Award Winning

John Brown Media for Sappi Europe: Best use of Print, Reach Out and Touch

Client: Sappi Europe
Award: Best use of Print

Agency: John Brown Media
Client: Sappi Europe
Award: International Content Marketing Awards 2019 – Best use of Print

Brief: 

Sappi is the world’s leading producer of paper. With the decline in print, the company has diversified to produce other tree bi-products. These include biofuel and cellulose (which is used as a substitute for plastics), and speciality packaging (a growing market). Paper sales still remain an important part of its business.

Sappi Europe’s USPs are the variety of its products, and its expertise and knowledge to produce on time and to spec, particularly when it comes to paper. The company sells itself on its ability to provide solutions, showing clients how they can save money in their business, whether this be through changing the type of paper used, how they stockpile it, or looking at different ways to have it delivered.

Our brief was to produce a publication that celebrated the USPs and spoke straight to an audience who make campaign budget decisions. We had to demonstrate through our content, design and techniques that print still has a place in a world that is predominantly digital. Aimed at people who have purchasing power within the media landscape, such as marketing directors, CEOs and media planners, we wanted to stimulate thoughts about adding print to the mix. We wanted to show how print complements digital – and that innovative things can be done with print.

The book had to celebrate the power of touch, thus giving marketeers the ammunition to recommend print. The publication also needed to be supported by exciting launch events as well as an online programme, in order to reach both the advocates of print and those less engaged, who needed their perceived wisdom challenged.

Best Use of Print: Reach out and touch

Solution:

Reach Out and Touch pays tribute both to the possibilities of print and one of our most powerful senses. We take the reader on a sensory journey populated by innovative paper finishes and thought-provoking features that bring to life the joy of the physical in a digital age.

The cover invites you to come and discover, in the pages that follow, how touch can change the way we think, feel and behave. Our issue theme is embodied by the striking visual of a hand, the very instrument of touch. By using an embossed palm that appears to push through the paper, we symbolise how the power of touch can help print break through the digital landscape, a key message for our client in these challenging times.

The cover uses a number of print techniques to signify touch and demonstrate the capabilities of our paper medium. The embossed hand on the back cover showcases an indented image, while the debossed cover shows a raised hand. Couple this with the soft-touch finish and foil-blocked wording, and you have a cover that shows our client at their best, while actively enticing readers to enjoy a haptic experience.

The print techniques are continued through the publication and are perfectly married to the images and the design. They provide the reader with an unforgettable, luxurious experience – showcasing a range of techniques that appeal to all the senses and demonstrating the possibilities that can be achieved with print.

The sumptuous design is supported by thought-leading content that looks at the importance of touch in our everyday lives we take the reader on a journey from the womb where we respond more to touch than voice, through our interaction with colleagues and the environment in our everyday life, to providing first-class examples of how companies are using print to increase ROI. We examine the role of touch in the creation of memory, trust in messaging, and the way in which we form opinions about everything from people to how much to pay for a product. Finally, we explore ways touch helps advertising and the media to inspire action.

Results:

The reaction to the issue from readers and clients alike has been nothing but positive, with a number of clients inspired to explore the use of our print techniques for their own publications. Everyone who picks it up engages with both the cover and sensory features in a way that evidently surprises and delights, fulfilling our aim of creating a haptic experience that brings the issue to life in your hands.

We have launched the book at a series of breakfast events, and this has resulted in further interest from clients and printers alike. Through word of mouth, we have been asked to present the information within Reach Out and Touch to a range of media planners, to show them the power of print. Sappi Europe’s merchants and printers have requested bulk copies to send out to their customers.

“This book shows how important haptics is in the decision-making process. People are looking for something they can trust something that has a physical presence – and print and paper does this, from holding a magazine in your hands and knowing the words won’t change, to forming a view of a product through its physical packaging. Print has an integral role to play within the marketing mix. It evokes feelings that are rarely replicated within the digital arena, as well as high levels of engagement,” said John Clinton, MD of Sappi UK Sales Office.

We challenge you, too, to pick up the book and not reach out and touch. Feels nice, doesn’t it?

The 2020 International Content Marketing Awards are open for entries. If you produce outstanding print, why not submit an entry to be in with the chance of winning gold?

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