As a marketer, one of the toughest obstacles is breaking through the clutter of a person’s life.  Digital media is a great and instant form of communication but, it’s hard for your brand’s message to gain the attention of your target audience with all of the clutter.  Print offers a consumer touch point that is not only a less congested communication method, but also, according to a Print in the Mix study, over 60 percent of people prefer to receive direct mailings and print communication over digital messages.

Additionally, print media and digital media work great together – the two communication methods allow you to increase the reach and frequency of your brand’s message by engaging your target audience through multiple touch points.  Furthermore, print helps to drive traffic to your digital messages, as over 60 percent of online brand searches are completed because of a printed message a consumer was exposed to.

Print generates awareness – in a CMA study it was shown that while email and social media can instantly send your message to your target audience, printed messages, such as magazines and newspapers were still reported by consumers as the number one resource for finding out new brand and product information.

Lastly, Print is tangible. Unlike digital media, print can be touched and held by your consumer.  Print cannot be deleted from an inbox or removed from a screen with one click of a button and without reading a single word of the content within the email.  Print must be handled by your target audience.   Furthermore, if you send relevant and personalized messages you’re mailing is more likely to gain the attention of your target audience and ultimately you will see a higher response rate to your brand’s message

Timothy Freeman

President

Print & Graphic Communications Association