Unveil the Unexpected: Marketing with Designer Folds
Enticing. Daring. Indulgent. These three words may not describe your previous marketing materials, but they certainly will when you add Designer Folds by Foldfactory to your advertising repertoire. Take it from Foldfactory founder, Trish Witkowski: “Specialty formats are impactful – they provoke a reaction.” Indeed. With custom mailers, brochures and invitations like you’ve never seen, these 30 custom folds flaunt every panel, curve and twist and leave your audience wanting more.
Provocative Promotion
When it comes to marketing mailers, it’s not just about reaching your target audience, but also thrilling them. Your message needs to stand out, and with custom brochures to promote products, provide progress reports or hand out at trade shows, the unveiling is half the fun.
“A specialty format is an entirely different experience, a design challenge and incredibly satisfying to see as a finished product,” said Witkowski. “They bring a certain wow factor to your work portfolio.”
Twist: 100# Uncoated Smooth White Text, 12 x 12″
Rectangular 9-Panel Reveal: 80# Uncoated Smooth White Cover, 28.5 x 19.5″
Indulge in two Designer Folds that do just that: Tri-Fold Pocket Mailers and Twists. With online printing options like paper stocks and UV coatings, these creative mailers spice up your strategy and give your customers something new.
Tri-Fold Pocket Mailers let you create a multi-piece marketing package with a pocket for informational inserts, event tickets and coupons, while self-securing Twists keep your clients guessing as they unfold your assets.
Trish’s Tip for 9-Panel Reveals: “This reveal format is a journey, with nine panels that unfold gracefully in four directions. I’ve seen this done in so many ways, with bold images or thought-provoking quotes, bold blocks of color or a series of phrases that build on each other.”
Insert: 80# Uncoated Smooth White Cover, 8.875 x 5.875″, Sleeve Mailer: 80# Uncoated Smooth White Cover, 9 x 7.5″
Alluring Advertising
Ideal for product launches, event announcements, targeted direct mail and self-promotion across all industries, folded mailers stimulate your marketing and advertising strategy, no matter what ROI goals you set. And with online printing services to help you design and customize any project, Smartpress ensures you divulge your messaging any way you want.
For Witkowski, that’s what Designer Folds are all about. “I’m particularly fond of products that have interesting stories behind them,” she said. “They’re a great example of how the right choice of format can directly assist in communicating a powerful message.”
From wraps for sending product catalogs to mailer formats with insert cards, Designer Folds make the anticipation of the reveal totally worth the wait.
Circle Locked Gate: 80# Uncoated Smooth White Cover, 14 x 4.25″
Accordion Into Gate Poster: 80# Uncoated Smooth White Text, 19.5″ x 28.75″
Let customers uncover hidden deals with Coupon Mailers, and use the three perforated coupons for discounts, loyalty punch cards or tear-out business cards. Or unlock your own creativity with Circle Locked Gates, as their interlocking design adds appealing dimension.
Trish’s Tip for Broadside Reveal Brochures: “The magic of this fold is in the ‘sneak peek’ of imagery in the horizontal strip. There’s so much you can do with that design element: a full bleed image, map, panoramic photo or oversized typography.”
Traveling Snake: 80# Uncoated Smooth Cover, 14 x 14.7″
Irresistible Invitations
Marketing with Designer Folds is not only about reaching audiences and building awareness, but also persuading them to buy, promote or attend. Tempting your guests to follow through on your call to action is easy with formats like Traveling Snakes and Double Swingers.
Invitation printing is the name of the game with these two folds, whether your event is a corporate gala, community fundraiser or birthday or anniversary party.
Both feature double-sided printing to get the most real estate for your message. Traveling Snakes uncoil to six panels to showcase milestones or timelines, while Double Swingers open up captivating custom invitation possibilities with a self-standing sculptural display.
Complex and unexpected, these folds steer your marketing tactics in a new direction. A direction where imagination and creativity pay off – an absolute must when shaking up your budget.
“Designer Folds are more expensive than mainstream print formats because they’re non-standard and involve additional production steps,” Witkowski explained. “They’re printed, transported to a machine to be die-cut and scored, then sent to a hand bindery. There are extra steps, extra time, materials and humans.”
With customizing options that excite and delight, Designer Folds ensure the return outweighs the cost.
Trish’s Tip for Circular Accordions: “This design is exciting on its own and can be stellar as a promotional insert in a larger package of marketing materials as well. The designer in me loves the unique five-circle perimeter shape to work with.”
Captivating Communication
So how do you get folds into the hands of audiences, targeted or otherwise? As a full-service online printer, Smartpress offers mail fulfillment services on many of our Designer Folds. From list acquisition and list processing to addressing and mailing, our mailing services take the stress out of sending.
If your fold of choice features mailing services, you’ll find that information (like recommended envelope size) on its product page. Even better? We can provide mailing help for all Designer Folds via Custom Quote. Mailing guidelines can seem daunting, but Designer Folds make it simple.
“Many of the formats come in mail-friendly rectangular proportions (versus square, which gets a hand-sorting surcharge), and some come in a choice of either,” Witkowski said. She suggests a “splurge-save scenario”: spend on the format, save on the postage. “The beauty of it is you have choices.”
Square Folded Cross: 80# Uncoated Smooth White Cover, 17 x 17″
Design Direction
Even in this digital age, print is a viable and powerful medium, and Designer Folds are no exception.
“Well-timed, well-placed print media as a part of a campaign or promotion can drive sales, build loyalty, top-of-mind brand recognition and make a big impression,” said Witkowski. “A successful print campaign involves strategy, the right audience, message, offer and good design.”
And to achieve that “good design,” Witkowski offers three tactics that do the trick:
#1: “Let the content lead you to the right format. If your content needs to be organized and read in a certain order, don’t force it into the wrong format just because you love the format. The communication of the message always comes first.”
#2: “Make a mini mockup. It can be hard to visualize non-standard formats when you’re designing. I always print out a mini mockup and fold it down. It also helps with designing the user experience and confirms that everything is placed correctly. You’ll be amazed at the critical details that can be overlooked when you skip this step.”
#3: “Show and sell. With new, exciting formats, it can be hard to sell the idea to your client or marketing team when they’ve only seen traditional formats. One of the things I usually do is design one layout two ways. Having the comparison of the two experiences really makes the designer format stand out and gives everyone great visuals to evaluate.”
Hint: Get more fold inspo:
