One of the biggest trends in both the new awards for 2015 and the best promotion ideas of the year is the merging of old school print based marketing techniques with new school media.
It’s not either-or, it’s not even both-and. It’s the merging of them. From the big LERN conference in Orlando, here are some award winning new techniques that illustrate the trend.
1. QR codes still alive
The death of QR codes has not happened in print catalogs, reports LERN’s top consultant on print catalogs, Paul Franklin. He reports seeing more and more QR codes in print catalogs.
2. Videos highlighted in brochure
One program not only created YouTube videos for almost all of their teachers, they also highlighted those videos in their print brochure. The technique netted an International Award for Santa Barbara Community College.
3. Icons with links
In addition to creating a great app that other programs are replicating, one program added icons to go with the wording on the links on their home page. The app got an International Award for the Recreation Department of the City of Vaughn, Ontario, Canada. But take a look at those icons on their home page. It might be the start of a trend.
4. Separate website and brochure
In order to reach temporary vacation visitors not in the regular communication loop, one program created both a separate web site for its summer camps and a separate brochure distribution to hit visitors. It won an award for the City of Newport Beach, California.
