Month: February 2023

We all know about the language and messages that flowers can bring: roses for love, lilies for sorrow, sunflowers for optimism and so on. The florist’s art is demonstrated by combining the colours, fragrances and textures to deliver a complex message of thoughtfulness and care from the giver to the recipient.

However, a bouquet or floral gift comprises more than the arrangement of beautiful flowers and foliage. Packaging and presentation are enormously important too. In this age of online gift flowers from Amazon, M&S and others, hands-on florists need to ensure that their offering shouts quality and individualism from the moment it is received.

The fact is that those who give and receive flowers usually care about the natural environment. The sustainability and mileage of the flowers in the bouquet will matter to most people. This gives the florist a unique opportunity to promote their services on an eco-platform. Using environmentally sustainable packaging and presentation products may provide the USP needed to differentiate the florist shop from the online magnates.

Paper and card have their own language and are as important to enhance beautiful flowers as eucalyptus or ivy. There’s a huge range of paper-based products that can be used. Boxes for arrangements are now commonplace for presenting an arrangement: the quality and texture of your card and the colours you use will become an integral part of the message being conveyed and set the tone of the arrangement: modern, rustic, classic or natural.

Eco Paper Flower Sleeves are a relatively new addition to the florist’s toolkit. Eco Flower Supplies are a part of Dynamic Print: we’ve been offering paper sleeves since 2018. They are made from UK-sourced die cut 90gsm Kraft paper which is recyclable, biodegradable and compostable – and they have a natural, soft look that can enhance any style of arrangement.

The important message here is that packaging and presentation should never be an afterthought for any business. In the world of floristry eco-friendly presentation products can set the independent apart from the heavyweight brands, build reputations and get the markets talking.

https://www.ecoflowersupplies.co.uk/

There is a perception that printing is dead… No-one sends letters, no-one has brochures – everything is online or in a pdf. But is that really the case for successful businesses?

The trouble with digital correspondence and marketing is that it is transitory. It lacks the permanence of something tangible that you hold in your hand, and there is a real risk that your important message will fail to make the desired impression.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating going back to snail-mail for ongoing written conversations. Email, WhatsApp and other digital platforms make our interactions fast and easy. They’re more formal than a phone call and provide the short-term record needed to move projects and processes forward. I’m not suggesting waiting for a choice of brochures to arrive by post before making purchasing decisions either: instant, easy information is what the Internet and digital communication is designed to deliver.

However, there are times when nothing can come close to the impact and message that a paper brochure or communication can provide. Its ability to make an impression on other senses simultaneously gives it an enormous marketing edge over its digital counterpart. Its message is not just visual, but also has undertones delivered through touch and smell. An emailed invitation inevitably has a casual, perhaps mass-market feel to it however nicely designed it may be, whereas a beautifully embossed or foil printed invitation card shouts the importance of the recipient and the perceived value of the occasion.

Consider the humble business card… It’s one of the first impressions a customer gets about you and all too often it fails to meet its potential in terms of message and impact. A well-designed card, beautifully printed on the right card stock will always say that you care about detail and quality.

There’s something rather wonderful about the feel of good traditional paper and card, about the depth or subtlety of colours available, and about the sensory impact of embossing, foiling and all the other haptic finishes on offer.

The other factor that will impact on the future of printed materials is the brain’s ability to hold information for more than a few seconds. Studies suggest that the reader will retain more of the message they have read in print than they have read on screen. Part of that is related to the spatial awareness we get from physical reading matter – the layout on the page and the position in the publication – and part may be inbuilt perceptions that somehow the printed page is more important. Whatever the reasons, the consensus appears to be that the printed word stays with the reader longer.

The print market has certainly changed over the last decade, but it absolutely isn’t less important. Specialist printing for important communications – whether on tissue paper, heavy card or anything in between – plays a fundamental role in delivering specific messages that require maximum impact and longevity.