GUIDE TO WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

How do we begin to work together?

For a new project or revision of an old one, contact Marketing Communications at 8-6541 to schedule a time to get together. For an exact reprint, see What if I want an exact reprint next year?.

We may be able to give you a very rough estimate of cost during the initial meeting about your project, but the vagaries of the bid system lead us to be cautious in saying what a project will cost until we actually have the printers' bids in our hands.

During the initial meeting, we'll also set a production schedule. We build into each schedule enough time for the many stages of production—delivery of text to us, editing, design, exchange of proofs, prepress work, the to-printer date, and the proposed date of delivery—including those parts of the process that happen outside our office (such as the actual printing).

We can work with you at any stage of producing your project, but the earlier you involve us, the more we can help. If you know generally what you need—say, to tell prospective students the advantages of choosing your program—but don't have any ideas on how to present the information, we can work with you from concept development until the finished product is delivered.

If you know what you want to do and have a firm idea of how you want to do it, work with us with an open mind. We may not know much about your particular area (until you educate us), but we are experienced professionals skilled in writing, editing, design, production management, and photography. We are also primarily a creative agency formed to work with you in developing and producing your projects, rather than a production house that executes projects on which the design and editorial work is already complete. If a production house is what you need, we can help you find a dependable one.

The crucial things we need to learn from you to help solve your communication problem are as follows:

• Who your audience is
• Their numbers
• What sets them apart from other groups
• What you want to say to them
• What you want them to do as a result of receiving your message
• How you plan to distribute the information—postal regulations change frequently and must be considered from the beginning of the design process

From this base of information, we can work with you to devise a marketing communications piece that will accomplish your goals elegantly and cost-effectively (unless, of course, the best way to communicate your message to your audience isn't a printed piece; but we'll give you our best advice on that, too).