The Importance of Printed Media in the Digital World
In today’s digital age, it may seem like printed media is becoming obsolete. With the prevalence of smartphones, tablets, and laptops, many people believe print is a thing of the past. However, despite the rise of digital platforms, printed materials continue to play a significant and valuable role.
The Tangibility Factor
One key reason print endures is its tactile nature. In a world overwhelmed by screens, the experience of holding a book or flipping through a magazine is unique. Many people find that interacting with print fosters a deeper connection with the content. It’s an immersive, sensory experience that digital media can’t replicate.
Credibility and Trust
Print also carries a sense of credibility and trust. In an era of fake news and misinformation online, printed media is often perceived as more trustworthy. Editorial standards in print are typically higher, and many readers feel more confident in what they’re reading, as print publications undergo thorough editing and fact-checking.
Print in Marketing
For businesses, print offers an opportunity to stand out. In a digital world full of ads, physical materials like brochures and catalogs can create a more personal connection with customers. Direct mail campaigns, for example, often generate higher engagement and a longer-lasting impact than their digital counterparts, which can get easily lost in crowded inboxes.
Information Retention
Print remains a powerful tool in advertising. Studies show that consumers retain information better when engaging with print materials compared to digital ads. Printed advertisements also help reinforce brand identity, build trust, and create lasting impressions, making them an essential component of a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Sustainability and Print’s Evolving Role
The print industry has made strides in sustainability. Many publishers use recycled paper, eco-friendly inks, and green materials, making print more environmentally responsible. While digital content can be energy-intensive, print can be considered more sustainable when produced responsibly.
The Future of Print: Coexisting with Digital
Rather than being outdated, printed media is finding its place alongside digital content. Both formats have their strengths—digital excels in quick access and interactivity, while print offers depth, permanence, and a tangible experience. Print continues to thrive in a digital world, offering a unique and valuable complement to digital platforms.
In conclusion, despite the dominance of digital media, printed materials continue to hold significant value. Whether it’s the tangible experience, trust, marketing impact, or educational benefits, print remains an essential medium in today’s world.
Studio Locale’s Robin Mondor Discusses the ‘Open’ Program on the Mike Farwell Show
Robin joined Mike on the Mike Farwell Show to discuss our “open” program, which offers local nonprofits a week of pro bono design, marketing, and development support. We’re thankful for the chance to highlight our commitment to giving back and helping organizations overcome challenges. Thanks, Mike, for the opportunity!
M: In studio guests are some of my favourite guests, and somebody that I have communicated with many times over the years is finally in studio sitting across from me, Robin Mondor, the owner at Studio Locale. Good morning. Thanks for being here.
R: Thanks for having us, Mike.
M: Tell us a little more about Studio Locale and what you do there.
R: Yeah. For sure. So we are a branding and marketing agency here in Kitchener Waterloo, and we focus on helping our clients kind of hone in on their messaging and communications and brand to kinda get them to the next level. So that’s really our passion and that’s what we do. We have a wide range of different clients that span all sorts of different industries and different points in their timeline and where they are with their business. So we just kinda jump in and help them.
M: Yeah. And that help that you do has been so successful and so highly regarded. That’s how our paths have kind of crossed electronically Yep. Over the years.
M: But what I love about the purposes of today’s conversation, Robin, is your emphasis on giving back as well, helping out nonprofits that may need some support in that space.
R: Yeah, it’s a tricky time for sure for nonprofits, and I know a lot of them are kinda feeling the pinch from provincial and federal funding or potentially philanthropic funding, and everyone else is feeling the pinch. So, we have a program called Open, and we’ve had it informally for a number of years. We’ve always given back to our community through different projects and different groups that have reached out, but this has kind of formalized it over the last few years.
So we’re excited to do that. We dedicate an entire week and give a full week of design, marketing, and development time to a not for profit who’s looking for some extra support.
M: And what a happy coincidence that the organizations that you were able to support last year are two that are very near and dear to my heart, the, Gault Curling Club in Ayr.
R: In Ayr. Yes.
M: Right? Or the Ayr Curling Club. Yes. Yeah. And I I say that because buddies of mine that I played ball with in the summer started curling in the winter, and that’s where they curl on Broom Street in Ayr. And I could never join because I’m too busy with my hockey season, but they have thoroughly enjoyed it. And then ink stained wretches and my buddy, Mirko, and the hard work that they do. But how were you able to support the air curling club and ink stained wretches?
R: Well, with Ayr Curling, so they wanted to kinda become more of an inclusive group, and so they wanted to drop the name or the the term club from their name. So they’re simply now Ayr Curling and wanted to refresh their identity to reflect that. So they had an older, very traditional looking logo and wanting to have with the name change, have something that visually made it feel like it was more open and accessible to everyone in the community.
M: So why is it important to you, Robin, as a business owner to give back in this way?
R: I think everyone’s kind of looking for an opportunity to give back. And I think for ourselves, because our focus is on marketing and communications and helping make connections with, our clients’ target audiences, not for profits are looking for help in that making that connection. And so it was really it felt like something that was kind of a no brainer to make that connection with our with our not for profits in the community to help them connect. Where are they struggling? Is it are they struggling to reach, from a fundraising perspective? Is it, you know, connecting with theirs their community and who they’re looking to support? So it just kinda felt like a natural fit.
M: So I’m sure there is an application process that goes along with this because as much as you would love to, you can’t do it for everybody. How can a local not for profit apply for open?
R: Yes. So we have a web page on our website, studiolocale.com/open. And on there, there’s an application form. Because it is just for one week, we run it really, really quickly. It’s almost like a sprint to folks who are familiar with that term. So we’re starting typically on a Monday and wrapping up on a Friday. So we ask the not for profits to kinda be a little bit prepared for that week and come in so that we can hit the ground running. So we wanna know as much as we can about what you’re looking to do, where your challenges are, where there’s an opportunity for us to potentially help. And then that way, when we start off the project, we’ve got everything that we need, and we can really start getting into the details of it versus trying to understand more.
M: Are there any parameters around the organizations that are eligible to apply?
R: So what we say is we like to focus on organizations that support youth, equality, and social responsibility. But I think if you think about it, that’s almost every sort of not for profit. So there’s a lot of flexibility in terms of who we’re looking or who we could potentially help. It’s really how folks are sharing their information with us that helps our team decide who we’re gonna work with.
M: And once those applications start coming in, Robin, are you able to work out a mutually convenient time for the organization to let you in the doors for that sprint that given week? Or do
R: yeah. We try to do it typically in June. Okay. We find that if we wait a little bit later, we start getting into people being on vacation and away for the summer. And then in the fall, a lot of not for profits are ramping up into their end of year fundraising activities. So that time frame seems to work for most folks. Obviously, again, we’re flexible. So if it really is gonna be a pinch, we can talk about different time frames. But for the most part, that seems to work before people head off for the summer.
M: Alright. I wanna point folks in the direction of studiolocale.com/open. That’s where you’ll learn more about the program. You can fill out the twenty twenty five application form because I’m looking at it right now. Easy to find. And, one of our local nonprofits can get some support from Studio Locale in that week long sprint. Thanks for the work that you do, Robin, and thanks very much for being with us on the show today.
R: Thanks for having me, Mike. We really appreciate it.
M: Robin Mondor, the owner at Studio Locale. Again, check out studiolocale.com/open.
Colour influence and perception
It’s a black & white world. Blue is blue right? Well now that depends.
Colours, like teenagers, can be tricky business and be easily influenced by other colours around them.
Josef Albers Homage to the Square series is based on the realization that colour only exists within the context of other colours. That what we may know about colours, and our understanding of how they will react with each other, is something that is not always easily predictable.
Albers shows us this – the two small squares in plate 1 are the same colour. The colours he chose to surround it heavily influenced how it appears to our eyes. The small square at the top appears to be a lighter brown than the one at the bottom.
The same goes for Plate 2. Here the small square on the left looks to be the same colour as the surrounding orange to the small square on the right. Hard to believe the small squares are exactly the same colour.
Influencers I tell ya …
Individual perception is also really important. You and I don’t see colours the same way, even when they are in isolation from other colours. Have you tried the test visual neuroscientist Dr. Patrick Mineault created? It maps how we see blues and greens differently from each other. Even with the professional eyes in our studio, we saw the two colours differently.
So the next time you are looking at colour, whether for your branding, marketing or your living room and talking with others about the colour, remember to keep the gloves on if others see it different from you. Blue is not always seen as blue. We don’t all see it the same way.
Leveraging LinkedIn for B2B Sales
LinkedIn is a professional networking site with 21.7 million users in Canada as of December 2022, 57% of these users were aged between 25 and 34 years*. Not just famous for recruitment, LinkedIn is a good platform for B2B companies to effectively find their clients and showcase their products or services.
LinkedIn helps B2B meet, establish and reinforce business relationships, does it sound like an online dating app for businesses? We have some tips to use LinkedIn as a matchmaker and connect with the right partners:
- Love at the first sight – Optimize your company’s LinkedIn page with an updated picture, a strong headline that accurately describes your business and have the right keywords to help your potential clients find you
- What’s your type – Target the right audiences that match your market profile using audience attributes: company information, demographics, educational information, job information, interests, and traits
- Stay on their mind – Posting regularly will increase your visibility and credibility. More importantly, use your knowledge and experience to create high quality content, this is helpful to build trust.
- And just like all other relationships, be sincere and don’t try too hard by being too sales-y.
We understand that your daily schedule is busy enough and updating your company’s LinkedIn page is often low on the priority list (if it’s there at all, believe us, we experience the same). Well, better late than never, we should start somewhere.
Sources: Statista
The Walkman
The beginning of mobile technology, the Sony Walkman was an early taste of products that would influence our social behaviours. Introduced in 1979, it was a blend of industrial design and pop culture and broke a number of preconceptions of what was possible and what consumers wanted. It inspired and encouraged more personal DJs, thanks to the pinnacle rise of the mixtape culture in the 90s (with all the various rules around the perfect mixtape).
The walkman remained in production for 31 years from 1979 – 2010, ten years longer than its successor, the iPod.
Now, streaming services are most peoples’ go-to for musical pleasure (though we love the resurgence of the record player and hope it has staying power). We have some pretty diverse musical tastes in the studio. You can check out some of what we listen to on our 2022 playlist.
