Simple… our world is changing. Business is changing, marketing communications are changing and communications platforms have already changed. Long gone are the days when you could stand alone in this world as a Marketeer, Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Web Developer, Data Analyst, Printer, Print Manager, Print Finisher, Mailing House, even a postal service provider – just look at the Royal Mail!

Whether it be the pressures exerted by the recession or clients becoming more demanding, value no longer remains in being a small cog in the great machine that is the creation and delivery of marketing communications. Very small, and lets face it one dimensional, players who are scrapping to stay alive on the one hand and some very cute purchasing on the other perhaps baiting the situation have put paid to that. Just take a look at the examples being set by the print management giants of this world such as Communisis, St Ives, the Lateral Group and the GI Group, all of whom printed, mailed, managed data and now offer platforms to deliver communications by email and SMS through trigger marketing, whether that be via web pages, telephone calls, texts or some other way.

In the same way that Mulberry Square has looked to innovation to stay one head of the game, all of these big boys are doing the same by either developing their own platforms or working with the likes of Kodak, who themselves are looking for the next new angle, to develop solutions to knit the whole complex mixture together into a marketable product. Where Mulberry Square are ahead of the game is that we have outsourced the more commoditized services of printing and mailing with high quality well managed partners and introduced services that deliver creativity and greater value, particularly in the internet services arena.

Where we are now is in a more mature place where clients want us to help them deliver clear measurable results for their organisation whether that be the way that they present their propositions on just a campaign level, an overall strategy or across their business as a whole. That way it is not just about a question of price, it is about creating, managing and delivering communications that justify the trust placed when working intimately with the client by creating true return on investment (ROI), with lead generation, customer retention and enhanced data t’boot.