Direct mail remains a powerful communication tool as it not only has a high return on investment, but it also drives consumers to a brand’s web page and social sites.  In fact, direct mail’s return has increased to over 4 percent over the past year according to the most recent Direct Mail Association stat book.

An Exact Target study found that buyers between the ages of 18 and 24 claim direct mail has a large influence on what they decide to purchase and 75 percent of people between the age of 25 and 34 have made a purchase as a direct result of a direct mail piece they received.

When direct mail is executed properly, it can be effective for both older and younger skewing audiences and, when personalized messages are sent along with QR codes, you’re response rate and overall return on investment will increase.

Furthermore, print continues to evolve and work well with its digital counterpart through the use of Quick Response codes, personalized URLs, Variable Data Printing and database management.  VDP and database management help to create more relevant consumer messages and QR codes and pURLs offer an easy way for consumers to be transferred from your printed message to your digital communication.

Additionally, print generates brand awareness.  A CMA study showed 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 sources of brand and product information.  Furthermore, 96 percent of people still read printed news papers as their daily source of information.

There is power in print communication — how are you using print in your marketing mix?

Timothy Freeman
President
Print & Graphic Communications Association