Making an Impression with Packaging When the economy slowed three years ago, Bruce Fasick, president of distributorship The Production Center, Dumfries, Va., watched clients cut funding for their direct-mail promotional campaigns. Fasick, who specializes in custom packaging, lost half his regular business. During that time, Fasick stuck with his niche, but diversified within it. He now offers packaging for almost any application and the demand for these services has increased. He recently provided packaging for XO, a telecommunications firm in Reston, Va. The agency hired by XO developed a direct-mail promotion with a disposable camera giveaway. The agency was concerned that existing and prospective customers who received the promotion would throw it away before opening the package. It called on Fasick to design a packaging solution that would allow recipients to see the camera inside. Fasick turned to his manufacturers for help. He works with a group of small and medium-sized plants that don't have their own sales force. They offer the use of their support staff and Fasick works exclusively with them in return. Each plant has different manufacturing capabilities, allowing Fasick to offer clients a range of packaging solutions. "We have six plants and six different options for any packaging idea," he says. "If you're sending a pen, CD, booklet, flipchart, we try to come back and show you a lot of different ways to do that." Offering clients many solutions increases the chance that they'll do business with you. "If all I sold was poly, that's all I could show them," Fasick says. Fasick brought the agency three prototypes. The first, an 18 pt. SBS board package with die cut aperture, provided partial exposure to the camera. The second option was a 4-color corrugated box with a cellophane aperture. The third option was a medium, 35 guage, clear-frost poly and a flat, unglued box approximately 2 inches thick, with two pieces of foam to hold the camera. All three options fell within the agency's budget, Fasick says. The agency's employees liked the third option and ordered 1,000 pieces. Not all of Fasick's clients appreciate the value of innovative packaging. In his experience, clients that focus on giving their customers exceptional quality and service are the most receptive to innovative packaging. "You definitely need something to make an impression," he says.