How do you get the print industry to attend the launch of a new player in the wide format sector of digital printing? Declare war!

The signage & printing industry’s top 200 names were targeted with an elaborately-crafted, military-themed DM piece in the form of an Air Force drafting document, to wage war on small-format, low-impact printing methods.

Direct Mail was an obvious choice – other than new leads, the audience was known personally with business having been done with them many times before. Managers and owners were targeted because, when it comes to large purchases such as large format printing presses, the buck stops with them. They’re the decision-makers.

Before the Fuji Xerox launch, printing personalised, multiple, large format pieces digitally often took a matter of days, at considerable expense. Communicating and demonstrating that Fuji Xerox now had the large format technology to outdo the speed, quality and cost efficiency of existing digital presses was the basis for this campaign.

The dimensional launch invitation highlighted the Acuity LED 1600 machine’s capabilities from a size, speed and stock perspective. The invitation package contained:

• A personalised military draft poster printed on special stock on the Acuity Advance Select.
• A personalised large-scale invitation and map to a launch event printed on special stock by the Acuity LED 1600.
• A themed large-scale blueprint of a Warbird printed on the Docuwide C842 (in five seconds)
• Personalised dog tags featuring the location and log-in code to RSVP to the event.

To RSVP to the event, respondents logged on to the online portal using their personalised URL where they could register, personalise & customise their own aeroplane.

Fuji Xerox downloaded and printed each plane onto specially imported balsawood using their Acuity LED 1600. The laser-cut and assembled planes were presented to the attendees at an elaborately military-styled event so they could take to the skies and compete for prizes. After the function’s formalities, attendees were invited to attempt to land their plane on a target to win prizes. The flight path was nestled between the large planes in the MOTAT Aviation Hall.

The response has been a resounding success.