note from the president

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Dear Clients and Friends,

As 2010 soon draws to a close, I would like to thank all of our clients and vendors for their ongoing support of Coastal Printing Inc. It is during these interesting economic times that one realizes the vital importance of these relationships in assuring the success of a business. We are pleased to be able to continue to serve you with expanded services going forward into 2011.

We are also pleased that the donated space in our Coastal Business Park building was of good use to collect the items for the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society's (MRFRS) successful Furball Auction last October. We would entertain a similar offer for another worthy non-profit. Please contact me directly if your organization is interested in using a space for a temporary charity effort.

Happy Holidays!

Scott Cunningham

Marketing Essentials
Branding: What Is It and
How to Do It Correctly

Eco-Values
Recycle Here for free
Tell your Friends!

The Printshop
Special Printing Project:
Paul Wildlife Calendar is Ready

Inside Coastal Printing Inc
Scott & Linda: ME Home "Off The Grid"
Isa's Pics: Italy Makes for Great Photos!

communication & marketing essentials by isa b. cann

What is Branding & Why Is It Important?

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There's too often essential design variations among the printed marketing and advertising materials, and websites of any given organization. If each of these elements of your media have considerable disparities in look, feel, "message" and perhaps even feature different versions of your logo, then you are probably not branding your organization; i.e., consistently communicating what is is and why anyone would want it.

Basic Definitions of Branding

Rob Frankel, a branding expert and author in Los Angeles, calls branding the most misunderstood concept in all of marketing, even among professionals. Branding, he says, "is not advertising and it's not marketing or PR. Branding happens before all of those: First you create the brand, then you raise awareness of it." Therefore, knowing who you are, what you are selling, your future development goals, and who you are selling to precede design of any media type. And those understandings should drive the design essentials for your body of media - from a flyer to a dynamic website.

Does everything have to be identical?

With the exception of your logo, no. But there should be an apparent thread of consistency throughout the media; e.g., color scheme, writing voice/style, images that appeal to - and not turn away - your particular targeted audiences.

And note that successful branding does not negate having to make changes in designs over time. The overall concept for your array of media should change; garner new attention; appeal to audiences as they mature while also attracting new ones coming of age to be your customer or client. After all, you don't want to become obsolete. Even coke (you know the one) changes components of its look and feel over time - because it has to.

In addition to the responsibilities of Marketing & Social Media at Coastal Printing Inc, Isa writes our concise quarterly newsletter to help keep our friends & customers feeling connected in a predominantly digital world.
Isa also has a website design business serving the New England region. Please visit www.mediaarchitects.org or call 978-463-9151

In the Printshop:
Get your 2011 Wildlife Calendar Here!

Paul Cyr, Lead Graphic Designer, has created a gorgeous calendar from photos of wildlife taken in our region over recent years. Not only are the photos works of art, but the graphic layout is also very creative and attractive. Of course we had them printed here at Coastal. Please come & take a look! They are for the new year of 2011, and a limited quantity are for sale.

If your city doesn't recycle all it can, note that there are several retailers that will accept a variety of things for recycling for free: Home Depot accepts intact lightbulbs; Best Buy takes almost all electronics (only TVs require a small charge, applied as a store coupon). We continue to provide a GreenDisc collection box beside our front counter. We'll recycle the following free: CDs, DVDs, disquettes, video/audio tapes with containers; printer cartridges; cell phones, pagers and PDAs; and laptop computers.

Inside Coastal Printing

Scott and Linda have a home in ME that they are renovating to "live off the grid" some day. Latest developments include a 700 gallon rainwater retention system that will get buried underground and act as a cistern or well. It has a telescopic riser that comes up from the tank, and is umbrella shaped to catch rainwater. An organic vegetable garden and underground root cellar are also in the works, the former with the technical - and physical - assistance of Becky and Courtney as they both have had some formal education in organic studies. 'Nothing like cheap family labor!

Isa Cann managed to take a vacation from long work days. Italy was relaxing, and as beautiful as advertised. Not a first trip there, she said that each region has a special scenic beauty that is unique to Italy; i.e., it has earned its reputation! Click on the image at the right for photos on the Coastal Printing's Facebook page, "Get Out There! Print Something!"

There is leased office space available in our main business home, Coastal Business Park, at 15 Main Street in Salisbury, MA. Please call Scott (978)465-2607 to discuss flexible layout options with recession-buster incentives to ease your stress. A modern building, its location is also very convenient. A stone's throw from Seabrook and minutes from Routes 95, 495 and 1, the building is a host to several services useful to local business, including computer services, therapeutic massage, legal services, marketing, graphic design, and website design and maintenance!