Chicago, IL – GPA is proud to announce that they have won Best of Category in the Printing Industry of America’s 2013 Premier Print Awards. GPA won in the Customized/Personalize/Variable-Data Digital Printing category for their marketing campaign that was created internally and printed on GPA’s Ultra Digital^® substrates to promote customer attendance and visibility at the Dscoop8 2013 Annual Conference. 

GPA’s “Rock it Out Tour,” was created to be a fun, integrated and highly personalized campaign. It kicked off with a rock-themed direct mail poster that was personalized with the recipient’s first name, a personalized URL (pURL) and unique QR code, then mailed to a targeted list of customers.

If pURL respondents confirmed that they would be attending Dscoop8, their follow-up mailer included a VIP pass for special perks at Dscoop8, a VIP luggage tag, raffle tickets, and an informational set list  – all personalized with variable printing. The final component to the campaign was their official “Rock it Out Tour” gear kit that recipients picked up at GPA’s booth at Dscoop8, which helped to increase booth traffic. It included a t-shirt, button, personalized magnet and sticker printed on GPA substrates, and also a temporary tattoo and drumsticks. The kits were collated and packaged by hand to ensure that all the variable pieces matched.

The campaign was printed on a variety of GPA’s Ultra Digital^® substrates by Top Graphics of St Louis, MO on their HP Indigo 5500 press. It utilized unique media such as magnet, heat transfer paper, silver foil board and static-charged ClingZ^®, and also repositionable vinyl, Teslin^®, pearlescent paper, cast coated board, and pressure sensitive papers. By using a variety of substrates, GPA wanted to demonstrate how they could work together in a cohesive campaign, or alone to showcase different application possibilities.

“At GPA, we pride ourselves on innovative substrates and unique, out-of-the-box thinking. Winning this award reinforces just how creative marketing and technology, combined with unique substrates can positively impact the effectiveness of a campaign and create a memorable interactive experience for the recipient and greater results," said Trina May, Director of Marketing at GPA.