Print is credible, it’s tangible and it is hard for consumers to ignore.  Print helps your brand’s message rise above the digital clutter of pop-ups and overflowing email and text message inboxes and puts your message right into the hands of your target audience.

In fact, according to chooseprint.org, 69 percent of consumers surveyed rely on direct mail to receive coupons and special offers — which influences the brand choices they make throughout the week.  Furthermore, 92 percent of people 35 and younger prefer to receive promotions and coupons through direct mail.

Print is a credible source of information.  Studies show that more people will believe printed messages before they will trust online or digital messages.  Digital media is a fast and easy way to communicate – but that also means it’s easier for false information and offers to be spread, making it a less trustworthy form of communication.  In a recent study, consumers selected a printed medium, newspaper, as the most trusted source of marketing.  Print is also extremely influential, the study also showed that approximately 60 percent of online brand searches conducted are a direct result of a printed message.

There is one more element of print that the digital medium may never be able to replace – tangibility.  The tangibility of print makes your message harder to be ignored by your target audience.  Between direct mail, brochures and printed posters and flyers  these communications methods all have the ability to be touched and held in the recipient’s hands.

While digital is a wonderful marketing resource, it should not replace print, rather the two should work in harmony to create one, unified message that reaches your audience across multiple channels of communication.

Timothy Freeman

President

Print & Graphic Communications Association