Here are three great examples of commercial printing at it’s finest.

But finding that perfect concept can be incredibly challenging. Luckily, when you aim for small concepts, you don’t have to be a creative genius. Think about something catchy, simple and easy to process.

Some people make the mistake of taking on huge, thematic concepts for their large format printing displays, and they end up being flops. The truth is, you’re fighting for your target audiences attention. They aren’t waiting around to see what you’re going to next, and they surely don’t have time it sit and analyze what you’re tyring to say with your campaign–you have to put it right under their nose. Think of something small, witty, simple and easy to convey in a design.

Sometimes, when you think of a simple concept, you’re able to have a lot more creative freedom with the design, and could very well end up with something that consumers love and respond to.

This allows you to spread the word on the streets, where the people are. They see a big ad for something that makes them stop, they’re probably going to remember what it was for a while, and hey, even if they can’t remember the product, they’ll see the ad again on the next block, because your campaign is so comprehensive you’ve covered nearly every block this poor sap is walking on, and this time they’ll make sure to note exactly what it is that you’re advertising.

So go on, get creative, and have fun with it! Because if you do, your ad will be that much more inspirational and memorable. And if you really need help, check back with me in two weeks, because I’m going to Florida on Monday.

The commercial printing industry has always relied on technology to get the job done, and now thanks to the evolution of the technology, many print houses can offer services at lower prices. New internet communication technologies and the creation of digital plates makes specialized printing that wasn’t even offered a decade ago affordable for many more business owners, big or small.

Digital plates are really the main catalyst in this price decrease. Instead of having to create a set of four physical plates for CMYK projects, the image is sent digitally to the printing machine. Doing this saves money and time by allowing the image to be changed multiple times, without having to create a new set of plates.

Another key component in more affordable commercial printing is the use of internet communications in the creative and sales processes. Today many clients can upload their image or design, right onto the print house’s website making it much easier for both parties involved. Because the internet is available, the number of 24/7 orders have skyrocketed for many print houses, bringing them in bigger profits and allowing many to offer their services at more affordable prices.

Whether walking, driving, or riding a bike, people tend to be in motion when they see Billboards, which means these marketing tools have to get the message across quick. It’s lucky for us most advertises thrive under pressure, using this short time frame as motivation to create some of the punchiest ads out there.

Let’s have a look at four of our favorites:

BMW: Santa Monica to A4

This is like when your friend sets you up for the perfect zinger, and you take it. Except in the case of BMW, it’s not so much a friend as an arch rival. After Audi installed the rather obnoxious “Your move, BMW” ad, the latter car company embraced the chess motif—and physical location—to create the perfect comeback: “Checkmate.”

Mini Storage Shop of Horrors

Manhattan Mini Storage always has clever billboard and subway ads, and this is no exception. Even though hardly anyone reading the ad owns—or would admit to owning, anyway—a creepy doll collection, you know this ad made them think of their ceramic unicorn figurines, authentic Star Wars dioramas, or what have you… all great candidates for storage.

The Competitors are Dropping Like Flies

Some of the most memorable ad campaigns have involved in your face marketing, like this two-piece billboard by Cingular, which takes dropped calls to a literal and creative level. Also, the abrupt lost feeling  you get when you see the gaping hole beneath “dropped”—before you realize it’s part of the ad—is pretty much how it feels to get disconnected.

Yo Momma’s So Fat…

Like the Cingular ad, this spot for Silberman’s Fitness Center takes full advantage of its medium to make those thirty minutes on the treadmill seem at least slightly more appealing. Or in any event, the cars that pass by probably won’t be pulling into McDonald’s.

A lot of people look at the world we live in and they only see graphics, and pixels. It’s no one’s fault really because this is certainly the kind of world we all live in. It is, however, the fault of promoters and media that we only look at marketing opportunities online. There are so many opportunities out there for people to promote their business’, products or anything through the means of paper and print marketing.

Everyone in business today still needs and relies on paper and print marketing in one way or another. People like tangible things, they like to be able to grab and touch the things they are purchasing. It is very important to print business cards and to distribute them in any business today.

There are multiples of companies that provide direct mail marketing which is a great way to gain exposure for your company. This form of marketing has been used over the years, and continues to be used by some of the biggest companies in the world today. It’s not all emails, and newsletters. Marketing requires variety, and some of that will come in the form of something tangible – paper and print marketing for example.

Take full advantage of a direct mail marketing service. They will send out your promotional materials  to anyone you desire, or they think will desire your products. They do all of the work. They print off the materials for you, they address them, they find out desirable places to send them.

This kind of service can’t be done digitally. This is the kind of marketing that is done through print and paper. This is a very important form of marketing, and one that should not be overlooked.