest strength of this technique is that the customer gets to actually try the new product, gaining consumer experience without spending any money. There is no pressure or obligation to buy (sampling/tasting promotions). When product samples are being handed out, advertising materials are usually distributed at the same time. This is an effective technique in that it forms a special world around the brand: Consumers see the gift and know that are definitely going to get it. Original objects bearing the company's logo can have a strong supporting effect on the brand — think Nescafe’s red mugs. The main objective here is to motivate both loyal and non-loyal customers to make a purchase (gift with purchase).
Question:
Won't people think the brand is cheap since it is handing out free leaflets and samples?
Answer:
Despite the ingrained stereotype that you "get what you pay for" when it comes to anything that's free, samples nevertheless help people gain certain information about a specific product, giving them a chance to learn something new about the product and make an informed choice in favor of the brand. Quite often these types of techniques form the basis of an integrated advertising campaign. For instance, when used in combination with sales animation, these techniques guarantee that the campaign will receive greater consumer response and achieve excellent results. This technique is especially good for the HoReCa sector (hotels, restaurants, and cafés). The consumer may choose to participate in a theatricized event, contest, or game run by promoters. Sales animation is a good technique to use when you are selling an expensive product and want to use additional symbols and rituals to position the brand. Sales animation allows you to make contact with a larger group of people than just those individual consumers at the promo stand.
Question:
Do tastings give long-term results?
Answer:
First we should note that tastings are one of the most effective tools for stimulating sales. And in fact, regularly organized tastings that cover a significant portion of the TA have both short-term and long-term effects: In well-planned tastings, the average volume of products sampled each day can increase 2-4 times, and after the campaign is finished, turnover increases by an average of 30%.
Question:
People don’t take drawings and lotteries seriously because of the stereotype that "the results are all fixed and I won't win anything anyway." How effective can they be?
Answer:
Though there is such a myth, people do nevertheless actively participate in all kinds of drawings and lotteries. The excitement level of these events is enough to motivate people to participate. Lotteries and drawings are good at stimulating existing customers to buy more product, minimizing the chance that they will switch over to a different brand, and ultimately customers buy the product more frequently and in a larger volume.
Question:
Promoters are too young and can't be relied on to run a quality promotion because they are too irresponsible. What's the guarantee that they are competent enough to give consumers all the necessary information about the product?
Answer:
Yes, it's true that promoters are, on average, 18-20 years old — an age at which people have not fully formed their sense of personal responsibility. However, we train our promoters before every campaign to give them the skills they need to work properly and communicate effectively with potential customers. And before being trained, promoters are hand-selected in individual casting calls run by our specialists who select promoters and manage the project. These auditions weed out anyone who for whatever reason isn't suited for working as a promoter (consultant). We hold as many auditions as necessary to fill all the spaces — that's why our screenings and castings generally require not just one or two, but rather 10-14 days. We always have additional promoters lined up who can be recruited for the project if we need to replace someone. When this happens, we are able to train people on-site and send out new personnel without losing any time for screening or casting.
Question:
How do you deal with the fact that promoters often steal the prizes?
Answer:
Yes, this does sometimes happen, and it's nearly impossible to completely assure yourself that it won't, but we always strive to minimize the chance that it will. First, as early as the screening and casting stages, we eliminate anyone who seems at all inadequate or doesn't meet the job’s criteria. Second, we have developed a system of fairly high fines, and promoters find that it's simply not worth it to risk being fined
Question:
Why spend a lot of money producing prizes and souvenirs when you don't know if they will pay for themselves?
Answer:
With the growing competition among brands that offer identical products — and quite often at comparable prices — it’s become our job to offer the consumer something new and original. In such a competitive brand environment, production requires more high-tech and exciting solutions to provoke the customer to behave as desired. And naturally, this is a completely different budget situation that involves significant expenses. Ultimately, though, a promotion is a vehicle for investing in the brand’s image: The more alluring the gift, and the more it is distributed to a select group of consumers, and the higher the probability that there will be good response to the advertised product. We can offer you high-tech and creative solutions for any product or service.
Question:
When it comes to merchandising, do you have an agreement with retail stores?
Answer:
If you are willing to spend a little extra, you can reach such an agreement. This is true with several stores — mainly those with which we have an exclusive contract. But it's far better (and the normal practice) to reach an agreement with the product's supplier, seeing as they already have a contract with the store.
Question:
What data do you use to make order recommendations?
Answer:
We use sales data, which can be taken directly from the store or by using stationary merchandising in the point of purchase.
Question:
How do you conduct retail research and appraise the effectiveness of promotional and advertising materials?
Answer:
We collect quantitative and qualitative information. Ideally, we analyze sections of sales over three periods (before, during, and some time after the promotion). In reality, this data must be adjusted for qualitative measures such as insufficient product on the shelf, simultaneous promotions of competing brands, mechanical glitches, etc.
Question:
"My secretary could organize a better event." Why should we spend money on an agency? Why should we want to conduct an event with you, and how will it be profitable to us?
Answer:
Any event, even the most simple, is made up of a mass of fine details that are transformed by separate elements into a unified, exciting, and memorable event. Generally speaking, a person who is inexperienced in this area will overlook certain important details, which could have a hugely negative effect on the overall course of the event.
Our experience has shown that turning to the experts will save your employees precious working hours, and they can continue doing their official duties without interruption. And we'll reduce stress on your nerves, too.
When you conduct only two or three events per year, you can't count on special working conditions with your contractors. But we work with them constantly, and in some cases we can offer you these special conditions.
Question:
"As Shakespeare once said, 'The world only has 100 plots — you'll never come up with another one.'" That is, there is a set of standard scenarios and thematic ideas, and we're not sure that you can offer us something that's truly original.
Answer:
Despite the existing standard themes — Latin America, Spies, Cowboys, the Olympics — we never limit ourselves in our creativity. Rather, we are crazy about working with clients who value originality and novel ideas. But when we are developing original concepts, we always test them to see if they embody and match the brand's values as well as the company’s profile and marketing strategy. This ensures a sustainable idea rather than just creative for the sake of creative. In our search for offbeat logical connections, we find that associations between everyday objects is not a sign of banality, but rather that our idea is pragmatic.
Question:
"What does Pushkin have to do with it?" When the project strays from the original task: in attracting attention, the agency forgets that it needs to promote the brand and strengthen sales, instead focusing on the effectiveness of the campaign's marketing
Answer:
We are experts in conducting events and have time and again convinced ourselves that complex and well-thought-out events always ensure that a clear or hidden advertising message will reach the consumer. At first, of course, people react by saying "What is Pushkin doing here?" and the audience becomes interested… But then at another stage of the intrigue, it is revealed to everyone that Pushkin is there because "Pushkin is our everything!"
Question:
Can the Agency guarantee a certain percentage of response to a mailing?
Answer:
The percentage of consumers that respond to a mailing depends on the quality of the leaflet (its design, paper), as well as on how much the offer in the leaflet interests its recipient.
Question:
What is the minimum volume of advertising products we can order?
Answer:
One piece
Question:
What is your production time?
Answer:
It all depends on the production load and run size.
Question:
Which type of lamination is better — matte or glossy?
Answer:
Honestly, they're both good. Some designers (and following their lead, clients) feel that matte lamination and matte paper are more "distinguished." However, matte lamination is more expensive to print than glossy because glossy lamination is more widespread in use. The basic rule is to choose your lamination style based on your goals, but also on what you like better — matte or shine.
Question:
What's the difference between creasing and folding?
Answer:
Generally, folding is used on paper that is up to 150-170 g/m in density. Some exceptions are items made of tracing paper (or similar materials), or booklets with, say, black primer. In the most general sense, folding is the process of bending an item. Creasing is generally used on paper items with a density greater than 170 g/m. As opposed to folding, creasing is done with a dull knife and, thanks to the special groove that appears, the paper doesn't break down when bent.
Question:
Can you print on products that we provide?
Answer:
Yes, we can print on the client's materials, but at an increased price because it requires additional work and adjustments.
Question:
How should we prepare the image we want printed on our business souvenirs?
Answer:
We accept the Adobe Illustrator (.eps) and Corel Draw (.cdr) files. All lettering should be converted to curves.
Question:
We need to print a poster or other advertising product on the fly, but the file is over 100 MB and I can't send it via e-mail. How can I get the file to you so you can see whether it meets your requirements?
Answer:
You can upload the file to our FTP server after getting the login information from your project manager. Or you can write the file to a disc and our courier will deliver it to our office.
Question:
Is it true that printed paper products can't be run through additional printers?
Answer:
The heat rollers in a laser printer reach a temperature of 160-230°Ñ. In order to affix an image, a digital printer has to melt the toner by heating its rollers to 175-197°Ñ. This means that after repeatedly passing through a laser printer, the toner on a printed sheet re-melts and sticks to the printer's rollers because they are not greased with any kind of special oil. Repeated printing in a printing press does not lead to melted toner. You can also run a printed sheet through an inkjet or matrix printer. This introduces substantial limitations to using digital printing to print letterhead.
Question:
What are the grounds for asserting a color claim upon receiving an order?
Answer:
The only grounds for asserting such a claim is the color proof.
Question:
How can we avoid discrepancies when indicating the colors of the order?
Answer:
If you have specific colors in mind for your item, we recommend that you indicate their PANTONE number. If you use the pantone scale, you can rest assured that the exact color you chose will be used in your order.
Question:
What are CMYK and PANTONE?
Answer:
CMYK is an abbreviation of the color model "Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black" — the main colors used in four-color (full-color) printing with overlapping dot patterns.
PANTONE is a catalog of colors for spot printing where every color has its own unique identification number and formula.
Question:
My manager is suggesting we use offset or UV varnish. Which is better?
Answer:
Before choosing between offset and UV varnish, you need to clearly define your objectives. Offset varnish basically serves to protect the printed material from fingerprints and, most importantly, it is cheaper than UV. If your booklet is dark in color or if your clients will be constantly picking it up, it's best to use offset varnish — fingerprints will be less noticeable. UV varnish is a little more expensive than offset, but it looks more presentable. You can use solid offset varnish on the cover of your catalog or the pages of a VIP booklet.
Question:
What is selective UV varnishing used for?
Answer:
Selective UV varnishing is usually used to highlight certain details in a design: for instance, the logo on the catalog's cover or inside pages, the company name, and various elements of design, such as circles, squares, lines, and so on. The use of UV varnish is based on the principles of contrast: glossy UV varnish on an overall matte surface or selective matte UV varnish on a glossy surface. If you combine, say, matte paper with glossy offset varnish and selective matte UV varnish, you will have interesting design results.
Question:
What is 4/4 or 4/1 printing?
Answer:
These figures indicate the number of colors that will be used on, say, a business card, letterhead, or booklet, and whether the material will be one- or two-sided. It's almost always true that the fewer colors you use to print, the less expensive your print run will be. However, there are certain printing methods for which the number of colors has little effect on the final cost of the print run.
The codes deciphered:
1/0 = Printed on one side in one color (usually black)
1/1 = Printed on two sides in one color
4/0 = Printed on one side in any color scheme
4/4 = Printed on two sides in any color scheme
4/4 printing is the generally accepted notation for a four-color, double-sided print run.
A 4/0 printed sheet (or item), is a single-sided item using four colors — usually C, M, Y, K, i.e. full-colored printing. If 5/0 or 6/0 printing is indicated, then the additional color is usually silver, gold, or a pantone color. If it says 3/0, it usually means pantone colors, or silver and gold.
Question:
What's the difference between digital and offset printing? How do we find out which type of printing we need for our order?
Answer:
Digital and offset printing differ in the following ways:
• Print method: digital uses a special printer, offset uses fairly complex polygraphic equipment.
• Print time: digital can take only a few minutes, offset takes a minimum of a few days.
• Print quality: offset printing is inherently better in quality and has more possibilities.
• Print run: what's profitable in digital printing (a run of 1-200 pieces), is not profitable in offset (the minimum profitable run is 500 pieces).
And there are other specific elements as well. The main thing you need to do in order to figure out the best printing method is establish your print run — small means digital, large means offset.
Question:
Why don't you have price lists on your site?
Answer:
We’ve tried to compile a price list in the past, but there are just so many technological peculiarities that influence the price of production and design jobs. The cost of our work also depends on the print run and the deadline. Calculating the cost of an order is a fairly complex process. Our managers can do this for you over e-mail or on the phone.
Question:
How much time do you need to calculate an order?
Answer:
It all depends on how complex it is. For small jobs and frequent clients, we can offer discounts right away (for instance, business cards, fabric printing, banners, etc.).
Question:
How can we pay for the order?
Answer:
You can pay by bank transfer.
Question:
Do you deliver the order?
Answer:
We deliver every order to our clients. We always provide complete and integrated support, from design and mock-up to printing and delivery. This makes our clients happy, and thus makes us happy, too.