The Art Of Cutting Paper

Check out this incredible Ted video from artist Béatrice Coron who's creations are made totally from cut paper. She started her works of art from paper because in her words: "Paper is cheap, light and you can use it in a lot of different ways."

With an exacto and a roll of paper, she creates intricate worlds, cities and countries, heavens and hells. Striding onstage in a glorious cape cut from Tyvek, she describes her creative process and the way her stories develop from snips and slices.

Talk about having a vision with just a blank sheet of paper. Hers is an interesting concept, instead of adding her vision to the paper with ink, marker or pencil, she removes what isn't part of the story by cutting it away. Truly visionary.

Paper is..........Inspiring.

It Only Makes Sense

You don't have to convince us that direct mail works. There are plenty of numbers out their to prove direct mail marketing's effectiveness, especially when tailoring your message to the right audience.

Most of us are getting less mail in our mailboxes, so not only do those messages that are relevant get noticed, they also get read. Add in some sensory marketing to your piece; a little scent here, a little taste strip there, some moving images or a little noise, and you've got yourself a stand out!

Check out the excerpt below from the USPS' Deliver Magazine about last spring's Scented Campaign from TruGreen. Can you smell the fresh cut grass?

Sensory Mail Grabs Hold of the Target

October 10, 2011
by Lekan Oguntoyinbo

An Appeal to the Senses

Spring came early this year in many of the nation’s colder regions, courtesy of lawn care giant TruGreen. In February, oversized postcards with a picture of a lush lawn in the foreground and a family in the background began showing up in mailboxes of 1 million prospective customers of the lawn care company. “Say hello to Spring,” the card read in big white letters.

On the lower left side of the postcard an invitation beckoned: For the smell of a healthy spring lawn, peel here.

The scent of fresh-cut grass filled the nostrils of potential customers who accepted the invitation.

The scented postcard, a key component of TruGreen’s integrated marketing campaign this year, is the Memphis-based company’s first foray into sensory marketing.

“As a company we wanted to change the conversation from killing weeds to lawn enjoyment,” says Amy Simpson, director of brand communications for TruGreen.

While it’s too early to release any definitive data on this new campaign, the evidence so far suggests the use of the scented postcards was well received, says Simpson: “We have anecdotal comments from customers. They say it evoked an emotional appeal, and they liked the smell. It made them want to be outside.”

Read the full article with more examples of other effective sensory marketing campaigns here.

Familiar Faces, New Places

We have some people on the move...and thought it was about time we shared the good news!

Danielle Parker, Outside Sales

Danielle Parker, formerly of our sample and inside sales departments, is now hitting the streets to help spread the word about CMP and the products we carry. In this age of  "non traditional customers" owning and operating digital printing equipment, and having a need for paper, there is no shortage of places for her to visit. We certainly will miss her knowledge and smiling face in the sample department, but are happy more of you will have the opportunity to interact with her. Good luck, Danielle.

Steve Blackport: Inside Sales & Sample Department

And stepping over part time into Danielle's shoes, from his inside sales position, is Steve Blackport. He will "hold down the fort" for Rachel on the days she is not in the office, and when time allows, will work with her to keep things moving. Steve's always been a handy guy, but we are putting him to the test as he learns to make dummies, envelopes, pocket folders and whatever else is needed. You may notice from the picture above, that he always comes prepared!

Looking ahead, and to keep things a bit more consistent, we have added a samples@cmpaper.com email address which will be checked by whomever is manning the sample department. Please switch over to using the new email address. Responses will come from Sample Dept at CMP and the person handling your request will add their name at the bottom, in case you need to reach someone via the phone.

We are lucky to be a small company with a huge pool of talent to draw from. We'd like to think that makes using CMP for all your paper needs a win/win situation for everyone.

Way to keep it fresh by mixing things up CMP.