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Affordable quality is everything
I was walking along a busy high street a few days ago and passed a retail optician. I didn't need my eyes tested at the time, but the shop did draw my attention: unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.
Naturally, with consumers holding their cash tightly, the shop had decided to do some marketing in the form of an A-board in the middle of the pavement. However, the image itself caused some concern due to it comprising a tatty sheet of white paper, taped to the A-board and carrying a poorly hand written message scrawled in black marker pen.
Some would say any message was better than none. On this occasion I would disagree. Eyes are valuable things and I want mine looked after by people who care. This sign seemed care-free. Rather than drawing me in, it pushed me away.
Maybe the retailer did not realise that local graphic design and production companies could have employed templated poster software and wide-format digital printers to design and deliver a quality marketing message for a fraction of the ‘imagined' cost. Maybe those local providers had failed to get the message across.
Either way, the line of communication between the printer and customer had failed. The result was lost business for the retailer and lost business for the printer: a lose-lose scenario.
Never more has the screen and wide-format digital print industry needed to summarise its benefits and broadcast them widely. Lets get on with the job.
Jon Barrett, Editor
