1949 – Unleashing the Potential of Print Marketing with Square Root Creative’s Alysha Burch

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1:05With us right now, Alicia Birch. Alicia, you are the founder and creative director with Square Root Creative. Your website is squarerootcreative.com. Alicia, thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here and talk to your guests. Yeah, yeah. Well, give us an overview of your work and who you serve and what you do. So Square Root Creative is a full-service boutique agency. We are a creative house. We specialize in branding as well as packaging and print communications, digital communications. We are, for a small firm, a full-service company, which was a niche for us when we started.

1:44Everybody had their own niche in a way, and ours was we could do it all for a client. We do a ton of branding. We work a lot in technology. We do work in textiles. For us, it's not always about the industry. it's about the project and what we can accomplish. It's really where you have the opportunity to tell a story. Yeah. Well, you and I were talking about print. And, you know, again, this could be something that is quite overlooked by many business leaders and owners today. Tell me about the work that you've done in print and where print can really perform. So we've had a very, as an agency, unique look at the market when it comes to print, because we work with major manufacturers of printing equipment, of software.

2:37And then we've also worked with their customers and have done business loyalty programs. So when it comes to print, there's pretty much everything. I know pretty much everything there is. And there's been a big shift over the years with digital. And everybody was talking digital, digital, digital, especially during the pandemic. And what we're seeing now is, I mean, let's be honest, everybody's on overload when you get something and it becomes very easy to scroll. So when people ask us, is it print or digital? It's together. Of course, people are going to do digital, but to reinforce it with print really drives it home.

3:17And if you think about it and you think about your own experiences, you're on the train, you're doing something, you're checking things on your phone and you can really read at the speed of your finger. Right. I'm glancing. I scroll up. It's over. You come home. You check your mailbox. You put it down. It's sitting there for a few days before you might even look at it. And then it stays in your your house, your apartment, on the kitchen table. you give it to a neighbor. So the impact that it makes, it's when a customer consumer can really have the time to digest and ingest the information. The other thing is, if you think about it, people aren't as trusting of digital anymore.

3:56People are afraid to click on things. So we see those rates going down. But if you get something from in the mail, you know, a brand put their time into it, put their money into it. And when you put something in print, it gets checked so many more times. I can't tell you how many mistakes I see in digital advertising, tons. And another interesting thing that marketers are probably not aware of is, have you ever heard of informed delivery with your mail? I don't think so. It's something a lot of people don't know about. So where you could literally see where you're, when your mail is coming to you, you sign up for it.

4:42But what's interesting is a lot of people started doing this when they weren't staying in their primary, primary residence. So I know in New York, especially in pandemic, half of New York went somewhere else. So you can see what mail was coming to you. So you didn't miss a check or something like that. What we're finding is if you have that, when you send a piece of direct mail, You can also click on that and it takes you to that website or whatever that offer is. So it's another way to drive traffic. When we talk about print, I'll give you a very interesting, I'm going to say it's a fact, you know, it was on the internet, but therefore it's true.

5:21I'm like, therefore, let's, I'm just prefacing this. This is not, I didn't do the research, but I've seen this in multiple. I could sort this, I can sort, sorry, I have a little cold. I could cite the sources. An email lasts 17 seconds in a consumer's brain. And a piece of direct mail has the power to stay in a home for 17 days. And when you think about 17 seconds, 17 days, and you, you know, add it up to your own experiences. So I think print is definitely a, it's been overlooked. it's a great way to do local um and what's really um and targeted very targeted what i'm always advising clients on these days is what everybody talks about data we have all this data we have all this data we have all this data what are you doing with it so many people have tons of data they capture it but they don't do anything with it print and for traditional people might think there's something called offset printing.

6:25And that is what we call static. Today with digital technologies, everything could be variable. I can send you a piece of direct mail. I know where you live. I know your buying habits. And I could say, hey, Josh, do you know you're 17 steps away from a new life or a new home or a new gym? So you really can target somebody. And it becomes a very interesting way to create a relationship with a person and really get what you need. The other thing that customers that we're advising a lot to do is people talk about, you know, you leave something in your cart when you're online shopping and you'll get something.

7:05Hey, you left this there. I find it a little creepy. Not in my cart. But what you can do also, Also, marketers are missing the opportunity to take that data. If you have an online business, they probably also filled out an address for wherever they're going. Take that data and send them a direct mail postcard. Yeah. And people then, a consumer's not going to put the dots together right away. But if you send them, hey, a picture of those boots that they left in their cart, and you talk about the beautiful leather. See? And then you don't know. Yeah, that's quite, you know, it's kind of like zigging when other people zag.

7:49You know, most marketers, you know, it's their marketing in the red ocean. So it's, you know, the more that we can kind of go to where there's maybe not as much fatigue. And noise, not as much noise. Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, and consumers' brains today, too. I mean, would you mind maybe sharing a couple of best practices? I know you just kind of talked a little bit about, but in terms of like print that performs versus boring stale, well, this is of no value to me as a consumer when I receive that. Maybe share some ideas about what you see that kind of really pops or sticks or gets the attention.

8:34Well, first of all, I always say, let's talk about what paper you're using. Because when you think about it, it's tactile. That's another reason why print resonates in someone's brain. So think about the impression you want to make. And you can talk to your printer and look at different types of paper. If you're going for an event, we always recommend, you know, there's like a special paper that has a certain sheen on it that looks more upscale. If you're having a business conversation and you want somebody to invest, let's say if you were an American Express, go high in linen. So best practice, think about your paper.

9:11Think about what you're putting on that paper. Think about the colors you're using. Always be careful about the colors because certain colors set people off. So think about color psychology. That's another best practice. And think about what you're putting on that message and what somebody is going to read. Get there. There's a hierarchy of information. So I would say, think about the substrate, think about the colors you're going to use, and think about the first message you want them to see, because they're going to see it and then go down into it. We also recommend if it is something for a product or service, a picture.

9:50There is going to be an engagement when they see a piece of art, whether it's a person's face, a picture of a bike a lamp anything um and then also there's new ways in print where you could do things called specialty embellishments if you think about it you'll get something from an airline and it's like oh reach your gold status and it has gold match up your marketing and your fonts and your print to what you're offering and there's a value in that you know So if you're selling something and it's, I don't know, like a$20 item, you're not going to use gold. You're going to make it more fun and approachable.

10:31But if you're asking somebody to sign up for a loyalty program and hit a status, make sure those things match. So that's another big item. And I always say for people who are starting out in print and direct mail, always do a test and mail it to yourself first. That's a big thing because you never, the post office turns things up, you know, and you never really know. So reinforcing the substrate, the colors and ink you're going to use, and making sure that your headline is not cluttered. Yeah. You have worked with companies like Nestle and Hasbro. Hasbro. Share with us just a little bit about Square Root Creative as a company and the type of work, like who you work with and what that looks like.

11:20So Nestle and Hasbro were my starter business. Like I would say when we first started out, I worked with them and learned a ton in that market about packaged goods. And that's where my love of packaging did start. I would never go to a supermarket the same way again, because you're scanning every aisle and you learn where things are placed. As an agency now, we're doing more in technology and services and hospitality, a ton with rebranding now. Many companies are rebranding to connect with a different type of audience. The consumers are changing their preferences. So as an agency, we do work with, like I said, Fortune 500s.

12:06We also work with a lot of non-profit and pro bono I'll do when it comes to, we work with the Ms. Foundation from time to time, which has been a great honor for me being part of, you know, what Gloria Steinem and that vision created, especially being here in New York. We do a lot of video websites, prints. Branding is my personal love actually, because you get to tell the story. And it's very interesting when you work with working with a client now and it's a pretty big business, but a small medium business, but a lot, you know, it has substance. When you work for a company, when the owner is like personally involved and still there, it's a very different experience than working for a fortune 500 company.

12:57um so when we can tell a story that's when we see the creatives getting really excited and how we work so if it's a branding project there's always a few ways to get somewhere if you think about directions you get three routes right do you want to pay tolls do you want to go this way do you want to go that way so in branding it's the same way you have a goal but how are you visually interpreting that and that's a big deal and what's the voice of that company. So much goes into the simplicity of a brand. It's, you don't realize it, but everything is, it's crafted. It's like plastic surgery. You're crafting it.

13:39So I hope I answered your question there. Yeah, certainly. And so to someone that, like, who would be ideal in terms of like, that, you know, it's like, it could be maybe their values, maybe particular industry that they serve? Who is your perfect customer? You're like, oh, yeah, we're going to do good stuff together. Besides one that pays. Just kidding. You're right. One that pays on time. Oh, yeah. Well, I'm going to answer that question. My personal ideal, I've always had a dream of working with Nike, always. They inspired me in college, and that was many years ago. So that's a personal thing.

14:23An ideal client is one that is collaborative with you and has information and participates. We have some clients who just dump and run. And you spend so much time trying to weed things out. So I'm going to also make sure that I give your audience some advice. If you're going to work with an agency, learn how to work with an agency first. It'll save you time, money, and you're going to get to market faster. So an ideal client for us is one that wants to create something. We don't like doing one hit wonders. That's not what I'm in the game for. I still believe in the art of the idea. So if we can take a brand who wants to have a new visual identity, a new voice, and do something different.

15:13And when I say different, it's going to be an event that's not ordinary, or we're going to do something different in delivery, something that's going to stand out. The word templates for me is like, because it's like video killed the radio star, templates killed creativity. Yeah, right. So an ideal client is also one that wants to build something out. And it's not just one piece. It's here's, everything's cohesive. So when you can take something and put it around all the different avenues of marketing. So if it's print, PR, digital ads, your website, your social, being one message and the client that wants to understand that, and then you can tweak it to different audiences.

16:01So I would say an ideal client is one we want, they want us to build their story and tell their story. Everybody in marketing says, oh, we're storytellers. I'm a story builder. I like building it and then we can tell it. Yeah. Alicia, your website, square root creative.com to our friend that's been listening to our conversation and they're curious and they kind of want to take the next steps. What would you recommend they do? I don't know if you have any resources or anything that you would direct them too? We recently just rebranded our site and it's very functional right now. There's a variety of work there that we show.

16:41We decided to go for by client instead of by application or type of project. So I say, explore there, see what we do, see our design aesthetic. It's very clean, It's modern, it's thoughtful. And they can get in touch with us there or email me at alicia at square root creative.com. I'm looking at some of your portfolio right now and it is, it's gorgeous. Though I like the work that you did with, was it Aqua V? Yeah. V Aqua V, beautiful. Yeah, spirits are one of my favorites because the packaging and you have to stand out in the market. We are pitching something now that hopefully I could call you back in a week or two and tell you, hey, we got it.

17:31We're also another exciting thing that we are doing. We've been branching out a little differently over the past, I would say, six months. Looking for more like smaller clients, not these big Fortune 500 clients that it's hard to get things moving there lately. There's a lot of, you know, red tape. Everybody's very concerned about the political environment around us. So smaller clients sometimes can be more fun. We're rebranding a person right now, not a product. That was one of my goals. Like, let's work for a person, not a product. We'll be launching JennaWolf.com soon. Jenna, if everyone says, oh yeah, I know the name.

18:14Jenna Wolf was the, she was the lifestyle and fitness correspondent on the Today Show for 10 years. She's a total trailblazer, badass. And so we're launching, rebranding her site. We are also creating a new product and that brand is called apothecariesaints.com. You won't see this work on this site right now, but by the time this launches, it probably will. in terms of being an entrepreneur and knowing marketing, I never sit still. And also I'm in New York. So I'm very, always going, always, always on. So I recently partnered with another woman and I'm launching a brand of my own in the health and beauty lines.

18:58Nice. That's super exciting. Yeah. Well, congratulations again, square root creative.com. Alicia Birch. Thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate your time. Take care.

19:39Together, we are empowering one another as thoughtful leaders. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this program, if you're looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, and clients, I have had private conversations with over 2 ,000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from. I've got a free video that you can watch right now with no opt-in or email required where I'm going to share the exact steps necessary to be 100 % inbound in your industry over the next six to eight months with no spam, no ads, and no sales. What I teach has worked for me for more than 15 years and has helped me create eight figures in revenue for my own companies.

20:22Just head to upmyinfluence.com and watch my free class on how to create endless high-ticket sales appointments. Make sure to hit subscribe so that tomorrow morning, that's right, seven days a week, you are going to be inspired and motivated to succeed. I promise to bring positivity and inspiration to you for around 15 minutes every single day. Thanks for listening and thank you for being a part of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Movement.