SOURCE - The Target Report
As the commercial print industry continues to evolve, more printing companies are moving upstream into multi-channel digital marketing services to better serve their customers. Digital marketing services enable printing companies to escape the traditional printing company job‑shop business model and differentiate themselves from competitors that only print. As digital print engines of all types become ubiquitous, the integration of digital marketing methods with variable print campaigns is a natural next step for industry leaders who are thinking ahead. The right acquisition can prove to be the quickest and surest path to build out the desired diversity of services.
From Color Separators to Multi-Channel Digital Marketers
In September, Scottsdale, Arizona-based Artisan Colour acquired MarComm, a digital marketing agency that specializes in cross-channel marketing strategies and campaign integration. The company’s stated goal is to “dissolve the boundaries between print and digital to provide a unified approach where print and digital strategies are seamlessly integrated, data is leveraged across channels, and every touchpoint is optimized.” Services offered, in addition to the company’s traditional print-centric products, now include marketing strategy, CRM/HubSpot implementation, web design, SEO, content marketing, social media, and not to be ignored, integration of those digital marketing services with print.
According to the company’s website, the owners’ journey to the diversity achieved with this acquisition began at the end of the last century when their knowledge in the now extinct art of color separations gave them the confidence to start their own company. The color separation business led naturally to the addition of a full-service on-site photo studio. Combined with these services, color management expertise helped the company land the catalog production work for demanding high-end retail companies Neiman Marcus, Chicos, and Patagonia. In 2009, following the path of many color separation companies (or at least those that managed to survive the transition to digital imaging), Artisan Colour acquired Mighty Imaging, a local wide-format printing company. Digital sheetfed printing was eventually added, a necessary element needed to set the stage for the move into comprehensive integrated multi-channel marketing services.
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