Attribution updates

[Scott]

Hi Everyone,

We added some information about our updated attribution here: https://community.zazzle.com/t5/creator-news/attribution-updates/ba-p/11138

If you have any questions or feedback please let us know!

[CrazyMermaid]

I am actually very excited about this. I can see people who liked a card or invitation scanning it to find out where it came from when they need something. I think the design is far less disruptive than the white stripe. There may be hiccups, but I am keeping an open mind. 

[KC]

Could we have a list of what products the attribution will be applied to, and specifically which we are able to turn off, and which are mandatory? 

[Scott]

The list of products is likely to change over time, which is why it was not included in the article. As of today, the product types below require attribution when posting for sale. 

Flat holiday card
Flat announcement card
Folded greeting card
Folded note card
Folded holiday card
Folded thank you card
Folded announcement card

[Annyway]

Thanks for the info!

[Cat]

What about the foil cards where the attribution is on the inside? Any updates on that?

[DM]

I realize you said that the products will likely change over time, but is this something that is just going to be on cards? Or is this branding going to extend to everything?

[PacifierCity]

@ScottAre trifold cards included in this or are they going to stick with the white stripe attribution?  I went to create one this morning and can see that they seem to still have the white stripe...

Thanks,

PC

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[CreativeLeahG]

This isn't so bad as these items would in any marketplace, have an attribution. Please let it not appear on anything in the wedding/invite category as there is some overlap regarding product type and the way it was ultimately used (for a variety of reasons)

In essence can the software be tweaked to ignore the above-named items if they are categorised by Designer as 'invites'?

[igiftcenter]

Thankful for the heads up! Sounds like a good idea. Much better than a distracting white banner across the bottom
But now I have a few questions:
can we at least know where the QR code is going to be taking the customer? Is it taking them to our home page? To our product page? 

I seem to recall a while ago being told customers rarely visit our home page and that it's less effective then landing on our product page so there's that  🙂

[rebeccawang]

@Scott 

I love the idea of the QR code! It looks much nicer and is more practical.

I am going to turn back on attributions for all my greeting cards now!

[PAZP]

I've scanned some of my products (from the screen) and the link goes to our product store. 

[PAZP]

THANK YOU for the update, Scott 

I REALLY appreciate that the QR code link refers anyone who scans it back to the product store. As @CrazyMermaid  said, I too like this method of attribution for both Zazzle and creators better than the previous white strip. 

Since the attribution will be added to different color backgrounds maybe there can be a consideration to make it a .png / transparent background instead of solid white around it. Thanks. 

[Connie]

In their update announcement, Zazzle explains that the white background is necessary to make sure that the QR code is always scannable.

[Annyway]

A few comments/questions: it's a cool idea, but design-wise honestly I think the QR code looks ugly on the postcards, since there isn't much space on postcards to begin with and the dark QR square stands out a lot. Maybe a different placement would help like in the lower left? I'm not sure. Also, will having the code on the back of the postcard have any effect on mailing the postcard when the post office scans it for the address? Also in the previews my store name isn't shown. Sorry about all the negativity, but I have actually been going through and changing all of my postcards to not show the attribution, so I figured I'd share my point of view in case anyone else is thinking similarly. Thanks for all of your work!

[ZProDesigner262]

I agree with you. It is my opinion that designer attribution should be done by the designer, not a general site-wide mandatory implementation to conform to a Zazzle-defined code. That way, the designer would be able to work it into the design as best suits their design aesthetic and brand.

[CrazyMermaid]

I think a QR code is much more accepted by customers (especially younger ones) than just a logo. They are everywhere now and people might even be curious to see where it leads. 

[PacifierCity]

I like the QR code, especially since it is leading back to ... not quiet sure, our store homepage or the product page??  Either way, I think it brings Z up to the times.  I also think that the white background is good, but perhaps there could be a boarder around it... at least I think that would work best on the back of my birthday cards. 

I would like to suggest that it is lowered slightly, so that it occupies the space that was previously occupied by the white stripe.  The new attribution is slightly higher and it covers the web address that I had placed on my cards just above the old white stripe.  I find that frustrating.  I would actually prefer to leave it, than to remove it.  But to keep it, I would have to remake all my cards, loose sales stats and MP placement.  That is very sad to me.  So please consider lowering it just a bit.  There is space from what I can see.

Overall I like it much better than the last and I appreciate that Z listened to the designer community and made a change.

PC

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[Windy]

What was your thinking on the postcard placement of the QR Code?

[Malissa]

I have my personal branded artist attribution locked and will not be remaking any old cards or postcards to change it.  It was an intentional choice as an artist, but I do wonder how that will make a customer feel when/if they see a box to remove the designer/zazzle attribution and clicking that box does not remove my designer (creator) logo.  It seems like it may be misleading.  

This wasn't a thing that existed when I made the cards so I had no intention of misleading a customer.  I don't add my logo/branding attribution to invitations so I'm just hoping it doesn't cause an issue.

I am not opposed to it since it goes to my store and as long as I know where I can put my own attribution that matches my branding where it is not covered.

[Saints_Aplenty]

I’m not against QR Codes.  I have had my own on the backs of my Greeting and Note cards from Day 1 of my presence here on Zazzle.  In fact, mine is larger and more prominent than the Zazzle one.  Beneath it, I have URLs for my store on Zazzle as well as my own website.  The difference is I chose to deploy my QR Code.  I chose its size, appearance, and location.  Now that we can design the entire backs of cards, when it ‘interferes’ with a design, I can and do change it to ‘match’.  And, folded cards are the only place I would put it on items for sale.  (I do use it on my business cards and have some Christmas ornaments that I use for gifts with a QR code.)  But, save for the bottoms of coffee cups or the backs of products designed on only one side (and printed there at Zazzle’s cost), I would not choose to deploy one.  On postcards, maybe, but only if moved to the lower left bottom edge.

As I noted elsewhere, I find great irony in this situation.  Zazzle is a company founded on the very basis of making personalized/customized products available.  Zazzle is a company that has fostered the development of individual businesses by virtue of the services it provides.  Zazzle, for the most part, provides its customers with great latitude in dealing with our designs.  In the matter of the QR codes, however, potentially, the designer?  Not so much.

IMHO, adding the attribution should be the designer’s choice.  And, the customer should not even be aware of the designer’s choice to use their own attribution or none at all--along similar lines as not allowing customization on a product.  Only if, and that’s a big only if, the designer enables the attribution as is and consents, should the customer have the further option to remove it.

For me, Zazzle’s QR Code will be a redundancy and I will be continuing to turn it off.  Like Malissa, I have my own locked branding on folded cards and have no intention of remaking them.  But I too “wonder how that will make a customer feel when/if they see a box to remove the designer/zazzle attribution and clicking that box does not remove my designer (creator) logo.”  In such cases, either the box shouldn’t be there at all or it should be retitled to more accurately reflect what’s removable or not.

[shellifitz]

If Zazzle would just change the wording on the choice to remove attribution so that it says  "Remove Zazzle attribution"  and don't mention the designer attribution there, that would solve a lot of this problem of us having our locked logos on the cards and the confusion that can cause a buyer when they pay extra and the designer attribution is not removed.  

[Saints_Aplenty]

And, I forgot to add to the immediately above post of mine that:   I think, in most cases, the customer should be oblivious to a pricing change owing to the presence or absence of an attribute.  Since introduced, that 5-cent or 10-cent charge to the customer for attribution removal has seemed to me a very bad policy.  Customers don't know what royalty we've fixed, so the added charge wouldn't even be noticeable if handled right and not made an issue by Zazzle.

[VivianD117]

Hi — I am assuming that the customer does not pay extra for this?

[Harmony]

They pay extra if they DON'T want it

[BKMuir]

I agree with others, that the QR Code is preferably over the white strip.  I like that when posted for sale the code shows "Created by STORE name".
I also agree with those that are asking for the code to be moved to the left, if retained on PostCards. (I think I will send one to myself and see how it might be affected by the POST OFFICE bar codes. Have of order a pc first.) The placement of any attribution INSIDE a card of any kind is ridiculous.

I have asked my friends who use phones a lot (I do not own a cell phone) if they use the QR code. If they know what I am talking about, they state they have removed the AP to clear space for more useful ones. I'm certain those 30 and younger might be more apt to use their phones for QR links.

Overall, the new code is an improvement in the majority of cases.

[Windy]

Funny you should mention. Like the friends you asked, I too removed my QR code reader to make space. I find I have no use for that at all. In fact I recently ate at a restaurant where I HAD to use a QR code, but luckily I did not have to download a QR code reader for that. 

[shellifitz]

Almost all smart phone cameras now read QR codes so there is no reason to install a special app.  Try it.  open your camera and point it at the code and see if you get a web link.   I have an old iphone6 that does it if that lets you know how long this has been a feature.  I am not sure but I think samsungs do also.  I don't know, I tested it with my hubby's s7edge and couldn't get it to work but it might have been user error too.  lol 

[Connie]

Thank you very much for this new attribution update! That small rectangle with the QR code looks MUCH better than the white bar across the bottom, AD looks much more intentional. Even though it doesn't necessarily "match" our cards, at least it is obvious what it's there for, and looks way more professional. That white bar looked like we forgot to put the design all the way to the bottom of the card!

As far as postcards, I think it is great where it is. I sometimes have writing or a design element in the left corner, but I never put anything in the right corner because it would look out of place there. and I think the USPS prints a barcode across the bottom left side, so a QR code there would be ruined by the USPS barcode.

[Saints_Aplenty]

As Windy noted elsewhere, Zazzle's new QR code on the right is within the USPS's Reserved area on postcards.  See:  https://about.usps.com/publications/pub600/pub600_006.htm 

[KC]

I'd really prefer that this be something a designer decides when publishing a product, like a layer that can be turned on and off for each product. Or a merchandising/post for sale option that stays at whatever setting I select when publishing the product.

Or minimally, some kind of alert on the templates that will have them - so we know when posting for sale the first time - that it is either optional or mandatory on that product template, so we can deal with the settings when posting originally. 

[ZBug]

I'm happy to see it on the right side of the postcards.

However, I am seeing 2 attributions on some products. Like on this postcard, it's on the left and right. When I click the remove attribution, it only removes the new one on the right.

https://www.zazzle.com/vintage_st_patricks_day_girl_postcard-239191545501756501

[Barbara]

@ZBug  You must have left the Zazzle logo on postcards in years past. Sadly, it's an actual image and there's only one way to get rid of it: edit the postcard and create a brand new one.

Zazzle needs to allow designers to edit their cards without having to save as entirely new ones, thus losing any ranking built up over time by sales.

[ZBug]

Yeah, that's an older card.

[PacifierCity]

Just wanted to check in here and see if Z is happy with this new attribution.  I wanted to give things a few weeks before I start redoing many of my cards.  Sadly it seems that the location will stay where it is instead of being lowered into the previous space utilized by the white stripe.  If this is the final placement, I will start remaking my cards again, and losing my MP positions and sales stats again.  I did not / do not want to, but a few cards have gone out with the new attribution covering my web address and that is just not OK.

Any update on placement and if this will be the final change for awhile??

Thanks,

PC

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[Swisstoons]

I love the idea.  I've done this on my own in the past, mainly on greeting cards.  But I'm glad it will happen automatically (if I'm understanding this correctly) from now on.   Will this happen retroactively?   That is, will previously published products bear the QR code, too?   I understand that the code will not be scannable.  But will it be visible to designers on their products?  I've just done a quick search of some of my greeting cards and postcards, but I'm not seeing the code.  

[ConnieMoore]

Hi Scott,

I think the QR code is OK on the cards and user-friendly for the recipient.  The new line on the back envelopes "Zazzle ❤️ Create your moment" is tacky on cards for a friend or loved one. Do you need to push the marketing this far? Is it appropriate for sympathy, empathy, remembrance, illness, or loss of a pet card?

[Windy]

Is there a way that I can see one of those envelopes? I have never ordered one--are they pictured online?

[BKMuir]

When the selected card allows card and envelope in the view - you see it.

Here is one that I located in my store

Greeting Card - Joyful Foil Stars
by bkmuir

[Windy]

Thanks!