K/P Corp. Opens New Washington Facility with Fashion Show Flair

RENTON, WA—K/P Corp. literally rolled out the red carpet to celebrate its new 125,000 square foot facility. With the tag line, “A New Marketing Space All in One Place,” K/P embraced their retail customers to produce a one-of-a-kind runway fashion show with all garments based on direct marketing services K/P performs for clients.

The new facility addresses improving green and lean aspects of production. “Given the rising costs of fuel, paper and other commodities, K/P’s new streamlined facility will provide increased efficiency and eliminate redundant processes," says CEO Susan Kelly. "This new facility will cement K/P’s ability to orchestrate more complex, more sophisticated and more secure integrated marketing solutions our clients are looking for, now and well into the future.”

This invitation-only event did it with style. K/P welcomed attendees with a walk on the red carpet complete with a paparazzi celebrity photo session and a guided capabilities tour that showcased K/P’s full breadth of services. At the end of the tour, guests entered the warehouse-turned-night-club which hosted over 250 people representing some of the biggest brand companies headquartered in the Seattle area.

K/P created a signature drink for the evening - the Kosmori - a play on words that combines the classy Cosmopolitan drink and K/P’s latest investment, a brand new Komori printing press. The press is painted eye-catching bright red; the color theme throughout the grand opening. “Our Komori red press is the only one in the world of its kind. Red symbolizes good luck and our red carpet service for our clients,” stated Brett Olszewski, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “The process of getting it custom painted was an exhilarating experience…a sort of American Chopper meets Gutenberg.”

Guests were seated in a high energy fashion show setting complete with a 50 ft. long runway. Similar to television show Project Runway, K/P consigned top graduates from Seattle Central Community College’s Fashion Apparel Design Program to create high fashion designs that reflect the world of direct marketing. Designers Emilia Bess Karr and Margaret Chin were led by head designer Katharine Andrews. “Our objective was to put a marketing twist on what we do for our clients in a creative way and to make it memorable. It was great way to promote young and aspiring fashion designers,” Susan Kelly, CEO, stated.

The designers translated direct marketing into twelve high fashion garments to reflect the latest technologies and the evolving sophistication of what marketers can do today to reach, talk, and transact with their customers in more meaningful ways than ever before. Garment themes included one-to-one targeted marketing; multi-channel
campaigns; digital variable printing; the environment; the web; closed loop marketing; and client data security.

Outfits, like the “The Coat of Many Digital Colors”, were special since K/P printed the designer’s artwork on flexible materials using digital equipment which became the fabric of several outfits.

The finale design was a flowing gala dress called the Nordstrom Extravaganza, a multi-layered skirt made up from eight years of printed samples from successful marketing campaigns with every piece was individually sewn to allow for flow and movement down the runway. The designs can be seen at the company’s web site and on You Tube.

“The audience response was over the top,” notes Mr. Olszewski; “which made this ambitious Grand Opening project deeply satisfying for our employees but more importantly demonstrating the innovation, vision and creativity we inspire everyday with our clients and their programs.”

Concerned about the current economy and its impact on the business community, K/P utilized employees and local suppliers to support the event. Mr. Olszewski, who played a dual role of host and runway model, also added, “We wanted to get out the message that despite the current economy, we are aggressively investing in our company and our community to help our clients defray rising costs and overcome market challenges”.

K/P Corporation is a leader in data-driven marketing solutions and business process consulting—supported by a wide range of fulfillment, mailing, and printing services that help customers implement complex marketing and communication programs. K/P specializes in interactive web marketing portals, digital printing for targeting marketing campaigns, and robust client data security processes and systems. K/P is headquartered in San Ramon, California.

For more information about K/P Corporation, visit www.kpcorp.com