Nigeria-based Printivo Wants To Become The Vistaprint Of Africa

Printivo founders Ibukun Oloyede, Oluyomi Ojo, and Ayodeji Adeogun

Vistaprint has been around for twenty years, so if you live in the U.S. or Europe, ordering printed material online might not seem like a big deal. In Nigeria, however, getting business card and flyers are still a pain that requires multiple visits to a brick-and-mortar shop, says Printivo founder Oluyomi Ojo.

Ojo has family members who work in the printing industry, but he didn’t realize how complicated it is to handle orders until he became a managing director at an ad agency, especially for customers outside of Lagos, one of Nigeria’s printing hubs.

“Small businesses are not really catered to. If you want to print a quantity as low as 100 business cards, you might have to travel two hours to a print shop, sit down and have someone design them, then come back in a week and pick them up,” says Ojo.

“We saw there are a lot of problems for small-scale businesses that want to order print marketing. It’s a huge opportunity for us because there are more than 17 million small businesses in Nigeria alone.”

Founded in 2013 by Ojo, Ibukun Oloyede, and Ayodeji Adeogun, Printivo ships express orders throughout Nigeria and will expand to other English-speaking African countries after landing seed funding from EchoVC Partners earlier this month. In addition to business cards, flyers, and stationery, Printivo also produces tote bags, mugs, and wedding favors.

There are other online print businesses in Nigeria, including PrintSharply and InstantPrint, but Ojo says Printivo differentiates by offering a larger selection of products and templates created by its full-time graphic designers (customers can also upload their own designs to the site). Ojo claims that Printivo’s tech platform lets users create and order printed goods in as little as 10 to 15 minutes.

“It takes away the weeks and days of calling and finding graphic designers and printers,” he says. Shipments within Lagos usually take two to three days, while orders reach the rest of Nigeria in about five days.

Along with launching in new markets, Printivo will expand its business model by launching an online marketplace for graphic designers, as well as a service similar to CafePress that will handle orders for companies that want to sell custom goods. The startup also has a B2B segment, focusing on larger companies; Ojo says clients so far have included Google, DHL, and telecom Etisalat.

While Nigeria’s Internet penetration rate is one of the highest in Africa (and still growing rapidly), Ojo is not worried that companies will began rejecting printed products in favor of online marketing campaigns.

“Print gives you a level of tangibility that online cannot give,” says Ojo. “People get to feel and touch your materials and that really drives growth here.”

Nigeria-based Printivo Wants To Become The Vistaprint Of Africa

Vistaprint Launches “Social Postcards,” New Tool for Easier Facebook Ad Design and Effective ...

Vistaprint, a leading online provider of professional marketing products and services to micro business owners, today announced the launch of “Social Postcards,” an online tool that makes it easy for small businesses to turn their print materials into Facebook^(R) ads, target the right audience, and analyze campaign results. This omnichannel marketing tool enables small businesses to streamline and boost their print and online marketing efforts. Vistaprint and its digital services business, Webs, worked with Facebook to create this small business-focused tool for its customers.

The “2014 Webs Small Business Digital Trends Survey” shows 63 percent of small business owners use digital products as part or all of their marketing strategy, most combining digital and print. As a leading web-to-print destination for micro businesses, Vistaprint answered the demand for an omnichannel platform that integrates print and digital marketing in order to grow the business, increase sales, and build brand awareness across multiple channels.

The survey also shows 65 percent of small businesses are currently using or are willing to pay for Facebook ads. However, most don’t have the tools or resources to design highly impactful and professional-looking social media ads. Facebook research further shows that ads on the platform can drive more in-store revenue, with one-third more people purchasing the products or services, and two-thirds of people increasing their order value. In addition, Facebook is more than twice as accurate as other ad networks in reaching a business’ target audience – enabling marketers to get their ads in front of the right people.

This new tool from Webs simplifies the task of creating and managing Facebook ads. Users who design a postcard on Vistaprint have the option to turn it into a Facebook ad, choose the target audience, publish it, and view the ad campaign’s results – all in one easy-to-use dashboard.

“As a real estate agent, I’m responsible for doing all of my own marketing and have to leave a lasting impression in someone’s mind when they turn to social media for their home-buying needs,” said Emilee Sinclair, broker/agent at Coldwell Banker Sea Cost Advantage. “Having the option to turn the materials I’m already creating on Vistaprint.com into a Facebook ad made it really easy and affordable to reach a large number of potential customers I typically would not be able to reach by myself.”

The new Social Postcards tool features:

• Simple, user-friendly interface


• Step-by-step Facebook ad creation that’s powerful yet simple


• Proprietary technology that enables matching print and online branded content


• Library of ad templates to highlight sales, events, promotions and more


• Extensive library of royalty-free images for ad usage


• Adherence to Facebook’s text guidelines


• Simplified ad targeting based on demographics, interests, connections and more


• Compatibility with Facebook desktop and mobile


• Low one-time fee that enables testing with limited investment


• Ad analytics to help optimize strategy

“Small businesses spend more on social media than any other media category to promote their businesses, and Facebook clearly dominates the market,” said Rick Ducey, managing director of BIA/Kelsey. “There is a significant opportunity in the marketplace for tools that help small businesses automate digital marketing, especially to local audiences. Social media is transforming how small businesses are promoting and growing their businesses and digital ads will be key in achieving results.”

“Vistaprint, along with Webs, is committed to helping business owners succeed, and with this new Social Postcards offering, we are empowering small businesses to combine traditional marketing methods with progressive social media advertising tactics in an affordable and easy-to-use way,” said Scott Bowen, VP and general manager of digital services, Vistaprint. “Online marketing is an untapped resource for many small businesses, and this tool makes it possible for small business owners to level the field against larger competitors, engage their customers in more modern ways, and ultimately grow their business. We are excited to offer this tool and will continue to deliver value to our customers across print and digital.”

For more information or to use Social Postcards, visit: www.vistaprint.com/lpt/social-postcards.aspx.

Survey Methodology:

Webs Small Business Digital Usage Survey is based on a nationally representative sample of 2,292 small business owners of companies with fewer than 10 employees. The anonymous survey was conducted online by Insight By Design between March 10-15, 2014 as part of Vistaprint’s 2014 Digital Usage Study. The poll has a margin of error of approximately +/- 2-7 percent depending on the question.

About Vistaprint

Vistaprint is a global e-commerce brand empowering more than 16 million micro business owners to professionally promote their business with quality printed and digital marketing products at an affordable price. Our world-class online design studio allows customers to easily customize their products including business cards, marketing materials, signage, promotional products, apparel, websites, digital marketing, cards and stationery at www.vistaprint.com. Our patented printing technique allows us to maximize efficiency and consistently deliver quality and value to customers. This innovative process is supported by 25 localized websites serving various global markets; world-class manufacturing facilities around the globe, including North America, Western Europe, Australia and India; and thousands of employees in offices worldwide. Vistaprint is a Cimpress (Nasdaq:CMPR) brand.

Vistaprint and the Vistaprint logo are trademarks of Cimpress N.V. or its subsidiaries. All other brand and product names appearing on this announcement may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

About Webs

Founded in 2001, Webs is the digital services business of Vistaprint. Webs provides an easy-to-use, reliable and cost-effective marketing platform specifically designed for the small business. The Webs platform powers the online marketing of millions of small businesses around the globe with its complete suite of website, social media, email, and other digital identity and marketing products. Webs enables small businesses to launch online, get noticed, engage customers and grow. For more information, please visit www.webs.com.

Facebook(R) is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.

Vistaprint Launches “Social Postcards,” New Tool for Easier Facebook Ad Design and Effective ...