April 5, 2004 -- New York — One of the industry’s leading marketing communications agencies has created a new division dedicated to helping printers, prepress providers and trade binderies market their capabilities and sell their services. Described as “The Sales Generation Agency for the Graphic Arts,” the new enterprise is called MarketingMentors. It was launched by NAK Marketing & Communications, an agency that has served many of the leading brands in the industry for over 14 years. “Everyone’s talking about how competitive the media marketplace has become,” says Thaddeus B. Kubis, president of NAK and head of MarketingMentors. “To compete effectively, printers and trade facilities need to do some strategically targeted marketing. We’ve created Marketing Mentors to help guide them and provide the creative elements they need to increase their sales.” Kubis adds that the graphic arts community has been slow to take advantage of the world’s most popular media channel — printing. “This is a case of the shoemaker’s kids not having shoes,” he observes. “Printers aren’t using their own media to promote themselves, because they don’t have the time or the in-house expertise to do marketing. That’s where we step in.” MarketingMentors’ main contact points with its customers are via Internet and email. “The idea is to keep costs down so we can provide big agency support to our clients, without sending them big agency invoices,” Kubis continues. “So we’re not going to do lunch with a client, and long meetings will be replaced by productive phone calls.” Printers, prepress providers or trade binderies can visit the service’s site — www.MarketingMentors.com — and review a roster of promotional tools offered by the agency. They range from direct mail campaigns to portfolio design and sales-generating PowerPoints. Visitors then can complete a brief clickable profile right on the website that defines their marketing needs. MarketingMentors follows up with a free phone consultation, suggesting a variety of fee-based solutions. “Naturally most of our marketing solutions involve printing, whether it’s a capabilities brochure, a postcard campaign or even a press release,” says Kubis. “Printers don’t generally look at their presses as powerful communications devices. MarketingMentors gives them a new perspective about promoting their businesses, while we develop the content they need to unlock the power of their presses.” MarketingMentors encourages its clients to print as many of their promotional materials as possible for several reasons. The printers save money by producing their capabilities brochures and direct mail pieces during slack time. And the printed pieces serve as samples of their work. Of course MarketingMentors also recommends new media marketing channels to its clients. “We’re not necessarily talking mega multi-media here,” Kubis says. “What we recommend might be as simple as a PowerPoint presentation for a print provider’s sales team. When professionally done, it helps a company’s sales message to come across more effectively.” MarketingMentors also has the capabilities to develop websites, radio spots, and print advertising. “We want to make sure visitors to our site have quick access to any of the tools they feel they need to sell more effectively,” notes Kubis. “On the other hand, we also offer complete marketing plans for businesses that want to integrate a comprehensive package of the tactical solutions we offer.” Whatever service is selected, Marketing Mentors pledges to deliver it quickly. “We have our fingers on the pulse of the printing, creative, agency and studio markets for over a decade, so we can turn on a dime to help our clients react instantly to fast-changing market dynamics,” Kubis declares. “As NAK, we have helped shape the look and tone of graphic arts marketing communications for over 14 years,” he adds. “Now MarketingMentors applies that experience and expertise to help printers and trade shops grow their businesses.” MarketingMentors can be contacted at www.MarketingMentors.com and at 800- 708-2202.