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crowd by the ream
Yup, you can now buy the wrappers of copy paper
By Kathy Prentice
Another mini-billboard advertising vehicle is being launched.
Although the model, an 8 ½ by 11 inch image with logo, isn't new, not only is the positioning unique but it’s a site that most of us visit and touch on a daily basis.
This business-to-business venue is wrappers--the ones that cover the reams of paper delivered to offices and left near computers, copiers and fax machines.
The potential for single impressions matches the more than three billion reams of paper manufactured and consumed in the U.S. every year.
Multiply that by every person in your office who uses 20 lb. paper to calculate total impressions. To find out more about getting your client into America’s workplace, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts:
What:
Advertising on the top, bottom, sides and ends of the wrapping that packages reams of 20 lb. paper.
Who:
Grays Harbor Paper, headquartered in Hoquiam, Wash.
How it works:
Ads are printed on the paper wrappers of standard paper reams used in printers, copiers and fax machines. Grays Harbor Paper calls the venue Wrap Ads.
The top, bottom, sides and ends of the ream are available for ads. The only exception is an area where the paper company’s ID appears. “We need a small space for information regarding the paper specifications and room for a bar code,” says Grays Harbor salesperson Alicia Lee.
The advertiser supplies creative. An illustration, logo and contact information work well, Lee says, but the advertiser’s goal dictates what will work best for a particular campaign. Design and message size are flexible.
The Washington State tourism department used a full-page color photograph of Glacier Peak in the Northern Cascades with its campaign slogan and web site address.
Grays Harbor County used a partial-page photograph with logo, a list of reasons to visit the area and web site information. “I brought in our strategic partners from economic development and tourism to brainstorm about what kind of message we wanted,” says LeRoy Tipton, president of the Grays Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
They chose a theme that reflects the county and what visitors travel there to see. “Where tall trees meet the sea is a natural for us,” Tipton says. Sea-trees.com is both the theme and the address of their new web site.
Creative could be customized to fit different markets.
Art can be a photograph. Printing is done in 4-color or 6-color using 4-color with two spot colors.
Coupons can be incorporated into the ad and can be peeled or cut off.
Grays Harbor Paper takes care of printing and production. Distribution is contracted out with delivery to office supply outlets that supply corporate, government and home offices.
One advertiser can buy the entire package or two advertisers could partner, Lee says. “It would have to be the right combination, something like a resort with an airline.”
Wrap Ads are used on a stand-alone basis and in campaign mixes. The Washington State tourism department ran a similar ad simultaneously in a magazine.
Exclusivity is provided. “We wouldn’t do two competing advertisers at the same time unless they were in different markets,” Lee says.
Paper is distributed to office supply outlets. Advertising availability varies month to month with production, although overall 80,000 tons of 8 ½ by 11 inch paper is produced each year. Potentially 32 million reams are available for advertising. Grays Harbor Paper produces one percent of the nation’s paper.
Branding and promotions both work well with Wrap Ads. The Washington tourism department ran a branding campaign while Grays Harbor County used the wrappers to promote a contest to win a vacation to the area.
Promotions like coupons work, Lee says. However, distribution isn’t time sensitive to specific days, so promotions tied into a sale or entertainment event wouldn’t work as well as a general promotion like couponing.
A WrapAd provides multiple exposures. “It's a very unique advertising medium that can be marketed like direct mail, have the repeat exposure of a billboard and the staying power of a catalog.
People see it over and over again,” Lee says. “It’s interactive. You have to touch it, to look at it in order to open it. And you don’t get rid of the package until the paper is gone.”
Specific markets can be targeted within the distribution region. Advertisers can buy the entire market, major markets, certain cities or any combination that meets their needs.
For instance, Washington’s tourism department bought the San Francisco market but not the entire state of California.
Grays Harbor Paper plans to add advertising on the paper cartons as well. Each carton holds ten reams of paper.
Markets:
Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico.
“If an advertiser wants to target a specific market within our region, we can put paper in that market,” Lee says.
Numbers:
How measured?
Currently both pilot advertisers--the Washington State tourism department and Grays Harbor County--have developed web sites in conjunction with their Wrap Ads campaigns and will supply Grays Harbor Paper with response data.
Research:
What product categories do well?
Tourism, printing, computers, office supplies, office equipment, restaurants, general retail, food and electronics.
Grays Harbor Paper reserves the right to refuse advertising it deems inappropriate.
Herbert Research of Seattle conducted focus group and telephone interviews with office products' purchasers, marketing professionals, employees of large corporations and home office proprietors. Key findings:
- Most people in an office see paper reams at some time and many see them often.
- Wrap Ads were rated positive or neutral by 86 percent of survey respondents.
Demographics:
Corporate managers, administrative staff, home office owners, engineers, purchasing agents and public service professionals are targeted where they work. “The type of person we’re likely to reach is someone who makes decisions,” Tipton says.
“The Wrap Ad we have is directed to prospective visitors. We know that 85 percent of our visitors come from the region we’ve targeted for distribution. They’re both those planning vacations and those more impulsive who will just say ‘Let’s go.’”
Grays Harbor County also used its trees and sea theme to target commuters who spend an hour-and-a-half on congested highways getting to work.
Making the buy:
Lead time is thirty days from approval of art.
Wrap Ads are sold in truckload distribution units with 8,400 reams per truckload.
Quantity affects pricing. Market distribution is not a cost factor. Prices are negotiable.
Who’s already on ream wrappers?
The Washington State tourism department, through the state’s office of trade and economic development, and Grays Harbor County.
What they’re saying:
“Every person I know has a ream of paper sitting nearby. It’s within arm’s reach for most people, something very visible. It’s going to get attention.” -- LeRoy Tipton, president of the Grays Harbor Chamber of Commerce in Aberdeen, Wash., which put its tourism message on 176,000 reams of paper.
Web site info:
Under construction.
Contacts:
Alicia Lee at 866-972-7237 or wrapads@ghplp.com
May 21, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Kathy Prentice writes about out-of-home advertising for Media Life, penning her stories from the resort town of Traverse City, in the upper reaches of Michigan.
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