Request a demo

2024 Print Show Grand Slam: A year of innovation and personalization

By Richard Askam, Personalization Consultant & MediaClip Ambassador

2024 is a big year, a Grand Slam year in fact, as all 4 of the world’s largest print shows are happening in the same calendar year. This only happens every 4 years, a bit like the Olympics, and of course 2024 is an Olympic year in Paris too, so it truly is a massive year all round. But who will win the gold medal and who will try hard but not quite make it over the winning line… MediaClip are going to be at all these events (well the print ones definitely) so let’s have a look.

Finally in 2024, it’s the largest print show in the Continental United States, Printing United which takes place in September in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. And despite the reputation of Sin City, attending Printing United doesn’t represent a gamble and in fact my favourite testimonial from an attendee at the 2023 event in Atlanta, Georgia was;

                    “ I LOVED the expo, it’s my candy store and library all in one!”

Last year’s Atlanta Expo included over 800 exhibitors, tens of thousands of attendees, classroom style education sessions, apparel and PDAA hands-on demo zones, keynote sessions, community hubs and 3 days of brain expansion as to what is possible in today’s print industry, and if I’m honest – the print industry is now the tech industry, it just doesn’t seem to know it!

If you include MediaClip, over 30% of the exhibitors at the major print shows around the world in 2024 are in pure play software companies, having created amazing tech solutions for the forward thinking print industry to bring even more inventive solutions for today’s consumers and with a particular focus on personalization. 

Source : Printed United

Since the Apple iPhone was released in 2007 (other smartphones are available…), we have a generation of consumers who are also broadcast media, wherever they are stood with their phone and camera, they are content creators in their own right and as such, there is a strong desire to create their own brands or at the very least, co-brand with existing brands. They are doing this by customizing and hyper personalizing products and using the plethora of tech tools online that allows print companies to supply a million one offs!

Print has been around for 1000 years and will be around for 1000 more – but perhaps we should call it content, and appeal to the brands who think print is old-fashioned which according to today’s generation…it absolutely isn’t!

All of this is for discussion at Printing United this fall, and remember – what goes in Vegas, stays in Vegas!

Richard Askam

Twitter: @richardaskam1 

Linkedin

Website

Why do consumers love the power of Product Personalization? 

Consumers today are looking for personalized experiences when they shop online.

They want products tailored to their individual preferences. Product personalization is the most powerful tool that businesses can use to increase sales, improve customer satisfaction, and build stronger relationships with their customers by giving them control over the products they buy. By providing consumers with personalized product options, businesses can create a more engaging shopping experience that will keep customers coming back repeatedly. 

At retail, personalized experiences can be, for example, a personal greeting when you enter a store or a personalized shopping experience with a salesperson catering to your personal needs if you need.

In this article, we will look at how consumers appreciate the power of in-depth product personalization and how it can leverage and increase sales. 

We know that brand merchandise product personalization is deeply rooted in the essence of most brands. However, the question remains: do consumers truly appreciate the influence of personalized brand products, and how does it measure up against the personalization derived from cherished memories and sentiments conveyed through photographs and text?

Generic Brand Product personalisation is an effective way to make customers feel connected to the product they are buying. It adds a delicate touch to the item which makes it more valuable for the customer as it allows companies to create customized products that are tailored specifically to their customer’s behavioral needs and tastes, making them more likely to buy as Nike and others have proven, but is it sufficient?

Personal product personalization with photos and text has become a growing trend in recent years.

Consumers love to share memories, and today’s technology enables them to print their memories with photos and sentiment text on many product surfaces. This not only helps create unique, meaningful products that customers cherish, but also increases sales for the companies that offer this service.

Product personalisation is an effective way to make customers feel connected to the product they are buying. It adds an individualized touch to the item, which makes it more valuable and memorable for the customer. Moreover, it allows companies to create customized products tailored specifically to individual customers’ needs and tastes, again making them more likely to buy it.

Why Memories are so important? 

man taking photo

They are the reason we use mobile photography so much. We all have done selfies, at home with friends, on location traveling. Have you ever asked yourself why we do so? Think about the times you photographed a restaurant diner plate? Or shot featuring nice sceneries, colorful seasonal changes, or a maple taffy on iced snow at the sugar shack?

Have you ever asked yourself, how many photos have been taken of the Eiffel Tower, the tower of Pisa or Niagara Falls? What makes these memories different for your consumers? Their  emotional connection to these images, settings, these moments.

Photos and sentiment personalized products ooze those memories. Print them and they become crystallized emotional links.

  • – When you give the classroom teacher a personalized photo mug for Christmas, it means thank you for taking care of my child. 
  • When you make an annual calendar for grandparents. You know how much they look forward to it every year. 
  • – When you make a photo book of the twins’ first year, even though you know the photos by heart, you love them enough to make an album and show it to your loved ones. 
  • – When you create a blanket for your pet, you may smile, you may even think! It is so superficial, then you love it so much that you show it to everyone.

Photos and sentiment personalization is THE moment, THE memories falling in place and the meaningful taking over.

Today’s technology makes it easier than ever for consumers to create personalized memories with their favorite photos and text. This is why product personalisation with photo and text is becoming increasingly popular, as it allows customers to create unique products that reflect their personalities and show off their memories.

You want to unleash your creativity with products made to your unique specifications, check out Mediaclip.ca. Since 2007, unlocking the power of personalization, Mediaclip’s platform solutions have enabled businesses to create, customize, and print personalized products such as photo books, calendars, cards, canvas, prints and more. Mediaclip white label technology is used by leading brands and retailers to create unique, personalized and engaging product making experiences.

In conclusion, a personalized service experience allows your customer to feel like they are in control. In both cases, by selecting between mass-product or personalized product, the final decision is in the hands of the customer, giving them more control over how they spend their money, thanks to the personalization process you implemented. 

So, wait no longer to personalize your products and services.

Get Ready for the Holiday Season 2023

The end of the year is so busy that planning and preparing your events now is essential.

Preparing for the holiday season in advance will help you avoid any last-minute problems and will allow you to manage your schedule and succeed in your sales.

Prepare yourself for promotions. 

Each holiday has its own lexicon, customs and color palettes. Be inspired by them and spread the word by offering products designed for the holiday in question, as this will give your products an exclusive look with real marketing power.

After all, a customer will be more likely to take the plunge if the limited nature of the offer gives them a sense of urgency. If you don’t have a seasonal design idea, you can remix your greatest hits to fit the holiday you’re promoting: don’t be ashamed to recycle, why waste a winning strategy!

Also consider offering customizable products: as we mentioned in several previous articles, these are extremely trendy and are very popular gifts.

Another essential point related to the preparation of your promotional campaigns is to determine a relevant selection of products that will be adapted to the sales of the season. 

A catalog that is too extensive can be confusing for the consumer, so be sure to handpick your products to offer them only the cream of the crop. 

  • The T-shirt, for example, will always be a hit since it can be worn year-round, by itself or under warmer garments. 
  • Mugs, whether enamel or ceramic, are a natural favorite for the hot beverage season. 
  • Home decor items such as posters and cushions, during a time when people are enjoying their cocoon more than ever, are also real bestsellers. 

If you wonder about the popularity of a certain product, don’t hesitate to test the field with Google Trends by putting keywords of your choice to the test. Take a look at our example of using Google Trends for Photo Personalized Calendars to see what you can uncover by doing this exercise.

Tailor your marketing to your customer base.

The holiday season is the perfect time to bring out the big marketing tools. These include cross-selling, for example, where you can offer products that are related to those that buyers are already interested in or have ordered in the past. Other marketing hacks include so-called gift sets and guidebooks, which increase your chances of getting more orders while making it easier for your customers to find the perfect gift.

Consider retargeting your biggest shoppers and most loyal customers. Send them a recap of their best buys from the past year to remind them that they found their perfect gift from you last season. Such targeted email campaigns generate significant traffic from returning customers.

Set up some of your promotional campaigns in line with the most frequent purchases of the past year by making them more trendy and up to date.

To do this, keep an eye on the trends. Learn about your competitors, the economic impact on your consumers, and even the anticipated trends for the new year. This will help you use your promotional campaigns to position your brand as a market leader and hopefully beat the competition.

Open a blog, or update your existing one regularly to improve your SEO/online presence.

Holiday Season blogging

Show up in searches where consumers often look to get gift ideas. Prepare your blog posts by digging up the latest gift idea trends for 2023, and sprinkle the internet with your content regularly. This is what your consumers are seeking: gift ideas, tips, recipes, and decoration ideas.

Time is of the essence.

By mastering the changing nature of online shopping, you’ll not only be prepared, but you’ll also be able to pivot your well-prepared plans to meet whatever the market has to offer. After all, if the last two holiday seasons have taught us anything, it’s that you need to have plans and know how to change them in a heartbeat.

So go ahead, make your promotional plans, identify your targets, identify new trends and be ready to lead during the holidays.