Printer manufacturer blends in-depth messaging tools to stay on top during flat economy

Since its 2007 launch, the Canon imagePRESS® C7000VP digital press has earned raves and awards from printing professionals worldwide. But in the shadows of fierce competition and a historic economic downturn, Canon USA knew it had to get more assertive to compete against scrappy rivals.

So with an eye toward winning over new converts to the C7000VP, Canon put on the full court press — or, to be exact, the full color press. To stoke more interest in the equipment, the company’s U.S. marketing team selected Magicomm LLC, a marketing agency focused on creating cross-media campaigns, to work with them to develop a free B-to-B webinar series centered around the printer dubbed “The Value of Print.” The campaign used direct mail both to promote the webinars and to show off the high image quality of the C7000VP.

In marketing the webinars, which featured user testimonials and product pitches from company executives, Canon mailed thousands of personalized invitations to commercial and corporate printing facilities nationwide. The glossy mailers promoted the webinars as part of Canon’s “strength-building” theme and included a link to a branded Web site that featured videos, photos and other information on the C7000VP. Invitees were also given a URL where they could sign up for the webinars, which were broadcast in January and February.

Mail shows what it can do

Forrest Leighton, a Canon USA senior marketing manager for production systems, chuckles when asked why he was confident that direct mail was the ideal way to promote the webinar. “We’re selling printing equipment, right?” he asks. “The piece we sent was printed on our equipment, so we’re mailing prospects a sample that demonstrates how good it is, and what they can do with it.”

The effort illustrates a trend in multimedia marketing: As tough economic times compel marketers to reassess the power of various media, executives at major corporations like Canon are going far beyond the typical PURL or microsite as they integrate traditional media with new digital offerings. “It’s not just about doing a direct mail campaign or going on the Web,” says Leighton. “It’s about the combination — being able to see it on the Web or get it in the mail. That [integration] seems to get the best results from a direct marketing standpoint.”

The mailers began going out just ahead of the January webinar. The piece was an 11-inch by 17-inch, four-panel, accordion-fold mailer. The face of the mailer hit recipients with the teaser line “Now it’s easier than ever to pick-up digital color printing.” The mailer opened to reveal an illustration of a muscleman bench-pressing an oversized C7000VP, a play on Canon’s running theme that its products strengthen business. Another photo of the C7000VP accompanied pitch text touting the quality, flexibility and reliability of the Canon printer.

A personalized URL address was offered for webinar invitees to register online. Meanwhile, an accompanying card offered the option of registering via direct mail. The mailer also contained information about a giveaway of a Canon Digital Imaging Bundle, which included a Canon SLR camera and a desktop inkjet printer.

Canon implemented two 8,000-piece mail drops, one for the January 2009 session, the second for a February webinar. The pieces were mailed two weeks prior to the respective events. “Originally we thought we were cutting it a little bit close — but it’s not like people are getting on planes,” Leighton says. “We think two weeks is probably the right frame to hit our targets, at the same time making sure everything online is up and running. If it’s a month out, you’re probably a little too far away time-wise to drive attendance.”

Leveraging social networks

To spur even more interest, Canon promoted the webinars on social networks. Magicomm created a “Value of Print” account and utilized groups and followers on LinkedIn and Facebook, while also posting on industry Web sites. The company’s communications also provided links to the “Value of Print” URL, bios of webinar speakers and customers, and answers to discussion questions about the “Value of Print” campaign. “It was a combination, from the social media piece to posting on industry sites like whattheythink.com to the actual direct mail piece,” Leighton explains. “The level of activity we got was tremendous.”

The effort generated online exchanges that continued even during the actual webinars, with Canon and Magicomm posting messages throughout the events. “It’s relationship building,” says Canon USA marketing associate specialist Joe Schember, “just getting out in front of the customer with a different medium where they may be more active.“

Leighton puts attendance for each webinar at 100 participants. More important, participants were those executives whom Canon wanted to hear its message. “We found that the audience that responded to this was the right audience,” he says. “We ended up with a lot of interested prospects in the pipeline.”

Global repositioning system

The multimedia educational push reflects Canon’s approach to marketing in a flat global economy, Leighton says. He says the company wants to offer value and position itself as an “advisor” to companies during tough times. To that end, the company is preparing new marketing efforts that will focus on how customers can thrive in a down economy, including advice on the best practices and what Canon can do to help them. “Same as anyone in this economy, people are looking for help,” Leighton says. “We feel our role is to help our customers know what they can do to continue to be profitable.”

In the course of developing the “Value of Print” campaign, Leighton says, Canon officials themselves were also reminded of the power of printed pieces. “I’m a proponent that mail is a really important piece of the marketing equation,” he says. “Campaigns don’t live and breathe as well without that mail piece. Mail helps us educate our customers about how to use our product to better market themselves, and how to use direct mail themselves.”