Stickers are versatile little things. You may see numerous stickers everyday and might not even realise it. Think about that rude but hilarious bumper sticker that you might have seen on the road, or the cute Disney stickers in your kid’s bedroom. Stickers are not just to entertain kids or silently annoy your fellow road-mates; they have a very important role to play as well, marketing. We often confuse marketing with loud, in-your-face brand propaganda. However, often, effective marketing lies in the subtler approaches.
You might be thinking of ways to establish your brand recognition better, or maybe just looking for that personalised holiday cheer to accompany your gifts this year. It is not difficult to create your own sticker; there are many companies that could make your own sticker at very reasonable rates. But before you start rolling up your sleeves, here is some useful information about the length and breadths of stickers!
Types of Stickers
Permanent Stickers
As the name suggests, this kind of sticker have a powerful adhesive that can permanently attach itself to any paper surface. However, they are not permanent on clothes and other such surfaces and can be removed quite easily. They are mostly waterproof and quite wear-resistant.
Removable Stickers
Once again the name is suggestive enough. These do not have such a strong adhesive and can be easily removed from paper-like surfaces as well. These too are waterproof and wear-resistant.
Vinyl Stickers
These are made of vinyl, which makes them flexible as a result, they do not tear easily. Vinyl is a popular choice for car stickers as they are more durable and waterproof. Vinyl stickers are usually white or clear before printing.
Die Cut Stickers
These kinds of stickers are cut into various shapes and designs using a sharp steel ruled stamp, roller or a highly pressurised blade. These are usually bigger, better looking and therefore quite expensive as well. The more intricate the shape or the design is, the costlier it is likelier to be. The easy way to identify a die cut sticker is that the backing is cut to the exact shape of the design itself, giving it a nice, clean look.
Kiss-cut Sticker
In kiss-cut stickers the design is cut onto the vinyl and not onto the backing material, you can say the machine just ‘kisses’ the vinyl enough to cut the design on it. As a result of this, the backing is not the same shape as the design. Often this technique is used to design a sheet of stickers with a common background, for example, a bunch of round smiley faces on a single square sheet of backing paper.
Crack and Peel Sticker
The name might seem violent, but it just means that the backing paper has some cuts in it instead of being a continuous sheet. Often we find while trying to peel the backing paper off the design, we damage the sticker by bending, etc. The cuts in the paper make it a lot easier to take off.
Stickers and Marketing
You might not have thought of using those cute, sometimes sparkly stickers your daughter plays with as a strong marketing tool. What do you think Disney is doing? Stickers can be important tools for promoting brand recognition. Here are some ways stickers are used in promotion:
- Bumper Stickers
- Political campaign stickers
- Mini-ad Stickers
- Company Logo stickers
- Labels
- Nametags
- Windows stickers
The possibilities are endless. All you have to do is to find a design or campaign that really ‘sticks’ with the audience!
