Calendars In A Digital Era

“Going back a bit, there actually was a time I COULDN’T get a calendar. I was in Traffic and only the Production people received them. You had to bargain with one of them to give you one of theirs, or beg the Printer to send you one if you saw them in the Agency. As I moved up the ranks, I remember it being significant that I had made the calendar distribution list – it was like I had arrived!

Over the last 10ish years, there has been a significant cut in calendar promotions. I remember the first time I had to BUY a calendar for work it was like the “golden age of Printing” had ended. I get that Printers like everyone else need to save where they can, but when it came to calendars it really surprised me that this was where they chose to do it. Maybe they don’t realize how appreciated and needed they are?

Here is a fact: Agency Traffic & Production people cannot do their jobs without a calendar. It’s part of the must-have tool kit along with a ruler (more specifically a Schaedler Precision Rule) and a sharpie. And more than likely you have more than one calendar – one that has a permanent home at your desk and a portable one you take to status meetings. Even with all the digital tools out there, I have never experienced a group of people looking at a computer screen to plan projects.

If I now have anyone reconsidering their “no calendar decision,” let’s take a minute to think about creating the most impact for it.

Like anything else, before you just send out a bunch of calendars know your audience. Do they sit in spaces where they can hang things? Do they prefer to hang or have them sit on their desk? Do they plan things out month-by-month or longer? Do they need to write on it? All calendars aren’t equal, and ones that don’t work for the recipient will be tossed. Sure, you can’t please everyone, but maybe you can, or at least target the majority vs. what YOU want to produce.

Speaking of that, a standard calendar with standard branding is boring. You are sending it to Creative and Marketing people so why not take the time and make it something AWESOME! Customize them and use each client’s projects as the art. Provide print inspiration with something amazing you produced (and I mean AMAZING). Put in cool print and marketing trivia on relevant dates, and even ask customers to supply you with some so they are PART of the calendar.

If you really want to take it to the next level, use marketing technology such as Intelligent Print Recognition (iPR) or Augmented Reality (AR) and provide value added digital content. You can link images to videos you create about using varnishes or specialty finishings. Show a great example of VDP and explain how it was created and executed. Provide information about the paper the calendar was printed on, and advise customers how to choose the best paper for their projects. And the best thing about the added value digital content is that your customers can in turn share it socially.

The opportunities are really limitless to engage and connect through a printed piece you created and your customers use multiple times a day. I don’t know how to measure the ROI of being cool, but it seems to be priceless in the creative world. And while a calendar is just a calendar to some, in Advertising and Marketing it’s a vital tool. As a promotion if done correctly it could literally be the gift you give that keeps giving for you.”

Deborah Corn is Principal, Chief Blogger, Social Media Voice and Intergalactic Ambassador to The PrinterverseTM for Print Media Centr, and Principal at PrintProQuo Print Production & Integrated Project Management Consulting. She also works behind the scenes with several print organizations and companies helping with their social media and marketing, and is the founder and cultivator of Print Production Professionals, the largest independent print related group on LinkedIn. Corn provides 23 years of experience in print production and advertising agency management.