Grand River Direct Media Solutions is a program of print products and services aimed at mass marketing to the consumer. Our solutions have one purpose: achieving your marketing goals by using cost-effective, dimensional and interactive print media to increase response rates. We have a team of experts on staff to assist you in conceptualizing and designing a direct mail or insert piece that will be noticed when it is received in the mail or in the Sunday newspaper.
Printed interactivity
It is widely acknowledged that the more interactive and engaging you make your print media, the greater likelihood it will yield a response to your offer or call to action. Interactive elements will increase recipient dwell time; each second that your piece remains in the hands of the consumer translates into additional business. Taking advantage of interactive print media possibilities requires the immersion of the creative content into the physical design of the product … this is what we help you do.
Paper engineering
Taking advantage of the three dimensional and multi-surface possibilities of paper is one of the most cost effective ways to make your print piece stand out at “the mail moment.” Take your creative concept to the next level of impact by letting us help you custom engineer your project with any combination of the following:
- Layers / Folding, scoring and perforating are several operations that can be applied to paper that will give your project space and structure beyond the two dimensions typically associated with print.
- Cuts / Slitting and glueing are functions that create time and motion in paper-based media. Turning a page or flipping through leafs of paper all increase the engagement and search by the consumer for your offer.
- Shapes / Contour cutting, die cutting and embossing are methods that can be employed to emphasize the shapes of product images, identity graphics or typography. This will help your piece get noticed in the field of consumer choices.
Product specific solutions
We know that you are working with tight budgets and deadlines. Our solutions are crafted with these considerations in mind; what are your goals?, what are you selling?, who are your customers?, what is the best use of your resources? With these questions in mind, we have developed specific products that yield significant consumer response benefits. With a better understanding of your business, we can help you deliver a program that takes advantage of any combination of these direct media elements:
- Perforated loyalty cards / This is a one or two-ply paper card that can be detached from the body of the piece and used as a customer loyalty or store traffic builder.
- Kiss-cut windows / With a combination of die cutting, perforation and glueing you can reveal hidden messages and special offers behind peal-up windows.
- Pop-ups / Make your marketing idea stand-up with this technique. Pop-ups have been used for ages in children’s books and can be achieved cost effectively with our solutions.
- Scratch-off games / There’s nothing like a scratch-off promotion for consumer engagement. Scratch-off games can be generic, variable or seeded with winners.
- Fragrance application / Print media has the unique capability to carry the fragrance of your product or a scent that has an emotional significance for the consumer. Fragrance is applied as a specially formulated and colorless varnish.
- Repositionable notes / RPNs are great response devices and can be printed in full-color on a variety of label stocks. Repositionable notes are approved for application in both newspaper insertion and for processing by the US Postal Service.
- QR codes & the mobile web / Quick Response Codes are one of the means to integrate your print media with online campaigns. Our QR Code programs are developed with priority on the mobile experience of the consumer in mind.
Visit this page to see a more complete list of interactive print media options.
Creative team
Grand River Direct Media Solutions includes a team of print, paper and graphic design specialists. Our team will quickly grasp your objectives, assist you in the conceptualization of a custom design and help you understand the physical limitations and requirements of the paper and print manufacturing process. We offer these services:
- Planning & budgeting / Our team will conference with your staff to get an understanding of your goals, objectives, budgets and timelines. We can draft a project proposal for you to use as a guide for your internal process and production team.
- Die lines for design / We input all of the specifications for each project into our paper engineering system so that we can accurately generate die line drawings that diagram down to fractions of an inch every surface and manufacturing operation to be performed. We provide you with these wire-frame drawings so that your creative art can be aligned with precision to the product specs.
- Prototypes / Once the art has been positioned, we generate mockups to size, with art in place for internal review and revision. Final edits are best done after the project has been presented in its actual form and the consumer experience can be demonstrated and adjusted as needed.
- Test press runs / In some cases, it will be necessary to test your project on press before it goes live. If we are attempting a technique that has not been tried before or if you would like to test several different options, we can arrange this.
Grand River Printing & Imaging (GRPI) manufactures and markets commercial and corporate printed products. Our products include annual reports and catalogs, magazines and newspapers, advertising inserts, and direct mail items.
