Everyone’s still talking about it…Two Sides Autumn Seminar held in London towards the end of 2011 reaffirms the popularity of print as an essential medium, citing print as ‘the new cool’ and having a unique appeal.
 
Speakers talked about how important print is and results from their surveys suggested the younger generation actually preferred reading on paper than reading on screens!
 
I like to think that print will never disappear. With many people spending their entire working day in front of a screen or glued to their smartphone, easing the commute with a newspaper on the Gautrain or relaxing in the bath with a book after a long day are some of life’s great luxuries.
 
According to November’s issue of Loyalty Magazine, editors found that when they transferred their offering from print to online they received many concerned messages from readers who ‘want to be able to flick through and browse’ the articles. Many readers suggested that the online news service lacked the comfort factor of a ‘real’ magazine, so Loyalty decided to go retro and now publish a printed version three times a year.
 
PocketMedia® Solutions is a strong believer that print will always be a reliable and innovative way to market your brand. As former BBC online editor Ashley Highfield suggests, “The trick is to help move those brands into the digital age and get the right balance between print and digital.” Print is a crucial component to any successful marketing or advertising process.
 
Chunky catalogues will continue to be replaced with small hand-held forms of print communication in 2012, directing consumers to websites or being used as quick reference guides.
 
Smart printing, that fulfils a particular need or niche, will survive the digital shift into 2012 and beyond.

The University of Johannesburg has again selected a PocketMedia® Solution’s Z-CARD® as a registration guide to assist 2012 first year students during its annual registration process.

“The pocket-sized Z-CARD® was posted to 2012 first year students during November, to make registration less daunting and easy for them,” says Louis Fourie, the University of Johannesburg’s Logistics Coordinator.

Whilst the one side of the Z-CARD® provides information about orientation, fees, campus contact numbers, bursaries and faculties; the other provides a cartoon illustration of a step by step guide to online registration, along with maps of the various campus facilities.
 
“The campus maps have proven very popular in the past, with students keeping them on person for at least six months after registration to refer to them and find their way around each campus with ease,” Fourie explains.

The Department of Education boosts the Class of 2011 with a Z-CARD®

The Matric Class of 2011 received their much anticipated results earlier this month. With the euphoria of starting the next chapter of their lives, these young adults hold the future in their hands.

Realising this before the exams commenced towards the end of 2011, the Department of Education in the Eastern Cape tasked PocketMedia® Solutions to produce a credit card-sized Z-CARD® to motivate and assist learners in their exam preparation.

Besides offering useful study tips and providing a helpline for students feeling the pressure of Matric, the Z-CARD® wished them luck and offered messages of support during what was one of the most important times in their lives.

It provided information about setting goals, studying effectively, time management, memory techniques, exam writing skills, and even the contact details of a few universities in the area.

Oasis Waters’ Z-CARD® Bottle Hang on tap in the UAE

Oasis Water in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently selected Z-CARD® Isra Middle East to produce 300 000 Z-CARD® die cut bottle hangs for its five gallon water bottles.
 
Predominantly a UAE-based company and brand Oasis Water has been the benchmark of excellence in the industry for the past two decades. In 1984, it became the first company in the UAE to introduce five gallon bottles.
 
“We now have the largest distribution fleet in the country to make sure that our consumers’ water is delivered to them on time, every time,” says Jay Andres, Category Team Leader, Oasis Water Company.
 
“The bottle hangs are die cut in the shape of Oasis Waters’ five gallon bottles, and open up to reveal impressive special offers for new consumers,” adds Yusuf Sandalwala of Z-CARD® UAE.

Sinutab relieves high pollen count congestion with a Z-CARD®

Johnson & Johnson’s has very cleverly produced a PocketMedia® Solution’s Z-CARD® for its Sinutab brand to provide consumers with a 2012 calendar which highlights the high pollen count season, running from September to November, whilst educating them about which products to use to alleviate congestion.

Sinutab has a range of products that are specifically formulated to help our consumers escape from that blocked up feeling caused by allergies,” says Sinutab’s Product Manager, Vanessa Sew Chung Hong.

Afrox’s internal communication made easy with PocketMedia® Solutions

Afrox has selected PocketMedia® Solution’s Z-CARD® for three different internal communication solutions over the past few months.

Whilst a credit card-sized Z-CARD® was selected to educate its employees on how to manage HIV and Aids, a pocket-sized Z-CARD® was used to inform employees about how to navigate its online employee portal. Another pocket-sized Z-CARD® generated internal awareness about the newly introduced Lotus Notes collaboration tool.

“The content of the HIV/Aids card details Afrox’s HIV/Aids programme for employees, which offers treatment and support administered by a team of caring healthcare professionals,” says Afrox’s Brand Manager, Nolundi Rawana.

It also encourages employees to know their status and rights and explains how they can join the programme. The cards were handed out during Afrox’s wellness days and will also be given out for World Aids Day, which takes place annually on 1 December.

Castrol use Z-CARD®s to ensure consumers use the right oil

Castrol recently selected a credit card-sized, concertina format Z-CARD® to educate consumers about using the right oil in their car to provide an easy step-by-step guide on how to check and top up their oil.

The Z-CARD®s are handed out to consumers when they take their car in for a service at a franchised car workshop.

“Using the wrong oil or letting oil levels run low can lead to engine damage. It can also make the vehicle use more fuel and hike up emissions, which could even void its warranty,” says Castrol’s Rob Bowen – Technology Manager Africa).

Another Maputo City Guide produced by PocketMedia® Solutions

PocketMedia® Solutions is no stranger to Mozambique having already produced four runs of the extremely popular Maputo City Guide, an eight-panel Z-CARD®.

The latest run has just been delivered, ahead of the festive season, to ensure that tourists can find their way around the city with ease.

The Maputo City Guide is a free tourist map that is handed out at hotels, car hire companies, tourism hot spots and the Mozambique Consulate. They are also distributed via South African tour operators, who give them to their clients visiting Maputo.

With the importance and urgency of skills development, an ever increasing focus in the South African workplace, the Fasset (Finance, Accounting, Management Consulting and other Financial Services) SETA has contracted PocketMedia® Solutions on several occasions over the past two years, to produce a credit card-sized Z-CARD® on careers in the Fasset sector for their learner market.

The financial services sector is particularly important because it is the largest employer of people with financial management, accounting and auditing skills in the country.

“As such, we wanted to provide prospective students with a handy communication tool that can help them choose their future career in this industry,” says Fasset’s Marketing Communications Manager, Marelda Moodley.

Enbaya Prepaid Meters gives consumers power with a Z-CARD®

Enbaya Predpaid Meters recently selected a credit card-sized Z-CARD® to provide its consumers with useful tips on how to use its online and mobi services to purchase their water and electricity vouchers from the company.

The Z-CARD®s form part of a trial project and seek to inform the company’s end-users of prepaid electricity and water meters about how to purchase electricity and water vouchers from retail outlets, online, or via the mobi site, and how to manage their meter.

“If the project is successful, the Z-CARD®s will be rolled out to all PrepaidMeters.co.za customers,” explains Karen Wheller from Enbaya Predpaid Meters.

The instructions printed on the Z-CARD® can only be used with the Enbaya Prepaid Meters’ vending system. “Meter users should not try to use our directions and useful tips with other meters that are not registered on our system, as this will result in errors,” she explains.

Consumers are provided with all of the information they need to SMS for tokens, get the last balance on their meter, vend tokens on their available balance, log-in via the website to the vending system and manage meters, and find out how to credit a meter via bank, credit card and retail outlet vouchers.

The SHRA makes social housing easy for consumers with a Z-CARD®

The Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA) recently selected a square, custom-sized Z-CARD® to generate awareness around the national regulatory authority which was established in August 2010, in terms of the Social Housing Act.

“SHRA was established to promote the development and awareness of social housing, by providing an enabling environment for the growth and development of the social housing sector,” explains SHRA’s (Rheena Hansrajh).

“Social housing provides good quality rental accommodation for the upper end of the low income market,” she adds.

Anglo American Platinum’s Z-CARD® generates awareness around HIV/Aids on World Aids Day

Anglo American Platinum has had an innovative, die cut Bottle Hang produced to generate awareness around World Aids Day on the 1st of December.

PocketMedia® Solutions custom made the Z-CARD® Bottle Hang for the Anglo American Platinum Wellness Programme, with both front and back covers die cut in the shape of a hand, and the back cover containing a board pouch which houses a condom.

The Bottle Hang Z-CARD®s have been placed around the neck of a Galito’s chilli sauce bottle. These will be handed out by Anglo American Platinum’s employees at its operations which will host World Aids Day celebrations.

PocketMedia® Solutions is now able to offer its clients an interactive and virtual experience, with the Augmented Reality (AR) Z-CARD®.

The innovative AR Z-CARD® bridges the gap between print and digital, offering brands an engaging way in which to interact with their target audience.

Z-CARD® formats, traditionally the size of a credit card, are designed to be kept on person and referred to on a regular basis. Add the digital AR offering to the traditional PocketMedia® formats, and consumers will be spell bound.

PocketMedia® Solutions and brand and event communication specialists, EnOv8, have a lot in common - they both utilise innovative marketing concepts to attract and engage their clients and consumers.

EnOv8 recently selected PocketMedia® Solution’s Unidentified Folding Object (UFO) to utilise as a business card.

A UFO is a pioneering marketing, advertising and communication solution that is able to grab and hold consumer attention while they absorb the message.

“Resembling a printed, paper Rubik Cube, the UFO’s continuous folding action enables it to flip, fold, twist and turn, as four separate text and graphic areas come to the surface,” explains John Davis, the Managing Director of PocketMedia® Solutions.

As a dynamic brand interaction company, EnOv8 ensures that brands come alive when it positions them as top-of-mind amongst its clients’ consumers. Its focus is on getting people to interact with its clients’ brands, thereby building on the brand equity that they already enjoy.